Chapter 26
The head of staff caught Callie just before she retired for the night, a stack of fresh blankets pressed into her arms along with brisk instructions.
"Take these up to Lady Nellie's room," the woman said, already turning to move on to her next task. "The nights have been cooler than expected, and we can't have an honored guest catching a chill under our roof, not with the ceremony so close."
"Yes, ma'am," Callie said, adjusting the blankets against her chest, grateful at least for a legitimate reason to visit the matriarch's room this time, something to say plainly if anyone questioned her later.
She made her way up the back staircase toward the guest wing, moving with the same careful, measured steps her second mentor had drilled into her, weight balanced light, breath even
