Chapter 23 The Winter Judge Arrives

• She came a day early.
• The road was still soft with the previous night's snow when the carriage appeared. I saw it from the kitchen window—a black lacquered coach with silver trim and two matched gray horses. It moved slowly, deliberately, like a predator that knew its prey had nowhere to run.
• I set down my knife and wiped my hands on my apron. My heart beat steady, but my stomach tightened. I had been preparing for six days, testing recipes, cleaning every corner of the inn until it gleamed. I thought I would have one more day.