Drava arrived on the last morning of Tideglass.
A single grey carriage rolled up the estate road while the harbor below was still hungover from the third night of the festival, and a woman stepped out of it alone.
Katarina watched her from the front steps.
The woman was human, somewhere in her sixties, small, with white hair pinned flat and a plain grey coat that probably cost more than the estate's monthly payroll. She carried one leather case and nothing else.
[She has no guards or aides. She walked into a Valdari district alone, the morning after her assessor got outplayed in public, and she's taking her sweet time about it.]
A chill ran down Katarina's spine.
[This woman is on a completely different level.]
"Signora Montecardi," the woman said, stopping at the bottom of the steps. "It's a pleasure meeting you."
"The pleasure's mine," Katarina lied.
"My name is Lisabetta Drava. You've been doing business with my house."
Behind Katarina, in the doorway, Seris said:
