Sera's response arrived the following morning, before breakfast, which meant she had written it the same evening she'd received William's letter and sent it through whatever channels she used for correspondence she wanted to move quickly.
William found it slipped under the door of his room when he woke, which meant the estate's correspondence staff had received it on the overnight dispatch and delivered it before they'd started morning preparations. He stood in the doorway between sleep and full wakefulness, reading it in the early light.
*William. Thank you for writing directly. Most people don't, to me — they write around, or through your mother, or they wait to see if the situation develops before saying anything. You wrote directly and asked a direct question and I'm going to answer it the same way.*
