As a final step, he fastened his mother’s timepiece to his waistcoat. As usual, it felt heavier than its size suggested it should. He opened it and watched the fourth face cycle through images of the places he had most recently been. As none of them were in any manner whatsoever good memories, he snapped the watch shut.
Well, his future would be better than his past.
He and Katarina had spent every moment of three days planning, and surely there was nothing left to be said, but he went to formally take leave of her anyway.
Her bedchamber was dim in the autumn twilight, raw and chill from the fog that seeped through every crack in the walls and window. The candle on the bedside table guttered, and the constant gasper smoldered on the plate: a fuzz of gold and a dot of red in the midst of
