When the carriage finally came to a stop in front of the Adair city house, it was closer to dawn than dusk. Delaney and Ms. Bird climbed down from the carriage, nearly as exhausted as the men around them. All of them staggered towards the front doors while the guards took the horses towards the stables.
A messenger had been sent out from Edgewood first thing that morning to warn the servants that lived at the city house that their mistress would be arriving soon. Even so, Delaney knew they had probably only had a few hours notice before she and the others had arrived. There were only a few servants left there so they had likely had to scramble to prepare things.
Stepping inside the dimly lit foyer with her maid and her friends, Delaney looked around, wondering if any of the servants were still awake. She imagined they were but they were likely using every minute until her arrival to prepare everything they could.
