Chapter 139

Lucette had thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but she was so tired that she’d fallen into a deep and thankfully dreamless sleep the moment her head had hit the pillow, after Ariston ’s housekeeper had shown her to her room.

When she awoke, it was dark and the room was chilly. The curtains were open to the night sky. Lucette rolled over in bed, feeling disorientated and muzzy-headed, as if she were suffering from jet lag or a hangover, or both. She heard a knock on the door, an urgent rat-a-tat-tat that made her think it was not the first knock.

She rose from the bed, pushing her hair out of her face, and went to answer the door.

The housekeeper, Maria, stood there with a tray of food. The salad, bread, and lentil soup looked and smelled delicious, but Lucette ’s stomach roiled all the same. She didn’t think she could manage a mouthful.

"Efharisto," she murmured, and reached out to take the tray.

But Maria would have none of it. She shook her head and bustled into the room, sett