Chapter 17: The Arrival of Guests

The weeks leading up to the ball passed with shocking speed. The manor transforms before Lavinia's eyes. It loses its gloomy facade and starts to come alive. The floors become finely polished and the windows are washed and open. Even the weather seemed to clear. The grey of the skies broke into a welcome flush.

For a time, Lavinia became Isaac's shadow. She acted as his personal assistant and constant aid. She woke and dressed him, ran errands through the day, and tried to blend into the household personnel. Isaac himself took on the role of director. He wielded the manor's staff as a precise tool, insisting that perfection was a baseline rather than a lofty goal.

The first family to arrive did so just a day before the Betrothal Ball. Lavinia was not quite sure what to make of them. They offered no family name and Isaac simply referred to them as shades.

They were definitely people, or at least they had been. They sported limbs and heads and bodies, but otherwise no disce