Carrick's eyes flicked to Hermes at the soft endearment. Ordinarily he would have spoken sharply, warning the boy that he would not permit any slave to address him without the proper form of address, but even he realised that this would be an inappropriate moment for disciplinary matters.
He was mildly surprised at the news that he was thought of as fickle, but he waited patiently until Hermes ha finished his story.
"You're a precious thing, Hermes," the vampire said softly. "Not merely for your beauty, your cleverness, your undeniable talents in the bedroom. To keep you merely as a bedslave would be like never drawing a sword from its scabbard, You're sharp and keen and bright. You know how to make someone's heart sing."
He waited a moment, then suggested something that he'd been considering for while. "When you've finished learning to read English, I'm going to teach you French. Maybe a couple of other languages. Not Greek just yet - the alphabet is completely different. But I would like you to be able to read the classics in their original language. And we have plenty of time."
Carrick hoped that his last comment could underscore his promise that Hermes was not to be sold or otherwise disposed of.