"Why did he tell us to be ready and join him first thing in the morning?"
Hermione frowned at her reflection in the dressing-table mirror. Behind her, Esther drew a brush carefully through her silver hair, gathering the long strands in one hand so the brush would not pull whenever it met a tangle. Hermione had already brushed Esther's hair and tied it back neatly; now Esther was returning the favour with far more patience than Hermione had shown.
"I don't know, Big Sister," Esther said. "He told us to wear comfortable clothes too."
"That tells us very little." Hermione watched Esther lift a section of hair away from her shoulder. "Comfortable clothes for what? Grandmaster Strelley sometimes asks us not to wear heavy gowns during his lessons. Perhaps Ulrich means something like that."
Esther considered it. "He sounded as though he meant something different."
"He could have said what he meant, then."
"No," Airam said from the doorway.
