The morning air held a damp chill that had nothing to do with the weather. Delia stood on the front step of her grandfather's modest house, her heart a cold, heavy stone in her chest. Before her, a young woman with a worried face was wringing her hands in the apron of her work dress. She was Nora, the girl hired to cook and clean for Baron Edgar.
"My grandfather is missing?" Delia asked, her voice quiet but sharp with disbelief. The words felt foreign and impossible.
Nora nodded, her eyes wide with concern. "Yes, Your Grace. I don't know what to think." She gestured down the quiet, respectable street. "The neighbors, the Cobbs, they said he went out late last night. They saw him leaving in a fine, dark carriage. They thought he was visiting you." Her voice trembled slightly. "I came this morning at the usual time to do my normal duties, and the house was empty. His bed wasn't slept in. I also couldn't find him."
