The Duke Hadn’t Laughed Since the War

and could not, for a full breath, name—low and sudden, unguarded, cut off almost before it was finished.

Then, silence, and the ordinary weight of Ashveil settling back over itself. She stood very still.

She did not know yet what that sound would mean by Michaelmas. Had she known, she would not have moved a single linen from the shelf.

Her name was Constance continue reading …