I reached a small southern town a month later.
It was far from Vesperton, far enough that no one had heard of the Ashford family or the name Cressida Bennett.
I used the money Victor had given me to rent a small apartment. It was modest but clean, with a sunny balcony that faced south.
My landlady was a kindhearted woman. When she learned I was alone, she asked whether I had come to stay with relatives.
I told her I had no family left and only wanted somewhere to settle down. She didn't press me for details. She simply sighed and said living alone wasn't easy for a young woman, then told me to come to her if I ever needed help.
I thanked her.
That night, I lay in an unfamiliar bed and listened to insects chirping outside the window.
No one summoned me in the middle of the night. No
