On Monday morning, the black travel bag waited beside the bedroom door.Twenty days remained.Romy checked the zip once, lifted her day bag, and turned to find Devon already holding the larger case.He had faint dark circles under his eyes.“I can carry it myself,” she said, reaching for the handle.Devon shifted the case beyond her fingers. “I know you can. Let me take it downstairs this time.”He did not release it.She allowed him to carry it downstairs.Mercy waited in the entrance hall beside the butler. The housekeeper had supervised departures for business trips, holidays, funerals, and family events for more than a decade. Today her hands were clasped too tightly at her waist.“Your room will be kept ready, Mrs Kensington,” she said. “If you require anything from the manor, you need only call.”Romy looked toward the staircase.The suite above still held clothes she had not packed and the faint peony scent left from the bath Mercy had prepared on Friday. It also held three yea
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