Chapter 78

　　I sat at the table as he added berries to the bowls and then sat across from me.

　　“Thank you for the meal, and for letting me stay,” I said to him, trying to remember my manners and forget my wanton inclinations.

　　The violet eyes met mine across the tabletop. I wondered what manner of brethren he was. He was not a man, in the common meaning of the word. He had told me that much himself. Male. Oh, very definitely male, but not mankind. He ate quickly and neatly, with indifference to the heat of the food.

　　“When you are done,” he stood, leaving the bowl on the table. “Clean the pot and the dishes and return them to their places.”

　　I ate much slower than he, as the food was too hot for my tongue. When I was done, I regarded the dirty dishes and the kitchen feeling overwhelmed. Clean the pot and the dishes, he had said. It sounded so simple, and I understood the concept, but not how such things were done.