The transition from the cold, damp maid's quarters to the lavish suite directly across from Isabella was not a peaceful one. The air in the hallway was thick with the silent screams of Lady Elena and Isabella as they watched the footmen—acting under the terrifyingly specific orders of Lucius—haul Evelina's few belongings into the new room.
The new chamber was massive, filled with heavy velvet curtains of deep emerald and a fireplace made of white marble. It was a room meant for the lady of the house. Every time Isabella walked past the open door, she looked as if she were swallowing glass.
"She doesn't belong there, Mother," Isabella hissed later that evening, her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and fear. "She sits there like a queen and that... that Lucius looks at her as if she's the only living thing in this house. We have to remind her of what she really is."
