The echoes of the final carriages rolling out of the cobblestone courtyard signaled the official end of the farce.
While a few distant lords whose estates lay across the outer territories were escorted to the manor's guest wings, the main hall quickly emptied of its suffocating crowd.
I smoothly excused myself from a pair of minor barons who were still desperately trying to pitch a marriage alliance, slipping away into the dim, shadow-drenched corridors of the estate.
Using my deep familiarity with the manor's layout, I didn't head toward my bedroom.
Instead, I waited near the side exit of the parlor, slipping like a ghost into the private, study just a few moments before Lord Matthew was set to pass it.
A subtle, sharp gesture from my hand was all it took to catch his eye, and the pragmatic guild master slipped into the room behind me without a word, the oak door clicking shut behind him.
