Despite her fatigue, Sara had a feeling she would be punished if she went back to bed.

She wandered over to Lily’s desk instead. The papers scattered across the surface were an odd collection of mathematical scratch work, copied quotations, and drawings.

The charcoal sketches were mostly flowers and birds. Sara admired them for a moment before moving on. She opened a small wooden box, expecting art supplies. Instead, a small pile of shiny gold coins were nestled among scattered jewels on a bed of velvet.

It was the most money Sara had ever seen. She ran her fingers through the coins, allowing them to sift around the box. The door opened behind her, and Sara jumped as a maid entered.

The maid kept her eyes downcast as she went about her chores. Sara stood there, wondering how to be friendly. At a loss, she took a single coin out the box and tucked it into her palm before approaching the maid.

The young woman was leaning over to tuck in the sheets. When she straightened up and saw her mistress standing beside her, she let out a small yelp.

“I’m sorry,” said Sara reflexively.

“No, I apologize, my lady,” said the maid. As she shook her head, her bobbed hair swung against round cheeks.

“What is your name?” asked Sara.

The maid gave a small curtsy and replied, “June, my lady.”

Sara tried to put on a gentle smile. “I have a gift for you,” she said as she pressed the gold coin into June’s trembling hand.

“Oh, my lady,” said June. “I cannot accept this.”

Sara wondered if a gold coin was too large to be a bribe.

Too late now, she thought. “Please, in exchange for this gift, can you tell me something?”

She could see June struggling. The maid was darting her eyes around the room and turning the coin over in her hand.

Sara tried again. “I just want you to tell me how the servants really feel about the duchy. Is that okay?”

“My lady…” June looked up at her mistress before flinching. As she continued to speak, she kept her gaze firmly fixed at Sara’s feet. “This is a lovely… gift, but I should not speak ill of my employers…”

“Please, June. I need to know.”

June shook her head. “I do not understand what you are asking…”

“Okay,” said Sara. “I’m just wondering… Are the maids happy? Do we pay you enough?”

“Um.” The maid hesitated. “The duke pays as well as any of the noble houses, and he treats us about the same…”

“So, like absolute shit?” asked Sara. The maid’s shocked face was adorable. “I mean, he pays poorly and beats you, but so do all the other nobles?”

The maid nodded meekly. “Can I please leave, my lady?”

“Yeah, June, you can go. Thank you,” said Sara. When the young woman tried to put the coin back into Sara’s hand, she shook her head. “You should keep that. It sounds like the duke isn’t very generous, right?”

The maid hurried out of the room, probably to hide the coin somewhere safe.

It was risky, bribing a random maid on a whim, but Sara was desperate to take action.

Hoping for inspiration, Sara picked up the diary from her bedside table. No one had accused her of prophecy or insanity yet, so Sara wasn’t concerned about hiding it.

Sara checked the desk calendar and opened the diary to an entry in the same week.

I do not understand why Henry humiliated me at Celia’s party. He paraded that ignorant bird around the room as if I was meant to be proud of him for his foolishness.

I wanted to spit upon his face, but instead, Lady Penelope spilled a cup of black tea on her cheap dress. Lady K cried and left the room, but the mood was spoiled and Henry would not speak to me.

Father did not attend dinner. Mother said that several manservants have quit.

She’d have to ask June if servants really had been quitting; damn, she should have read more of the diary sooner! In any case, she had started to track differences in Lily’s timeline to her own experiences.

She read ahead, looking for mention of the debutante ball she was supposed to attend with Prince Henry in a few days.

The spring debut season is upon us. I remember my own debutante, and it was so magical. I hope Henry intends to escort me the entire time. The dress we have prepared is my favorite yet…

Sara skipped past the gushing description of the blue-and-gold gown to the next entry.

The ball was a triumph. Henry was a gentleman. Lady Katrina was there, but escorted by a male cousin. How embarrassing!

Henry spent the entire night by my side. Rumors fly about how long we disappeared… Let them talk. I am his future wife, and together we are the future king and queen. Nothing we do can be wrong.

Remembering the prince’s heavy hand, Sara cringed at Lily’s devotion. She kept reading.

I am going to the market tomorrow with Princess Celia. A servant mentioned that the new trains will be running for the first time that day, and it would be very busy and difficult to shop. I told her to mind her own business.

Sara sat up a little straighter when she read those words. It was dated only a day before the entry about Celia’s injury and the riot.

Sara had no intention of stopping a riot, so she had to prevent Celia from going to the market on the day the trains started running. It was such a good opportunity to test Sara’s ability to change the flow of events that she felt a little suspicious of it.

She closed the diary as a different maid entered to dress her for dinner. Lily’s normal routine had been resumed.

That night, Sara found herself wanting to get Evren’s opinion on her plan. However, Sara only had fitful and dreamless sleep with no goddess in sight.

She felt oddly abandoned.