Sub Rosa

The pitter-patter of two small feet echoed through the dusky alley-way, barely lit by the Autumn sunset. Lucy made her way through the Channish streets as the clouds above slowly began to cover the sky, foreshadowing a cool and drizzly second quarter night. Eventually the blonde approached a tall, hooded man whom she recognized to not only be Pierce Lindsey, agent of Citadel and assassin of many, but also her partner in crime for the night’s expedition.
For all of her time in Channery, and as the Dathines’ best spy that rounded up to about four years for Lucy Rosemond, Pierce Lindsey was the only individual she had been profusely warned of but had yet had the pleasure of meeting. The man made secrecy a priority, and though Lucy had been on this particular mission upwards of five months, she had only ever spotted him twice. Both times in the Main Palace doing business with General Archibald Blackwell in the glaring light of day. It was only by some random chance that she had even been assigned to the same operation as the mysterious man.
“Jennifer Proudmoore, reporting for duty.” Lucy announced with a clear but small voice.
Peering up at him, Pierce wasn’t at all what Lucy had expected from the son of her father’s archenemy. Hear the Rosemonds talk back in the Dathines and they’d have you believe the Lindeys were nothing more than a clan of savages out to wage war on the world. Never mind the fact that it was supposedly Lucy’s father that had murdered the late Gregor Lindsey.
Pierce didn’t look particularly evil, however. Angsty was probably a better description, what with his dark hooded eyes, thin, pursed lips, and skewed nose, likely broken a time or two in the past. Lucy doubted that most women looked at Pierce and considered him handsome, but she felt that he did have a certain attractiveness about him, similar to the appeal a rough and tumble pirate might own.
“Evening Jenn.” The assassin replied casually. “I’m told you have some experience with cloaking spells?” He wanted to know.
“Some experience” was perhaps a touch of an understatement. In truth, Lucy one of the
most talented mages the Dathines had seen in at least fifty years, and as such, she had quite a mastery of cloaking spells. Jennifer Proudmoore, however, was just a middle-of-the-road graduate from Citadel University, and while, yes, Ms. Proudmoore knew a couple of cloaking spells, she specialized much more heavily in search and organizational type magic. That was, after all, how Jennifer Proudmoore secured her job as one of General Blackwell’s secretaries.
It was also how Lucy gained access to a number of Citadel’s high priority files.
“Yes sir.”
The assassin raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to call me ‘sir’ all the time. Ages me more than is necessary.”
“Apologies, uh…” She trailed off, not knowing exactly how to address him. How did one address a man who could kill you in the blink of an eye?
“Pierce will do.” He started walking down the alleyway, gesturing for her to follow. As they stepped into the main streets, he tipped back the hood of his cloak and held out his arm, presumably for her to take. Pierce Lindsey didn’t seem like the type of man who liked to be turned down, so she took his arm despite the fact that she was concerned increased proximity to the man might result in a slit throat. “Archie informs me you’ve been working as his secretary for three or so months now.”
She nodded, not really sure where he was going with that statement.
“It’s a little strange, don’t you think?” He wondered as they walked past a lively bar, buzzing with a new sort of tune native to Citadel. Lucy believed the genre to be called “Jazz”, a lively, smooth type of music that usually harbored the whines of trumpets and soft hums of basses. When she’d first arrived in Citadel, there hadn’t been much about the city that Lucy liked. She found, recently however, her mood was beginning to change, and this “jazz” phenomenon played no small role in that. A part of her was afraid that when she finally did return to the Dathines, she’d end up missing it.
“What’s strange?” She asked, cautious of his tone.
“A secretary being assigned on a mission like this.”
Lucy swallowed, and not because she was especially scared, either. That’s not to say Pierce didn’t scare her, he did, but not enough to make her swallow, goodness. No, Pierce didn’t scare Lucy so much as to make her lose her wits, but a lowly secretary trying to go about her job? Trying to make ends meet, trying to catch a husband? Of course he scared the living daylights out of poor little Jennifer Proudmoore.
“Mr. Lindsey, sir, I swear I don’t know why General Blackwell assigned me to this!” She exclaimed hand tensing on his arm. He’d notice that, Lucy was sure. “He, he said that the usual girl, Miss Laney, she’s fallen ill, so, so I was the only one available…”
She trailed off as she became aware of the glare cast down on her.
