lthorne was no

of a black carriage near the edge of Crowswell Hill, speaking briefly to someone no one

left the m

was u

pigeons

e of elderberry cordial sat sweating in its glass, untouched. The wooden chair at the far end the Mayor's was con

and the only one who still wore ceremonial cuffs to ever

red. "The townsfolk will start

n taking notes no one asked for. "Mrs. Kemple cla

e blacksmith eloped with the

blessing,

id curses w

tching the square with unsettling stillness. His coat was perfectly buttoned,

You've been to the manor

ed a ledger two nights ago. The m

who

e gloves indoors. Smelled

t's too poetic for

e called me by my full name

d. "You told

I did

hort flashes, like a signal but no one in town claimed to hav

st leading up to the old mill road, and there was a mark o

tied to the iron hinge a

n gently, like

nce. A scandal from the coast. A vi

een meeting in secret long before his abse

ard it from a fishmonger's niece who overhear

uring tea into their chipped porcelain mugs. "At ni

distracted. The letter Olivia had handed her

nbridge negotiate with anyone? Our idea

r's seal with her thumb. Black wax.

"Still haven

ke the feel

pped. "You can always throw it into t

ead it and kn

's the fu

Then Lena said, "You're going to

mig

bout the art. Elias i

said

added with a smirk, "he squints lik

shades of twilight and candle waxElias read a passage from a half finished nov

tood at

yet. It sat in her coat pocke

gaze met hers across the room. It

t lin

e was stirring in Denbridge. Something tied to black wax, to secret