Well head down through the villages along this route, Zia said, sweeping south until we come to the coast. Then well head west, and north.

And how long will this take? Lenore asked. Have we arranged supplies for all of it?

Orianne was doing that, Zia said. She looked around. Im not sure where she is today. She said that someone had come she needed to talk to.

Im sure she has a good reason, Lenore said. Orianne was one of the women who had been by her side the longest, the daughter of a minor noble house whose parents had decided that the best thing to do was to send her to serve beside a princess. Zia was the same, but had only been with Lenore a few months. Orianne would be the one Lenore trusted with most of the details.

Im sure she does, Zia agreed, because Lenore refused to allow her maids to backbite or try to play politics within her circle. She dismissed those who did not help one another as well as her.

They kept going with the preparations, and even with most of it in place, it still seemed that there was a mountain of things to do. They would need wagons for the journey and drivers, sufficient clothes for all weather and an idea of the concerns of each village and region so that Lenore would not appear ignorant of them as she rode through. Then for the wedding itself, there were still issues with the precedence of the seating, and the exact details of the feast, the choice of the entertainers songs, and

Your highness!

Lenore turned at the sound of Oriannes voice. The maid was approaching with another woman beside her, and this one wasnt dressed for the royal court. Oh, her clothes were expensive enough, almost on par with Oriannes, but there was something about the cut and the style that spoke of lasciviousness and sensuality in a way that Lenore would never have permitted among those around her.

The woman herself was older than Lenore, perhaps thirty, with jet-black hair curling past her shoulders and a rouge-tinged smile that seemed to be mocking the world. She offered a curtsey before Lenore, but even the way she did that was a far cry from the innocent elegance of the court.

Orianne? Lenore said. Who is this?

Your highness, her maid said, this is someone to whom I sometimes go for information.

Meredith, mistress of the House of Sighs, the woman said, straightening up and not waiting to be introduced.

Lenores breath caught at that. Youve brought a… a whore into my chambers?