She felt a stealing sense of fatigue as she walked; the sparkle had died out of her, and the taste of life was stale on her lips. She hardly knew what she had been seeking, or why the failure to find it had so blotted the light from her sky: she was only aware of a vague sense of failure, of an inner isolation deeper than the loneliness about her. Maybe it was because she’d spent much of her time inside rather than out, only because the rumors that spread about her and Rhys’s marriage cut her to the bone. A harlot, a whore, and everything in between, the words hurt because they had no idea what had happened – it wasn’t like she wanted to get pregnant without being married first. Maybe it would have been easier to disappear for a bit, but what was done, was done. She couldn’t change that now.

She had decided that it would be good to get out of the house even if for a few hours, and going with her little cousin who asked a lot less questions, or had a lot less opinions, depending on which sister was talking, seemed like the safest choice. She met Millie’s mother at Padmore (and couldn’t look her in the eyes, even though the exchange was pleasant enough) to collect her, and off the pair went to The Bone Menagerie exhibit. It sounded interesting enough, and hopefully it was low key that there wouldn’t be too many people around. It didn’t stop Zinnia from quickly ushering Millie inside and tossing a quick look over her shoulder like she expected women to be pointing and whispering about her. There weren’t any, of course.

“What pen do you want to see first?” She asked quietly, drawing them toward a corner so they’d be out of the way of the path, leaving it easier for people to walk by. Zin turned her gaze toward Millie and attempted a smile.

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