The residence attendant asked whether I would receive Nyx.
For a moment, I thought he had confused the name with the copying office that still owed me a reply. Then I saw her beyond his shoulder, waiting where visitors were supposed to wait.
She had been gone from my table long enough that I had stopped arranging a place for her.
"Yes," I said. "Here, or the public study room?"
"The study room."
She chose the table near the door. I sat opposite and left the space beside her clear.
"This concerns Elara Thornecroft," she said.
The small ease I had felt at seeing her disappeared.
"What happened?"
"Nothing to her yet, as far as I can confirm. Someone booked a covered restraint cart for a collection tomorrow. The papers call it a private family transfer. The buyer asked whether the inner frame could be secured from outside."
She put a copied hire reference on the table. I didn't reach for it until she moved her hand away.
"How did you find it?"
