Lora moved through the wide halls of the mansion with the easy stride of someone simply taking the air. The rain from the night before had given way to pale sunlight that slanted through tall windows and pooled on the marble floors. Maids in crisp uniforms nodded as she passed, their smiles a fraction too quick, too bright. They knew she carried no real weight here, not yet, but favor was currency in a house like this, and they spent it carefully.
"Miss Rose, the gardens are lovely this time of day," one ventured, pausing with a stack of linens in her arms. "If you'd like, I could have tea brought out."
