He was used to being left on his own. There were times when his previous master had left him caged up for days on end, the isolation perforated only by the help who fed him and took him to the bathroom occasionally. And that was easy to cope with. What Darcy found more difficult was being left to his own devices when others were at home.
Romain was at home today, he was working. The slave had tried to keep busy and out of his master's hair, but he was bored. Everything bored him. He wanted to be with Romain.
Wearing an oversized sweater and a pair of thick over the knee socks, Darcy wandered into Romain's study and looped his arms around his master's neck. At one time he would have hovered in the doorway, awaited permission to interrupt, but now he knew better. He knew where his boundaries were, and he knew his master wouldn't mind him visiting.
With his hair plaited into two braids like a milkmaid, Darcy rested his chin against his master's shoulder and looked up at him. "Are you very old, master?" Romain wanted him to start asking questions; today seemed like a good day to try that out.