Chapter 118

• Slow down.”
• I chuckle, breathless but amused, as I catch up to Ruth, who’s practically jogging ahead of me with her braid bouncing behind her. She throws me a quick grin over her shoulder, eyes alight with mischief.
• Ruth pitches a sudden right, her shoulder brushing the chipped wall as she turns down a narrow hallway that leads us toward the servants’ back stairwell. The moment we step in, the air changes. Gone is the polished scent of wood polish and lavender soap that usually clings to the estate; here, the air is dense, still, and filled with the scent of old dust and neglect.