Dinnertime was the only time of day when Salomon and the two Witches gathered around the table. At all other times, they were in the bedroom, on the balcony, in the bathroom, the hall, the alchemy laboratory, or the clearing in the woods. They clung to one another nearly every moment, seeking the perfect union of spirit and flesh—though in truth, they had achieved it long ago, and the ritual could begin at any time. Yet neither the Witches nor Salomon brought it up, as if what they had done was still far from enough. Every time Dinah finished preparing a meal, she had to hike up her maid's skirt and run through the manor in high heels to find her masters, like a nanny chasing after children to feed them. Between preparing meals and desserts with the Sisterhood's maid staff, she also had to feed the bear cubs frolicking through the woods and chase away the lambs always trying to enter the garden. The adorable little sheep with their short white wool got along remarkably well with the plump brown bear cubs.
As the manor's actual manager, Dinah knew they were conspiring together to destroy every last patch of lawn.
The bear cubs wanted the honey in the garden, while the lambs wanted to taste the tulips, roses, and lilies in the greenhouse. But every evening, Dinah thwarted their plot right on schedule. She grabbed the bear cubs by the scruff of their necks and gently herded the lambs out of the garden with her feet. The little animals never gave up, returning in force every morning.
Though others might have thought their sovereign was indulging in pleasure a little too much, Dinah, as his personal maid, knew that intelligence from the City of Immortals and Kamar-Taj still flowed