He did not send for her at a civilized hour.
The knock came late, long after the house had gone still. Long after Elaine had peeled the frightened woman off and hung her where she could be found again.
She had her back on before the third knock finished.
The woman in gray waited in the corridor with a candle and no expression.
"He's waiting."
Elaine stepped into the corridor and turned toward his study.
The woman in gray stopped her.
"He wants to see you on the west terrace."
They went down a staircase she had not yet counted and through a door she had not yet marked, and Elaine added both to the map she kept behind her eyes, even as the cold came in to meet her.
The terrace opened onto nothing. Beyond the stone rail, the mountain fell away into black, and the wind came up the fac
