I was not able to return to the village for several more days in fear of seeing Nicolae. Dorian has thankfully not sent Sean to escort me to dinner with him either. I have meals brought to me by Sean, which I am growing rather tired of. After the third day I dressed in a long sleeve dress of black and white silk to cover the still remaining bruises from where Nicolae had groped me. I made my way to the kitchen. I have never come to the room that adjoined the dining room knowing to it was the last room I saw Robert in. Even now, as I enter the space, I remember his body being drained here by Alina. I brush the memory away.
I look around and note an old wooden fired stove smells like fresh bread. Freshly plucked strawberries are in a bowel for some kind of snack or dessert presentation mea
