The first sign that something had shifted came from Helen, who found Elena in the kitchen the next morning with an expression Elena hadn't seen on her before, careful, guarded, the look of someone deciding how to deliver bad news.
"There was a man here yesterday afternoon," Helen said, keeping her voice low even though they were alone. "While you and Alexander were both out at the garden. He came to the service entrance, said he was doing a routine check for one of the security companies the estate uses."
"Was he," Elena asked. "One of the real ones?"
"No," Helen said. "I checked after he left. None of the companies we actually use sent anyone yesterday. And when I asked him for identification, he left before I could get a good look at it."
Elena felt a chill settle over her, the warmt
