Chapter Eight
“Get up, now! Out of bed.”
This is how he greets me. It’s some ungodly hour before dawn and the barn is dark, save one small light above the door to Ian’s private room. The cool morning air is thick with the scent of dew. Usually it’s Ian raising me from a sound sleep, but I get the master this morning. I open my eyes, startled, and bolt from bed, thinking that something is wrong. I stand at attention with my arms behind me, staring straight forward like I did at the garden party.
“Ian tells me you’re not eating enough,” Benjamin abruptly blurts out. “He thinks you’re losing weight.”
“Oh, no, sir, I’m sure I’m not!”
“And one good look at you, I say you are. Why are you not eating? The food may look a mess, but it doesn’t taste bad. I know because most days I’m the one wh
