Farryn worked silently, then escaped the kitchen as soon as she could. She peeked back into the nursery, where all three children and Iris were still asleep. She left again. She felt pretty aimless. Nothing to do. That was a rarity. Farryn was rarely ever bored.

As she crossed the main entrance to do a lap of the first floor, she noticed people outside the window. She stopped, making sure she was hidden by the curtains before peeking out.

Lady Trison stood with a tall, bald-headed man, her arm intertwined with his. Her husband? A girl with shiny blonde hair had her face buried in Lady Trison's humongous sleeve, and with her free hand she rubbed the girl's back. The man who hung back appeared slightly uncomfortable, and kept trying to pull the girl away.

Farryn kept watching as the girl finally pulled away, wiping away tears. She was in black. Funeral garb? But who would still be mourning the heir after this long? Or was she mourning someone else?

"Lady Cordelia." Farryn almost jumped out of her skin, but it was just the boy. "Stop doing that!" she hissed, annoyed, turning back to the window. "Doing what?" "Stop... just stop. Who is she?" "His fiancée." The girl- Cordelia- was now hanging off the arm of the man she had come with. "The one Nevan was engaged to."

She turned to him. "Nevan?" a servant, calling the heir so casually. By his first name.

The boy looked away. "My apologies. Lord Trison." his gaze dropped to the floor, but Farryn stared at him for a moment longer before turning back to the window.

I'll deal with that later.

Now, Lady Trison and her husband were joining Cordelia and the man with her as they climbed into a large carriage. "The funeral rites are still going on." the boy sniffed. "That's why the kitchens are so busy." "Where are they going?" "I wouldn't know." "Will they be... back soon?" The boy fell quiet. "Why?" "I just wondered." Farryn peeled herself away from the glass, wiping her hands on her skirts. "I have that information for you, by the way. The names." "What are they?"

She paused before responding. "What's your name?" he frowned. "Why do you need to know that?" "I don't know who you are. I'd like a name." "I'd like several. And it seems you need those names." "You need them too."

Farryn groaned internally. She didn't have time for all this arguing. "Fine." "My name is Claud." "I don't care anymore. The names were Marla, Madelyn and Mara."

Claud tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know. Any of them could be..." "That doesn't help me." she hissed, barely biting back her frustration. "I need the name."

"But what do you plan to do with it?" he asked. He was tapping his foot against the side of the wall and the noise was driving her crazy. She stepped away, rubbing her ears. "tell me when you can be useful." she snapped. As she stormed away guilt welled in her stomach. It sounded like something Serval would say.

When she got back to the nursery, Iris was awake, sitting with Luisa, who was quietly playing with her dolls. She told her to go and wash some dirty clothes and nappies, and as Farryn hurried to do so she marvelled at the peace. Had her own home been like this? Had her mother sat with her on lazy afternoons, watching her play? She couldn't remember.

She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed until her fingers were raw, and then she joined Iris and the triplets as they went on a walk. Farryn's mind drifted from thing to thing, and just as they went down the path with the huge Surn tree, it hit her.

She tripped over a root, and Iris pulled the pram to a stop. "Are you well?" "Ow." she hissed, hopping up. She held one foot off the ground. "I've scraped up my knee," she said.

"Go get yourself cleaned up. Hurry back. Honestly Felicia, if you keep slacking off like this I'll cut your pay." You most definitely will not. "Thank you, Ma'am. I'll be right back."

She hurried back into the building, into her room. Her knee was fine, but she needed to look at those documents again.

She shut the door and lay all three of them out. Madelyn. No picture, but it said she had a mole under her left eye. She didn't have any moles. Everyone had compared her round, pale face to a pearl. So it couldn't be her.

Marla, the girl who had FIRED on her file. There were no details like that, and she held up Marla and Mara's files, staring at them, re-reading, as though she'd somehow find something else. Well. The revelation wasn't all that amazing. But still, she'd narrowed it down. Down to two now.

She put the files away; under her mattress- and hurried back outside to join Iris. "May I go down into town on payday?" she asked. "Do whatever you want." she sighed. "Thank you."

They finished the last leg of their walk, because Luis was getting antsy, squabbling with his brother and sister in the pram. Farryn pulled him out and held him on her hip as the cogs in her mind began to spin. She would wait till the end of the week, and then she'd try to get further.

They re-entered the manor and Iris sent Farryn to fetch the childrens' lunch. She jumped at the chance, hoping to see Luli. Sure enough, she was there, sitting with a girl in the corner, both of them scrubbing potatoes and then dumping them in a metal bucket.

She looked up and noticed Farryn, and dropped the potato and brush so suddenly it sent water splashing. Farryn didn't even try to pull away, even though Luli's hands were wet and would get her dress even dirtier. She just stood there, stunned. Because she didn't remember the last time someone had been excited to see her.

"Luli." she said, her voice breaking. "Will you come with me into town, later this week? I'll buy you some candy." "Are we going to find the second best pie-er?" "Maybe. I hope so. It's a step to finding her." Luli just buried her face in Farryn's skirt, like she didn't even need to hear the answer. "As long as I get some pie."