Chapter 35

I reluctantly got out of bed to face another day. The ups and downs of the last week or so were finally getting to me, along with the worry that I wouldn't have enough people at my unveiling. So far I had four who'd said they'd come. Tomichii, James, Keaton and Aiden. Of course, I still had to officially invite them, but it was only four. Yaru had made it clear I needed six.

And I wasn't the only one who was showing signs of tiredness. Mhairi was slower than before, yawning more than once while we got ready together. We spoke little, barely dressed by the time Yaru and Edward came to fetch me.

“Where are we going today?” I asked. Yaru held up several plain white envelopes.

“It's time to begin giving these out.” He handed them to Mhairi, who tucked them in a case and clutched it to herself. I raised my eyebrows.

“A courtesan doesn't do the inviting herself, but has a second. It's considered an honour to be a veiled's second. She represents the courtesan's desires and is meant to help gu