“Pierce.” He said, voice hard. “Call me Pierce.”
“I’m so sorry Mr…. Uh, Pierce, I didn’t mean to… I don’t know why General Blackwell assigned me on this mission.” She finally said, mentally patting herself on the back for playing the timid secretary quite well. Assassins, dangerous though they might be, always fell for a good act.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the assassin roll his eyes. “I’m not going to ruin your life just because I’m suspicious or because you accidently insult me or some shit like that. You can calm down, Jenn, you’re safe with me.”
Oh, she doubted that, but she breathed a fake sigh of relief anyways.
“So what’s a secretary doing knowing concealing magic?” He asked, eyes accusing. “Just curious, Jenn.”
Lucy pretended to buy his assertion. “Well you know, most of us secretaries are educated at university. They teach you all of the basic tenets of magic there, but we tend to specialize in one more than the others. I know some concealing magic, but, uh, it’s not really my area of expertise. Organization and retrieval is, which is why I’m in the secretarial business, you see.”
He nodded, listening to her explanation. They strolled casually though the charming streets of one of the wealthier neighborhoods in Citadel. Lucy hadn’t been told very many specifics about the assignment, just that she was supposed to meet Pierce Lindsey at a certain time and place and that she’d be in charge of making sure that, whatever he was doing, he didn’t get caught. Given Pierce’s reputation, it seemed to Lucy that he shouldn’t have much trouble at all completing the mission on his own, which begged the question, why was Lucy there?
If Pierce Lindsey was suspicious of her presence, Lucy was doubly so.
“Archie tells me you don’t know what we’re stealing, that right?” He asked in a low voice as they pulled off into a secluded garden. Where was he leading her?
“Not at all, sir, er, I mean, Pierce.” She stammered.
“Good, best that you don’t.” He asserted. “Did he tell you who we were robbing?”
“No… He didn’t tell me much really.”
Pierce sighed, and not the relieved sort of sigh either. “So here’s the deal. We’re robbing a mansion. What we’re robbing doesn’t matter. Here’s what you need to know: We’re going to scale a wall. I’m going to go up first and subdue the guards. Once that’s done, you can come up, and cast some surveillance spells or whatever it is that you do. I’ll post you at an intersection, and you just make sure nobody passes by, or if they do, let me know. When I’m done, I’ll come get you, and we’ll be on our way out. Sound easy?”
“Um, this scaling wall business?” She asked timidly. “I’ve never, uh, done this sort of thing…”
“Got a spell you can use?” He wanted to know.
“Oh I suppose I could, probably…” She trailed off as they approached a wrought iron fence. They’d been off the garden trail for about a minute now, and it seemed they had finally reached their destination.
“Aren’t you concerned they have surveillance of their own?” Lucy whispered, looking at the perfectly manicured field in front of them. It was probably where the owners of this glorious mansion liked to go and play polo.
“That’s been taken care of already.”
“Oh.”
“Follow me, don’t make a sound.”
She placed a halting hand on his shoulder. “Wait, let me do something first.”
Pierce glared down at her with, wouldn’t you know it, piercing eyes. But Lucy ignored that. Instead she meditated for a few seconds, then, after the release of her breath, cast a spell.
The assassin seemed to understand that she’d done something magical.
“It’s a silence spell of sorts. Only things within a foot of you will be able to hear what you say or do. Same goes for me, by the way.” When his facial expression didn’t change from the sour look it bore earlier, she added, “It’s so we can talk without getting caught.”
Was he insulted that she thought he couldn’t sneak properly? Men, such tender egos.
Pierce ignored her explanation and hopped over the fence with an undue amount of grace. Lucy made a show of flailing over and falling face first onto the ground. The look on his face when he turned around to help her up was absolutely priceless. Lucy was forced to choke back laughter.
They approached the mansion slowly. Pierce inspected it for a moment before motioning for her to wait, and then continuing on to scale the flat stone. It was mesmerizing, watching him work. Lucy had never learned the more physically challenging aspects of spyhood, such as scaling stone walls, mostly because she never had to. Pierce though, that man knew how to move, and while she was just waiting, hoping even, to see him fall, his well-trained muscles ensured that he didn’t.
