Chapter Three

It had been a month since I began working at The Eve, and I hadn't spent more than maybe five minutes a day talking to Sir Foxwood, so naturally it surprised me when he beckoned me over to him after the last guests had left the parlor and dining area and retired for the night. Full of curiosity, I made my way over to him, putting the tray of dirty plates down and smoothing the skirt of my standard gray serving dress with my hands. He was sitting in a corner of the room beside a small table with a small checkered board on it.

"You wished to see me?" I asked, not looking at him, but at the curious little sculptures placed upon the board.

"You do not know how to play chess, do you, Ms. Roberts?"

I sighed. "Look, I been real patient and all, but I can't have you calling me by that name."

"Pardon?"

"Ms. Roberts. I'm only sixteen, so just call me Belle."

"I seem to remember you saying that they tried to teach you propriety at the castle," he remarked mildly.

"Trying and succeeding are two different things."

"I see. So, Belle, then...I do not suppose you know how to play chess?"

"It wasn't part of my education," I said dryly. "What is chess?"

"The greatest game ever invented. A true test of concentration and strategy," Sir Foxwood smiled. I loved the way he smiled...his eyes twinkled and seemed more vibrantly blue than they actually were, and a dimple formed in his right cheek.

"Sit down, sit down," he urged me.

"Sit down?" I repeated dumbly. He nodded eagerly. No one of a higher rank had ever invited me to sit with them before. I cautiously sat down opposite him and wondered if this was a test of my diligence. "I'm not done working yet...I have to take the dirty dishes downstairs."

"You can do that later," he said with an airy wave of his hand. "Would you like to learn how to play chess?"

"I...I suppose, but why are you teaching me?" I asked, running my finger over the edge of the board.

"A man gets tired of playing against himself; I know all my own tricks," he grinned. "I hear that you are a quick study."

"Midge told you that?"

I was secretly pleased that she had thought enough of me to mention to Sir Foxwood how quickly I picked things up.

"Yes, she did, and I want you to know...garnering a compliment from Midge is not an easy task."

I'm sure I blushed a bit, but Sir Foxwood couldn't have seen it in the dim light of the dining room. "So what is this for?" I asked, picking up one of the smallest sculptures.

"That is called a pawn, they can move forward two spaces on the first move, and only forward once space every other move after that. The pawns take other pieces by moving diagonally," he explained, and then demonstrated what he meant. "If you get a pawn all the way across the board, it can become one of the other pieces, like the queen or the bishop."

He pointed out what each piece was called and how they moved, and I focused on it with every ounce of my concentration. "Pawn, rook, knight, bishop, queen, king," I recited.

"Can you guess which piece is the most powerful?" he raised his eyebrows at me.

"The king," I answered, without hesitation.

He shook his head. "The king is fenced in...he can only move one square at a time. Left alone, he is vulnerable. The queen is the piece on the board with the most power. She can move any way she wishes to protect her king."

"The queen," I laughed. "That's not the way it is off of the game board."

"Of course it is. The queen dictates the fate of the kingdom by birthing either a girl or a boy."

"That's not the queen," I laughed again. "That's nature."

"There is other power the queen holds over the king, but for now just know that the chess queen can move in any direction, any distance."

"Alright," I nodded. "Say, what's around The Eve anyway?"

"I don't see..."

"Well, you said distance, so I was thinking, what's around The Eve?"

"Well," he sighed. "There's a market, a jewelry store, an armory, and an apothecary on this main road...turn the corner and you're on the wrong side of town."

"What's there?"

"None of your concern."

"If you don't tell me, I'll just go and find out for meself, you know," I looked directly into his eyes.

"There's a tavern called The Scurvy Dog where all the pirates congregate. There are also two or three...er...brothels..."

The Scurvy Dog, I'll have to remember that one. If all the pirates congregate there, maybe someone will know my father! Maybe I can find him!

"Sounds interesting," I interrupted.

Sir Foxwood glared at me. "And that brings us back to chess; what we are here for."

He spent a good amount of time teaching me rules and moves and tips on how to fool your opponent. When speaking of his favorite game, his face began to glow and take on a boyish expression of simple joy that distracted me at times. We spent so long at the game board that the candle beside the table was nearly all melted down. Yawning, I declared that I was too tired to concentrate on learning any more about the "greatest game ever invented."

"Would you like me to walk you down to the cellar?" he asked kindly.

"Nay," I shook my head. "I can walk myself, besides I'm not too tired to talk for just a bit longer. I want to know some things about you," I said frankly.

Again, I thought he wouldn't answer me by the time it took him to speak, and when he did it was in a very slow, cautious voice. "What would you like to know?"

"Was your grandsire a Lord?"

"A great-great grandsire on my father's side was a Lord, yes, but he lost his title after challenging the Duke of Riverbend. My great-grandsire was a fourth son however, and could not hope for a title, so he had already bought this estate and turned it into the base for his flower business. You really should walk around the gardens in the back."

"I'll do that on my next break. How old are you?"

"Your sense of propriety really is blurred isn't it?" he looked at me with something akin to wonder, however he answered me anyway, as I had become used to him doing. "I am of one and twenty years."

"Why aren't you married?"

He spluttered. "I hardly see...this is just...I am ordering you to go to your quarters, now!"

"Alright, alright," I held my hands up in surrender. "Talk about high-strung..."

"Pardon me?" cords stated to show in his neck.

Did I actually say that last part out loud? Well, he wasn't firing me now, so I might as well finish it up...

"All I ask is a simple little question and you order me to bed like some child."

"It is not proper for an employee to inquire about her employer's personal life."

"I was curious. You already know my entire life story. It's only fair that I---"

"Belle, I don't even know the answer to that question, you're not getting an answer," he said with a resigned sigh.

"Am I still sent off to bed?" I asked almost innocently.

"Yes!" he exclaimed.

"What about chess? Do I still get to learn how to play?"

"I'm weighing my options. Do I put up with your mouth every night or do I continue on in boredom, playing myself?"

"I'd put up with my mouth," I said sagely.

Sir Foxwood merely grunted in reply. "If we continue with chess, there will be no more questions."

"What are we supposed to talk about, then? How am I supposed to learn anything if I don't ask questions?"

"You know what kind of questions I mean," he looked at me sternly.

"Oh, alright then!" I scowled. "Should I meet you here every night after I'm done cleaning?"

"Maybe every other night. I do not wish for your performance to suffer during the day."

"It won't," I pledged.

"It had better not, or else Midge---"

"Midge loves me!" I exclaimed indignantly.

"Not that much," Sir Foxwood said with a chuckle. "She'd put me out some days if she had the power."

I joined him in merry laughter. After grabbing the tray of dirty dishes I'd set down before I sat with him, we made our way to the cellar stairs.

"Goodnight, Belle," he said softly.

"Goodnight, Sir Foxwood," I smiled and turned to walk down the stairs.

A/N

Imogenhm: Thanks for the reviews, I needed them to keep going!