Chapter 41
Loretta sipped her cafei and nodded at the appropriate pauses, letting her grandmother's words wash over her. She wasn't awake enough to interact, but she didn't want to be rude. She'd worked out how to appear interested many years ago.
Her back ached and her arms trembled from dragging two bodies out to her conventional cellar and dumping them inside. Her arm felt swollen and tender where Bess had helped her bandage it properly before she went home. Long sleeves kept it from her grandmother’s eyes. When she reached out to pour herself yet another cup, a bit of Gemma's chatter broke through.
"Is your guard quite all right?" she said. "The young woman out front?"
"My guard? Gemma, what are you talking about?"
"I know, I know. I'm not supposed to know anything about that. But
