Rosamund.
The main hall had been stripped of yesterday's decorations. There were no flowers on the staircase, no ribbons on the bannister, and no candle. Just the long oak table pushed to one side, and the household staff lined along the walls, and a thin, bespectacled man in a dark coat standing at the far end holding a leather-bound register.
He was the magistrate.
I scanned the room. Mrs Harlow stood near the door. The maids who had dressed me had retreated to the back. Jennifer had positioned herself near the window, watching everything with an amused smile.
Then I saw Fanny.
She stood at the back near the wall with the other maids. Our eyes met for half a second, then she looked away, not before I saw the hurt in her eyes.
Tears welled in my eyes, and I wished I could communicate my thoughts to her right now and tell her it wasn't my intention to leave without her.
"My lady," Clyde appeared at my side, offering his arm. "Allow me."
