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She glanced back over her shoulder, a playful smile dancing across her face.

"And I confess I have already taken the liberty of opening the drapes in the great hall for my evening recitals."

Poor Gunther looked positively stricken.

He shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, his eyes darting between the windows and the library door as though the Duke himself might materialise at any moment.

She almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

"If it makes matters easier," she continued kindly, "please do tell the Duke it was entirely my request."

She gave a small shrug.

"And if he objects..."

Her smile softened.

"...he may come and tell me so himself."

For a long moment Gunther hesitated.

Then, with the resigned sigh of a man accepting his inevitable fate, he crossed the room and took hold of the heavy cords.

One by one, the velvet drapes swept apart.

Sunlight poured into the library.

The transformation was immediate.

Golden light flooded across the large polished table at the centre of the room, chasing away the shadows that had cloaked the books only moments before. Dust danced lazily through the bright shafts of sunlight, stirred from years of undisturbed silence. One by one, the rich colours of the bindings emerged—burgundy, emerald, navy, and warm brown—stretching in endless rows around the room.

"There..." Eliza breathed.

"Now it looks like a library."

Eliza had little doubt that before the hour was out, Gunther would faithfully report the matter to Arthur.

"Before you go, Gunther..."

The dutiful servant turned back expectantly.

"Do you happen to know how the library is arranged?"

"Broadly, Your Grace." He gave an apologetic smile. "Though if there is a particular volume you seek, I could summon His Grace. He oversees the collection here personally."

She shook her head so quickly a loose curl escaped from behind her ear.

"No, no. That won't be necessary."

That would spoil her plan in a heartbeat.

"I am quite certain I shall find what I'm looking for now that I have enough light to see it."

She smiled brightly before setting off between the towering shelves, trailing her fingertips lightly along the rows of books as she read each title in turn.

On Crop Rotation. She frowned.