Once he got to a window ledge, he sat precariously for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, as if wondering what his next move should be, then he looked back down at Lucy. He was miming busting open the window and noise, perhaps wondering if the sphere of silence would cover up the sound of shattered glass. Smart boy.
Lucy nodded yes.
Pierce shattered the window with his elbow and slipped inside a second later.
Folding her arms, Lucy watched the window with curiosity, but saw virtually nothing for about ten seconds, after which a rope was thrown down to her feet. Shrugging, Lucy grabbed a hold of it, and, with a little help from magic, made her way on up.
As she entered the hallway, Lucy saw a two guards slumped against the wall. Where the assassin had gone, she wasn’t quite sure. That thought made her a little uneasy, because if there was one person she wanted to keep an eye on, it was probably Pierce. Doing as she was asked, Lucy cast a far sight spell to check the adjoining hallways, determining that all of the guards in the neighboring passages were unsuspicious of the intrusion. Then, for good measure, she set up an illusion to make the unconscious guards look completely alert and ready for work.
Lucy stood there for what she felt was eternity. Just as she was about to sit down and start twiddling her thumbs, she noticed a nearby door open up and a silhouette appear in the archway. Pierce made a motion that they were about to leave, which she nodded to in return. But when Pierce crossed the threshold into the hallway, with little more than a dusty old book in his hand, something changed. Lucy could feel it just before it happened, as is often the case with magic, but she didn’t have enough time to do anything about it.
Within a second, alarms were blaring throughout the hallway. “Shit” was all that the assassin could mouth before he shoved the book in his sack and took off towards the window, quickly motioning for Lucy to follow. Pierce slid lithely out of the window first, then practically pulled Lucy by the shirt to join him. As if the pursuing guards weren’t enough encouragement. The two hastily started to make their way down the rope, hoping to reach the bottom before the guards started to gain. Pierce was lucky enough to touch down without trouble, but the same could not be said for the poorly trained Lucy. The assassin had just barely enough time to brace himself as a heap of clothes, skin, and blonde hair fell on top of him with a resounding thud.
“Sorry, sorry!” Lucy exclaimed as she tried to haul herself off of Pierce’s chest.
The assassin grunted heavily as he began to sit himself back up. “Cast a spell next time!” was the only reply Lucy received as Pierce pushed her in the direction of the garden they entered from. Amazing how, in the middle of all that, he still had the wherewithal to chastise her.
Although the duo made a valiant effort trying to escape from the mansion’s forces, Lucy’s exhaustion and Pierce’s sore back made the task impossible. Lucy, seeing the soldiers gaining on them in the gloomy garden, made an irreversible decision that was perhaps the only chance she had at saving her hide. The mage was not in the habit of performing magic that could reveal her identity, nor was she fond of using such power outside times of need, but Lucy felt this time her spell was simply necessary to bail her out of this hazard.
“Close your eyes!” She shouted loudly in Pierce’s ear.
The assassin dared to ask, “Why?”
“Just do it!” She commanded. Without a second thought, she channeled all of her energy into one spell, and just about a second after, unleashed a fascinating spark of light that left all of the pursuing guards stunned, blinded, or worse.
Pierce, for his part, had been wise enough to heed Lucy’s warning, and had shut his eyes just in time. He did not need to have opened his eyes to know that a massive change in brightness had occurred during the few seconds they had been sealed. The searing light must have shone orange through them, and before Pierce had a chance to question her powers, Lucy had grabbed a hold of his wrist and pulled him on a frantic run through the streets of Citadel.

Lucy and Pierce arrived at The Red Robber sore, exhausted, and drenched. As if fate had not been against them enough on that night, the sky opened up and downpoured one of the strongest rains Citadel had ever seen during their escape to safety. But, they had escaped, which Lucy supposed was a good thing.
Pierce stumbled inside the warm confines of the tavern first, followed by a miserable Lucy, but neither got very far before the innkeeper approached them.
“My my, looks as if you two have had quite some troubles.” The fat, homely man commented. “Care for a room? Perhaps dinner as well?”
“And a bath, to boot.” Pierce stated simply, plopping a generous silver piece in the man’s hand before he sulked on over to the bar. The innkeeper, stunned by the interaction, looked to Lucy for explanation, but she was forced to shrug and scurry after the assassin.
