Catherine -
Dawn came like a judgment, pale and cold and entirely too final. I stood at my bedroom window, watching the sun struggle through October clouds, and tried to memorize the view—the garden where I'd played as a child, the stable where Chester whickered his morning greeting, the oak tree Jamie had fallen from last summer and broken his arm.
In an hour, I'd leave this place forever. The thought sat in my chest like a stone, heavy and immovable and somehow unreal despite the packed trunk at my feet.
The trunk itself was a exercise in brutal practicality. One traveling case to hold everything I'd need for the rest of my life—however long that might be. Three dresses, including the blue wool from Father's mysterious windfall. Undergarments, stockings, a single pair of good shoes. M
