Jasmine was nursing Pyotr and the former Lord Lake when soldiers knocked on Simon’s door. Simon opened the door.
“How may I help you?” he asked the rebel soldier on the doorstep.
“We need to speak to your son’s wet nurse.”
“Jasmine? You may come in, she is nursing right now.” Simon stood to the side, allowing the soldiers to file in. The soldier who seemed to be the head of the three men stepped closest to Jasmine. Jasmine quickly cast her gaze downwards, trying to be demure.
“Young woman, a nobleman has gone missing,” the head soldier said. Jasmine looked up at him, feigning shock. Her perfectly plump, rosy lips parted in a small ‘o’. “He is known as Lord Lake.”
“Lord Lake…the name is familiar,” Jasmine said vaguely. She tried to tamp down her nerves and prayed they wouldn’t show.
“It should be,” said the head soldier roughly. “We have witnesses who claim to have seen him with you. In fact, the last time he was seen, he was escorting you somewhere.”
“Oh, right! Yes, Lord Lake was his name,” Jasmine said, smiling. One of the soldiers rolled his eyes. In her confusion settling in as her role, she had managed to come off as a rather slow and ditzy young woman, but that was to her benefit. It allowed her time to come up with a lie. “Yes, I recall him.”
“What was the nature of your encounter with him?” asked the head soldier.
“He approached me outside the seamstress’s shop and asked me to do him a boon,” Jasmine lied, thinking quickly. “The Lordling informed me that he had plans to flee his structured, stifled life.” When she had been Prince Jasper, Lord Lake would tell him about how he hated the demands of his noble title. Hopefully, he still held those thoughts.
“That was a concern his father voiced when he disappeared,” one of the soldiers murmured to the head soldier. The head soldier nodded.
“Why would he tell a wet nurse this?” the head soldier asked Jasmine.
“He had impregnated a married woman, and the woman refused to keep the child. As I am the only wet nurse in town, he intended to give the babe to me to tend to.” Simon looked surprised, but stayed quiet. “The Lordling commanded me not to tell anyone what had happened. But of course, I cannot lie to one of the brave soldiers who helped to remove the royalists!”
“Did Lord Lake offer you payment in exchange for tending to the child from his seed?” the head solder asked. Jasmine shook her head. The head soldier laughed. “Yes, that is what Lord Lake would have done. May I see the babe?”
“Yes, you may.” Jasmine carefully detached the former Lord Lake from her breast and held the babe out. The soldier took the babe from her.
“Hmm. Yes, she does have his hair, his eyes, and his nose. This is undoubtedly Lord Lake’s child.” The head soldier returned the babe to Jasmine. The former Lord Lake hungrily latched back onto Jasmine’s breast.
“Am I in trouble?” asked Jasmine.
“No. Your story passes muster. We will discuss with the Lordling’s family what to do with his child. For now, you may continue to feed her.”
“But of course,” Jasmine said, bowing her head.
“Thank you for your cooperation, young woman and good sir,” the head soldier said. Simon bowed his head as well. With that, the soldiers left. When the door closed, Simon looked at Jasmine.
“You lied about where the babe came from?” he hissed. Jasmine shifted her hold on Pyotr.
“I had no choice. I did not wish to anger a strange man, much larger than I,” she said. Simon paled. He nodded silently.
“I understand. This is a harsh world for a young woman, particularly one of your beauty. You must protect yourself however you can.” Simon ran a hand through his hair. “I wonder what the Lordling’s family will do with the babe. Whatever they decide, I hope they compensate you for your work in tending to his child. You have been doing a fine job, girl.”
“Thank you, Master,” Jasmine said. Simon went outside to do work, leaving Jasmine alone with the babes. She stroked the former Lord Lake’s wispy hair. “I certainly hope your parents are as generous with me as I have been to you,” she whispered to the babe. “After all, I could have left you lying in the street, but I took you to safety and have been treating you as my own.”
The former Lord Lake made a face that caused Jasmine to sigh. She recognized it. She would have to change the former Lordling’s diaper.