“I would just like to take a moment to welcome Justin to our table and thank him for joining us,” the butler said. “I think I speak for everyone when I say good luck tonight with his lordship, and please take good care of him. We may only be his employees, but he treats us like family, and we feel the same about him.”

In the silence that followed, all eyes turned to Justin, like they expected him to say something.

“Um...Thank you for inviting me to eat with you, and I will do my very best to do whatever his lordship needs me to do. Whatever that is,” he said, earning a few chuckles from down the table. Harold smiled at him and picked up a platter of roast beef, which seemed to be the cue for everyone to dig in. Azidi passed him a basket of warm rolls, then a dish of potatoes and carrots.
Justin took a little of everything, but he was careful not to fill his plate as full as he wanted to. All of this rich food after so many months of near starvation could easily make him sick. As he ate, he glanced around the table, looking down to the far end to see who was seated there, but the chair was empty. He nudged Azidi.

“Who usually sits there?” he asked, pointing with his knife.

“Oh, nobody,” the faerie said, pausing to take a sip of his wine. “We leave that chair empty for his lordship. Once in a while, he’ll join us after the sun goes down for a glass of wine. He’s really quite lonely, you know, even if he tries not to let it show.”

“So, is there any truth to what that kid said, that I’m a whore-d’oeuvre?” Justin asked, forcing a chuckle, like he thought it a joke. Azidi laughed with him.

“Of course not,” he said. “His lordship won’t bite you or screw you, so you can just relax and have a good time.”

“Yeah, I’ll try,” Justin said with a sigh. “Any idea why not? Is there...you know, something wrong with him?”

Azidi took a long drink of his wine, glancing covertly up and down the table, as if to make sure no one was listening. He leaned close to Justin, his voice low when he spoke. “I don’t know if it’s true, and …