When she woke the next morning, he was gone as usual. She sat up slowly. The room felt too quiet. For a moment, she pressed her face into the pillow, feeling foolish for what she told Austin yesterday. Then she pushed herself up and walked to the mirror.
She had looked at herself in mirrors before. But never in his room. The woman staring back at her had dark circles under her eyes, her hair messy, looking defeated and exhausted.
She looked exactly like what she was: a bed warmer with no money, no title, and no strong allies. A woman who had promised Austin she would not be married off but had no idea how to keep that.
She turned away, sat at his desk and opened a notebook, writing three names.
Lord Ashby, Lady Talbot and Evelyn.
That was all she had. An old scholar who saw everything but said nothing. A merchant's wife with a network stretching beyond the castle walls and a kitchen maid who knew the castle's secrets.
