Chapter 47

The countess recited with a smirking dimple to her ruddy cheek that misled she was well conscious of the spell she cast. "So what do you desire of me, Norman?"

"My boss believes my painting of you may be of interest to our art enthusiasts in the North, madam."

"Ah, Knight Ambrose? I cannot fathom why he should be interested in me; I am, after all, just an ordinary far. Did he send you to spy on me? You won't get anything from me other than a boring mint tea, those rumours were really ridiculous. I am just a maiden waiting for her knight in shining armour. I have led a simple life, albeit for a very long time. What do you need to know?"

Norman nodded in agreement; this maiden seemed to be hopeless and naive, a damsel in distress indeed. He swallowed a lamp and smiled. A glamorous and desirable damsel, he thought. But he has a job, and he might as well kill two birds with one stone. He rummaged out his wax tablet; a piece of parchment paper waxed and tied together into a bu