Lady Northcott appeared in my doorway, a pile of gowns in her hand. “I hope I’m not disturbing you,” she said, holding up the dresses. “I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t bring much in the way of clothes. I thought maybe we could recut some of these. I fear that eventually we’ll have to go to court, and I thought it might make you more comfortable if you had . . . not that there’s anything wrong with your clothes! It’s just . . . oh dear.”

I walked over, placing a hand on her shoulder. “This is very thoughtful. Thank you. I happen to be handy with a needle, and it will do me good to have something to focus on.”

She let out a sigh that spoke of a lifetime of sadness. “We’ve lost so many over the years, and I still never know what to say to those left behind.”

I shook my head. “I’ve never gone through anything like this. . . . Does it get any easier?”

She pressed her lips together in a tight, sad smile. “I wish I could tell you yes.” She rebalanced the dresses in her hands. “There’s good light in the drawing room. Do you want to come with me?”

I nodded.

“Very good. Let me just go get Scarlet and Etan. It’s been too long since we’ve all been in the same room.”

Annoyed, I followed her into the hallway.

The air in the room was unmistakably tense. Etan was on the prowl, scowling and shooting glances at the door like he was waiting for an appropriate time to run. Scarlet, too, was clearly counting the moments until she could escape, and Mother was speaking to Lord Northcott in hushed tones, making plans they weren’t quite ready to share.

“Those two have always been plotters,” Lady Northcott said, noting my stare.

“Plotters? What are they working on?” I kept looking between her and them. She was struggling to get a thread into the eye of the needle, and I watched as she adorably stuck her tongue out a bit as she focused. “Here,” I offered. “I’ll thread, you can pin.”

I glanced up to see Etan walking behind her, glowering as he watched us. My hands weren’t nearly as steady when he looked at me like that. His eyes landed on the ring on my right hand, the one that Mother had given me. It had belonged to Jedreck, and it had been passed down through the Eastoffe family over the generations.

He didn’t think I should have it, and, for that matter, neither did I. But I wore it with love. Receiving that ring had saved her life and mine.

“Thank you, dear girl. Oh, they’re working on the same thing they’re always working on. They—”

“Mother . . .” Etan looked between her and me hesitantly. “Are you sure you should be telling her this?”

She sighed. “My darling boy, she’s in the thick of it now. I don’t think we can keep her in the dark.”