To Graaf van Breda, 10/10 afternoon

[Rebecca Hale]

A small box formed out of a piece of carefully folded paper and sealed with unmarked amber wax arrived late in the afternoon, delivered by a Windsor servant. There was no note, nothing but a pink carnation and a rather good drawing of a hyacinth rendered in purple pastels.

Rebecca had been confined to bed when she'd received Daniel's note the day before and cried when she read it. Setting it aside in her correspondence box, she'd immediately called for her art supplies and began sketching. It took her longer then she'd liked to finish, given her exhaustion and preference for secrecy, but she was pleased with the end result.