There was a knock on her door. “Julianna, are you in there?” It was Lady Linville. She came to her stepdaughter’s room so rarely that Julianna felt a flash of panic when she heard her voice. It was the only reason she rose from the chair she’d been sitting in all afternoon. The sun was setting, she noticed with surprise, and her room was awash in shadows. She hurried to the door and threw it open. “Is something wrong?” Lady Linville breathed a sigh of relief and clenched her hands together in front of her. “That is what your father and I were wondering.” “I beg your pardon?” The baroness peered around her. “Why is it so dark in your room? Are you ill?” Julianna shook her head. “No, no I’m not ill. I was just resting. I’m very tired today.” At that her stepmother gently but insistently pushed past Julianna and found a taper and lit it. She located two lamps and lit them as well. The shadows were dispelled immediately, and Lady Linville walked briskly over to the windows and shut the curtains.
