After receiving a letter from the duke asking me to come immediately, I set off for the Dickens estate in the afternoon.
The weather was surprisingly gloomy — heavy leaden clouds stretched across the horizon, and the few rays of sunlight struggled to break through them, casting the road in cold silver hues.
All the way there, I had a vague, uneasy feeling. It wasn't anything specific — more like a slight but persistent feeling that something bad was waiting for me ahead. I tried to dismiss these thoughts, convincing myself that they were just the result of fatigue and overwork, but the shadow of anxiety still lingered.
Well, all these thoughts remained just empty guesses anyway. Until I found out what exactly the duke wanted to tell me, any anxiety would be pointless. I took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
Nevertheless, as soon as the carriage entered the estate, my strange premonition intensified. The first thing that struck me was the unusual silence.
