she thought. if she had not driven nicholas mad with her evil ways, none of this would ever have happened. it felt good to be able to lay blame somewhere. it made her feel a shade less helpless. but still sleep did not come.
she lay awake for hours, closing her eyes when a servant came in to put a log on the fire, but opening them again when she was alone. it was the touch of the sun that finally made her sleep. it crept through a crack in her window curtains, heavy though they were, and shown across the bed as dawn broke. it touched her hand with warmth, 