Chapter 45
Tessie gathered close to Kyran in the empty foyer of Arthur’s home. Kyran had led her unseen through a back entrance, where the rooms echoed with emptiness and the chill of unlit fires. There now, at the end of the hall, Arthur’s study door was open.
Still wearing his unbuttoned coat from the ball, Arthur flung his tie across the room. He finished the whisky in his glass and set it down. It was quiet. Unbearably so.
Rummaging in his drawers, he placed a bowl of oddly shaped clay marbles on the desk and rolled one, letting it topple onto the hardwood floor. He didn’t see them.
"What are you doing?" Kyran finally spoke. He stood neatly dressed, though his complexion was washed out and pale. Tessie stood beside him, her arms folded in a guarded brace. This was her final stand,