Sitting down next to Pierce at the bar, Lucy regarded him carefully. It was not lost on her that what she really needed to do was leave. She’d compromised herself greatly by casting a spell like that, and, frankly, she was lucky that Pierce hadn’t started asking questions already. When he did, she was certain he wouldn’t hesitate in the least to show her the true meaning of “Citadel Hospitality.”
Best she approach the situation delicately.
“Mr. Pierce, sir.” She started, feigning timidness.
Dark brown eyes glared back at her. “It’s about time you started telling me who you really are, Jenn the Secretary.”
She shifted away, uneasiness not completely faked. “I’m… I really am… Please don’t kill me.”
Pierce rolled his eyes, annoyed with her fearfulness.”We’ll see.”
Lucy looked at him apprehensively.
“Stay here.” He commanded before getting up, walking over to the innkeeper, sharing a word with him, and putting what looked like a whole gold piece in his hand. The assassin returned not a minute later.
She stared at him with wide eyes.
“Let me put this plainly for you, Jennifer Proudmoore, was it?” She nodded timidly. “It was no accident you were on this assignment tonight, and it was no accident that the alarm sounded.”
“I didn’t, I swear.” She interjected.
Waving her comment off, he continued. “Yeah I know you didn’t. The surveillance team did. Archie’s looking for a valid reason to put us in jail. Did you know this assignment wasn’t even sanctioned?”
She shook her head.
“Well, it wasn’t. And that means we have a bounty on our heads, and it’ll be on our heads until the government gets this shit cleared up. Considering that it doesn’t look too good for government agents to be stealing artifacts from noble families, that could take a while. Now, Miss Proudmoore, do you know what that means?”
She shook her head again.
“It means that if we get found and apprehended, Archie will have reason to keep us in jail for maybe as long as a month. So, the real question here is, why does Archie want you in jail?”
“Maybe, maybe his plans don’t involve me.” Lucy offered. “I’m just collateral damage. We assistants always get the short end of the stick.”
“Perhaps. Lucky for you I’ve ruled out the possibility that you’re working for him.”
That was incredibly lucky for her, actually. She knew exactly what he’d do if he suspected she was working for Blackwell.
“How’s that?” She asked, voice still mousy.
“That stunt, with the light.” He reasoned. “If you were working for Archie, you’d have just let us get caught.”
She breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“Neat trick, that, by the way.” He commented, eyes discerning. “Not the sort of thing you’d expect a secretary to be able to do.”
“They teach us all sorts of things at the university!” She squealed, hopefully appearing nervous for her life. It should have been easy, really, considering she was a bit concerned about her livelihood. “So, you can never really expect what a secretary knows.”
Pierce raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.
“Here’s the deal, Jenn.” He started, crossing his arms seriously. “You saved my ass with that trick. Now, I don’t know what Archie wants you in jail for, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care. But as far as I’m concerned, you did me a solid, so I won’t ask about it, for now. Do anything I consider suspicious and we’ll be having a completely different conversation.”
She gulped visibly. Jennifer Proudmoore the Secretary was scared shitless. Lucy Rosemond, however, was mostly just annoyed. The last thing she needed was an assassin watching her every move when she was trying to get the hell out of town. She should have just split off from him after the light spell. Actually, what she really should have done was blinded him with it like all the other guards.
Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier?
“So, now that we’re friends, how’s about we have a pint and wait for my sister to show up?” He offered, eyes smiling in a way that didn’t make her feel particularly comfortable.
“Your sister?” She asked tentatively.
Oh yes, Lucy had heard about Miss Veronica Lindsey. She was the sort of woman who made the word “politician” sound like a compliment. Perhaps the only admirable trait the elder Lindsey supposedly possessed was an unyielding loyalty to her family.
Which meant, when you considered that it was said to be Lucy’s father who had murdered the former head of the House of Lindsey, loyalty probably wasn’t the greatest trait for Veronica to be in possession of after all.
“Surely you’ve heard of Veronica.” He smirked impishly.
She had, and that was precisely the problem.
“Of course, yes.” Lucy waved at the bartender in a panicked fashion. “Who hasn’t really?” Then, to the bartender, she added, “A pint, please.”
Pierce chuckled, low and quiet, as if amused by her discomfort.
“Well, she’s headed over. To help a brother out, and all.”
