The silence that followed was stifling. The girl let her eyes drop, her mouth clamped shut as if the very question was forbidden. She shook her head at last. "We… we do not speak of such things."
Serena's heart tightened. "Please. I must know."
Another maid who was passing by halted. She, too, stood frozen at what Serena had said. "My lady, it would be wiser to let the past lie," she whispered, her voice verging almost on a supplication. "Some truths bring no solace."
The evasive responses hardened Serena further. She continued, beginning with one maid and then another, her eyes seeking the slightest glimmer of a gap in their silences. One blanched, one shook her head, the other made hasty excuses. They were scared, their refusal absolute.
But finally, one of the older maids was left b
