Chapter Two
The hotel was lush, luxurious even. It was touted as a fashionable spa now, although it had been in business since 1777 and had undergone many reinventions during its lifetime.
I wondered if it was an omen of things to come for my life as I once again followed the directions I’d been given perfectly, signing the logbook Tessa Neele before accepting my key. With my single, small suitcase and downcast eyes, I could tell from the furtive glances the desk clerk shot me he was wondering about the nature of the tragedy which had befallen me.
I had dressed simply for the occasion; a dark traveling suit, my skirt narrow and ending just above my ankles, the deep plum of my jacket highlighting the hollows under my eyes by design. I surely looked the part of some desperate maiden, dev