“How…” She trailed off, staring at the alcohol as it was set down before her. It probably wasn’t the best idea to get plastered. She took a swig anyway. “Kind of her.”
“Yeah, she’s really just a loving sister.” He commented idly. “Much sweeter than her murderous persona would have you believe. But then again, I’m nicer than people say I am, aren’t I?”
“Oh, I don’t…” Lucy paused, not really sure how to work her way out of that conversation. “I don’t really pay attention to what they say about you.”
“Yeah, for some reason I don’t believe you.” He stated coolly. “But I said I wouldn’t hassle you tonight, so I won’t hassle you tonight.”
He threw his hands up in surrender.
“That’s, uh, mighty kind of you, Pierce.” She conceded, glancing at him cautiously.
“Hey, you finally did it!” He exclaimed.
“Did what?”
Pierce crossed his arms in satisfaction and shot her a devilish smile that she had absolutely no business being attracted to. “You said my name without trouble.”
It only was then that Lucy realized just how long of a night she was in for. Foolish or not, alcohol was the only thing that’d get her through it.

Staring wide-eyed at the Lindsey siblings, Lucy rescinded her earlier assertion that she was stupid to have stayed with Pierce in the gardens. It was clear to her now that the only way she’d be making it out of Citadel alive was with the help of her family’s greatest rivals.
“Archie’s got guards posted everywhere, Pierce.” Veronica groaned, lounging casually on the couch in their room. “I’m lucky I managed to get over here unnoticed.”
She hadn’t even come down to meet them at the bar. Instead, she’d sent a page to give Pierce a cryptic message that Lucy stole a look at, but could hardly understand. It was becoming obvious that the siblings had some pretty intricate procedures for exchanging sensitive information. The whole bit with the innkeeper was still boggling her mind. How had Pierce sent an encoded message to Veronica with only a verbal note and a gold piece, all the while concealing the fact that he was, well, a Lindsey?
That sort of thing was pretty trivial with magic, but as far as Lucy knew, Pierce was magic-less.
“I’ll say.” Pierce groaned as he flopped on the bed -- of which there was only one, by the way. Lucy was left standing awkward by the door. “Archie knows too much about spying for his own damn good.”
“Yeah well I’d say it’s serving him pretty well now, don’t you?” Veronica commented. Then, as if she was noticing Lucy for the first time, she asked, “Who’s she?”
“Veronica, say hi to Jenn the Secretary.”
Lucy waved at the woman awkwardly.
“Why’s she here?” The older Lindsey asked, still glaring at her.
“Got sent on the mission with me.” Pierce explained. “Flames, she’s the only reason I escaped. Suspect Archie wants her in custody too, for some reason, but she won’t tell me why.”
“She a spy?” Lucy’s heart skipped a beat when Veronica asked that.
Pierce scoffed humorously. “You shoulda seen her flop over the wrought iron fence on the way into the Jenkinses back yard. I highly doubt she’s a spy. Probably just involved with some nobleman Archie wants left alone.”
Veronica cocked an eyebrow. Lucy stared back at her with eyes larger than the moons.
“She is kinda cute, I guess.” She commented. “Seems like Blair’s kind of girl.”
Pierce sat up at that, and inspected her with a lopsided grin. “Yeah, now that you mention it, she does seem like the sort of woman Blair would go for.”
The older Lindsey rolled her eyes at her brother’s reaction. “Ugh, Pierce, please. She’s a girl, not a piece of meat. You can’t use her to get back at Blair just because he scored better on the university entrance exams than you did.”
“I wasn't going to do that.” He crossed his arms in a defensive way that suggested that was exactly what he was going to do.
Veronica rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Doesn’t matter who she’s fucking. Think we can trust her?”
Lucy blushed delicately at Veronica’s hard language, which happened to be quite in keeping with the timid secretary act.
“I think so.” Pierce shrugged. “At the very least, she bailed me out, so I owe her one.”
“Fine, well, we need to find a way to get you two out of Citadel.” Looking back at Lucy, Veronica said. “You won’t be able to see your family for a while, so if you’ve got a letter you want to write to them, better drop it off with the innkeeper before the morning post comes.”
She nodded, not caring too much about the “alerting the family” business. Instead, she asked, “How are we going to get out of Citadel?”
Veronica crossed her arms and tapped her foot lightly, thinking.
