The execution was set for nine in the morning.
Bennett arrived early.
It was not because he wanted to watch... he had seen enough in his years of journalism to know that executions were not events, they were endings, and endings were only interesting for what they revealed about everything that had come before them. He came early to find out more of the story.
He had two journalists with him and a photographer. They positioned themselves at the edge of the designated viewing area... close enough to work, far enough to move if they needed to.
The square was full.
Word had spread faster than anyone planned, in more directions than anyone could contain. People had come from every district. Some of them were familiar faces from the ball. Most were not. The common thread was that all of them had an opinion about the Hartwell family and the deposed queen, and an execution was a formal opportunity to have it confirmed.
