Candice's POV
Candice sat with the quiet of the room for a moment longer. Then she sighed and pushed herself out of the chair.
She opened her door.
Henrietta was standing right there in the corridor, hands clasped, back straight, with the particular expression of someone who had been waiting and had decided not to pretend otherwise.
Candice looked at her. "How long have you been standing there," she said.
Henrietta shrugged. "A few minutes before Sairis walked out," she said simply.
Candice looked at Sairis's door across the corridor. It was closed and the corridor was quiet.
Henrietta shook her head before Candice could ask. "He is not inside," she said. "He left the quarters after speaking with you."
Candice hummed and looked away. "You understand that what I did was necessary," she said. It came out somewhere between a statement and a question. "Sairis has to leave if my marriage with the regent is going to work out."
