und

e shadows of my ow

pine needles from the surrounding forest. The ceremony had concluded an hour ag

et had just bound h

aced, my feet making no sound on the stone path

tting in a worn armchair by a low fire, her head bowed. She d

er lips, and the color drained from her face. "Master Edmund," she wh

I said, my voice

mouth, stifling a sob, and years of discipline took over. She rose, her

all she c

hunt them," I explained briefly. "I have little time. Tell

composed herself. She recounted the events of the past few days with brisk efficienc

your legacy, she said. To preserve the main bloodline's dignity. She faced down Meredith and Bla

d the storm my family had created, but had harnessed it, turning their public humi

this evening," Clara finish

g killers, living in the shadows, and I had a

u know of h

th in her I did not expect," Clara said. "B

er Dawson had painted a target on her back. The traitors I was hunting would see her as a loose

woman who had married a ghost was a foo

to see he

n alarm. "Master Edmun

r right now is being my widow,"

oyalists... they might send instructions. You will give this woman your complete support. Protec

breathed, her l

e shadows of the corridor, my dest

unexpected wif