Free Every Whispered Word by Karyn Monk

doesn’t understand how he is expected to behave here.”
    â€œZareb isn’t my servant, Elliott,” Camelia pointed out. “He was my father’s friend, and he has devoted his life to looking after me. He would never have let me come to London by myself.”
    â€œHe was your father’s native servant,” Elliott countered emphatically. “The fact that he and your father established some kind of strange friendship over the years doesn’t change what he is. Although I understand he’s fond of you, Camelia, Zareb doesn’t have the right to influence your decisions. You should never have brought him—or that ridiculous monkey or bird, either, for that matter. It only makes people talk, and I dislike it immensely when I hear the kinds of things they say.”
    â€œI’m not interested in what people say about me,” Camelia returned. “I couldn’t leave Zareb behind. And since I didn’t know how long we were going to be here, and there was no way of making poor Oscar understand that we would be coming back, I had no choice but to bring him here, too. If I had left him in Africa, he would have tried to follow me and ended up lost.”
    â€œFor heaven’s sake, Camelia, he’s a monkey. How on earth could he get lost in Africa?”
    â€œEven monkeys have homes, Elliott. Oscar’s home is with Zareb and me. If we had both left him, he would have felt abandoned, and he would have done everything possible to find us.” Her gaze shifted to the carpet, then snapped back up to Elliott. “Why don’t we go into the drawing room,” she suggested with sudden brightness, grabbing his arm, “where we can sit down while we wait for our tea?”
    Perplexed, Elliott glanced at the floor.
    â€œGood God!” he swore, leaping away from the orange-and-black snake slithering up his boot. “Camelia, stay back—it could be poisonous!”
    â€œOnly a little.” Camelia bent to pick up the two-and-a-half-foot-long creature. “Rupert is a tiger snake, so his venom isn’t particularly harmful to humans. I think he was just a little intrigued by your boots—normally, he likes to keep to himself.”
    Elliott regarded her incredulously. “Don’t tell me you brought him here as well.”
    â€œI didn’t actually intend to bring him—he slipped into one of my cases when I was packing. By the time I discovered him, we were already at sea. He hasn’t been any trouble, though. As long as he’s well fed and has a warm place to curl up, he’s perfectly content.”
    â€œI’m delighted to hear that,” Elliott managed, eyeing the snake warily.
    â€œThere now, Rupert, you stay in here with Harriet and behave yourself,” Camelia instructed, laying the bulbous-eyed snake on one of the faded velvet dining room chairs. “I’ll be back in a little while to give you some lunch.” She closed the dining room doors behind her, then led Elliott upstairs to the drawing room.
    â€œI’m worried about you, Camelia,” Elliott began as she seated herself on the sofa. “You simply cannot go on like this much longer.”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œLiving here in this house alone, with that wild menagerie of yours. People are talking about you. The things they are saying are not acceptable to me.”
    â€œFirst of all, I don’t live here alone. I live with Zareb.”
    â€œWhich is a problem. As an unmarried woman you shouldn’t be living here with a man, even if he is just your servant. It isn’t seemly.”
    Camelia refrained from pointing out yet again that Zareb was not her servant.
    â€œSeemly or not, that is my living situation. You know Zareb has been taking care of me since I was a little girl, Elliott, so I’m surprised that you would think that there is anything inappropriate about the fact that he still lives with me after all