Chapter Thirteen
Casia slept beside her handmaiden, Katleen, taking some solace from the woman who loved and despised her equally. They nurtured an unsettled friendship in the hours they were together, then had it ripped apart when Casia was required by Titus for s*x. At night, when they were together, they held each other tightly to their bosoms, sometimes crying softly for what they missed. This night they were close, Katleen’s body fitting the contour of Casia’s, her front side against her lady’s back.
The air was cool. A blanket covered their shoulders. All around them there was silence, deep and sonorous; the whole castle was sleeping peacefully.
When the lock on the door began to rattle, Katleen was the first to stir. When it rattled again, Casia was pulled from her dreams, and
