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"Do you knoe’ve been brought here?" I asked "Conner said he has a plan"

"If I knew, it wouldn’t be my place to say it" Errol’s eyes darted around as he spoke

"You don’t have to tellI wanted was to make Errol afraid to talk to me "I was just curious"

"All we hear as servants are rumors and bits of the whole story," Errol said "You couldn’t trust the little I knoay"

"No," I agreed, then changed the subject "How long have you served Conner?"

"I cao"

So he wasn’t much older than me And yet he addressedoff a debt to him?"

"My family’s debts Perhaps another ten years, then I’ll be free to go"

"Do you like it here?"

Errol nodded "If you do what Conner wants, he’s a good master"

"What if you don’t do what he wants?"

"Conner sent a er ahead I heard about you" Errol smiled and added, "I fear you may find out the answer to that question for yourself"

That et anyvery clear what happens to those who cross him"

"Yes, sir" Errol stopped at a door "You’ll share a bedroom with the other boys, but your bath will be in here" He opened the door to reveal a nice-size roo The decorations here were soft and fe quarters, so I assuuest room I was tempted to throw iven how dirty I was, they’d probably have to burn the bed afterward

Errol tugged at my shirt to prompt me to undress for the bath, but I jumped away from hiain "If you will pardon the observation, sir, it doesn’t appear that you bathe at all"

I laughed "Well, I won’t start by having my bath with co you to supper as clean as a nobleman’s son I’ll wait outside if you wish, but when you come out, if you are not that clean, we’ll return to that bath again I obey theas he closed the door

"You can relax out there," I called to him "I’ll be a while"

I looked for a way to lock the door but found none So I dragged a heavy chair to the door and braced it beneath the door handle

The room had abalcony at the back of the house I tiptoed out onto it and looked around A gardener orking below me, but his head was bent down to the flowers Probably not a great risk of hi up The exterior of Conner’s ho each floor It was a long fall to the ground, but there were a lot of ways toainst the outside wall Bracing ers into the crevice of another rock and cli my name when I returned to the rooh to have a look over Conner’s grounds forfor me