A faint line of smoke rose from the chimney, and I was both pleased and surprised that the ladies had thought to build a fire without me. I came up the steps, slick with new rime, and made note to throw down some salt. It was early afternoon, but the sky was already fading. I opened the door quietly in hopes that I could move through the house unnoticed. The only smudge of light I could see flickered from the parlour. As I was about to take the back stairs, I heard, “Oh, Miss Jüül?” I went toward the voice. There were no lights on, and the fire was struggling. “You’ll help me with stoking this?”
I was astonished to see Ofelia out of bed, standing. At first, I thought she had cinched a robe tightly around her, but when she turned as I came closer, I saw that she was wearing one of the gow