“Where are we going to go, that’s the better question.” Pierce noted.
“Hush, I’m thinking.” His sister chastised.
They sat in silence for a good few seconds before Veronica perked up and snapped her fingers together, as if she’d had the best idea on records. “Capanahel!”
“Capanahel?!” Lucy exclaimed, stunned by the declaration. “That’s in a whole other country!”
“No, it makes sense.” Pierce agreed. “Archie will expect us to flee to Kingslow or Ashmore or something like that. He doesn’t have a presence in Lokvah, it’s perfect.”
Perfect for a Citadel citizen trying to escape a tyrannical general maybe, but horrible,
completely horrible for a Dathinian spy caught in the middle of enemy politics! She had absolutely zero, nada, not one contact in Lokvah!
Her jaw dropped in utter shock.
“Better yet,” Veronica continued in a way that made Lucy even more nervous. “You can travel by boat, can’t you? Oh it’ll be difficult for Archie to get you then, eh, Pierce?”
“Yeah, so long as nobody recognizes us.” Pierce commented. “If nobody does, though, it should be easy. Once we’re in Capanahel, we’ll be set.”
“Set?!” Lucy exclaimed. “We’ll be in Capanahel! What on earth am I going to do in Capanahel?!”
Veronica shrugged. “Relax?”
“No, I have a job to do!” She protested, thinking that the statement fit both Lucy Rosemond and Jennifer Proudmoore the Secretary.
Pierce snickered sardonically. “Yeah, I hate to break it to you, Jenn, but you’re definitely not going to be working for Archie anymore. Whoever you attracted the attention of, Archie isn’t at all happy about it.”
“Maybe,” Veronica held up a finger. “Maybe he is happy about it, eh? Maybe she’s caught the eye of a nobleman he wants to influence? Maybe he wants to dangle her in front of Blair as bait. You know, that’s not that far from what you were thinking just a few moments earlier, Pierce.”
The assassin glared at his sister. “I know you’re not trying to compare me to Archie, Veronica.”
She shrugged. “I just call it like I see it.”
“Pardon my intrusion,” Lucy started with no small amount of annoyance. They were just so cavalier about a situation that was definitely high stakes for all of them. “But you still haven’t addressed the fact that I work for a living and have family and definitely cannot just disappear to Capanahel for a month!”
The Lindsey siblings shared an amused look before chuckling in unison.
“Oh, she is something, isn’t she, Pierce?” Veronica commented. “I can see why Blair likes her.”
“No, no, he doesn’t like ‘em fiery.” Her brother responded with a quirk in his smirk that Lucy couldn’t quite read.
She crossed her arms angrily.
“Right well, here’s the deal, Jenn.” Pierce started, settling back on his elbows. “You can come with me if you want. I’ll help you escape to Capanahel, and I’ll put you up for a month, too. Don’t worry about the expenses, we Lindseys, in case you hadn’t heard, aren’t the poor sort.”
The Dathinian cleared her throat timidly. “Er, that’s… A lot more hospitality than I’d have been expecting.”
“You saved my hide.” The assassin shrugged. “Figure I should return the favor. So here’s the deal, I’ll keep you out of Archie’s hands until the bounty business has been cleared up, and then I’ll deliver you safely back into the arms of your dear, sweet Blair.”
“All that for losing the guards?” She wondered. It seemed far too generous.
“You can always turn down the offer if you’re that suspicious.”
Lucy thought about it, too. Trekking along with Pierce Lindsey meant unnecessary complications, but, then again… She had a much better chance of slipping out of Citadel unapprehended with the Lindseys on her side.
There was also a side of her, a morbidly curious side, that wondered, at the risk of basically everything she’d ever worked for, what Pierce Lindsey was really like as a person. For years she’d been told the Lindseys were nothing more than rapscallions out to destroy the world. Now was the first time she’d actually ever met one and, while both Pierce and Veronica were their fair share of intimidating, they didn’t seem particularly evil… Actually they seemed fairly normal. After all, the folk of Citadel often said Dathinians were nothing more than soulless, greedy bastards who would sell their own mothers if they could turn a profit, and Lucy knew sure as flaming hell that wasn’t true.
So, the way Lucy saw it, she was being offered the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to do what no Rosemond had done before.
“I accept your offer.”