When all was made ready for the return of the knights, Melissande returned to the solar, hoping she could see something of what happened at the mill from the high windows. She bolted the door behind herself, leaving the solar in darkness as she crossed to the window. The new moon meant the night was dark and she wanted to see whatever could be discerned. There was no lantern lit in the solar and the brazier, which had been stirred up when she had first come to bed, was now nigh cold. Only a coal or two glowed faintly orange within it.
When she looked toward the mill, there was only the silence of the night. The bonfire had been doused. She could not hear a single sound of battle, but she did hear men’s voices. She leaned out the window as she spotted lights on the road to the mill. A part
