A full week later, the bright morning sun shone through the large glass windows of the Kennedy estate.

The family doctor stood next to the large bed. He was holding a small pair of metal scissors.

Snip. Snip.

He carefully cut the white linen bandages that had been wrapped tightly around Zade’s head for the past seven days.

"How are you now?" the doctor asked. His voice was calm and professional as he slowly unwrapped the long strips of white cloth, revealing the young lord’s face layer by layer.

Zade sat up straight against his soft pillows. He took a deep, refreshing breath of cool air now that his nose and mouth were completely free. He moved his jaw from side to side, testing his muscles.

"I feel fine," Zade replied, his voice sounding strong and clear again. The swelling was completely gone.

The terrible, dark purple bruises that had covered his cheeks and eyes had faded into a very light, dull yellowish color. His split lip had closed and healed properly. He finally looked like the handsome, wealthy young lord he was supposed to be, not a beaten-up mummy.

Camilla sat down in a soft velvet chair close to him. She rested her chin on the palm of her hand. She was watching them in silence.

The doctor reached into his medical bag. He pulled out a small, round glass jar filled with a clear, smooth herbal ointment. He dropped the ointment gently onto the wooden table next to the bed.

"Apply it every morning and night," the doctor instructed, pointing a finger at the glass jar. "Keep using it until the little scars and the yellow spots disappear entirely. Your ribs have healed nicely, but they are still slightly tender."

The doctor closed his black bag and looked at Zade with a serious, encouraging expression.

"And don’t stay cooped up in this bed," the doctor advised firmly. "Move around. Take short walks in the garden. Your muscles need to stretch and regain their normal strength."

Zade smiled a wide, happy smile. He was incredibly relieved. He hated being stuck in a boring bedroom for a whole week.

"Thank you very much, doctor," Zade said gratefully. He pointed toward the bedroom door. "The butler will settle the accounts with you downstairs. Please charge extra for your excellent service."

The doctor nodded his head, pleased with the generous young lord.

"Thank you so much, my lord," the doctor replied, bowing deeply from the waist.

The doctor picked up his bag and turned around to face Camilla. He bowed to her as well.

"My lady," the doctor said respectfully. "I’ll be on my way now. Have a wonderful day."

Camilla did not answer immediately.

She was sitting in the velvet chair, but her mind was completely absent. She was staring blankly at the wall, deeply lost in her own complicated thoughts. She was gently tapping her index finger against her cheek, completely ignoring the people in the room.

Zade cleared his throat slightly.

Ahem.

Camilla suddenly blinked. She snapped out of her deep trance. She looked up and realized the doctor was waiting for her to speak.

"Oh, yes," Camilla said quickly, forcing a polite smile onto her face. She sat up straight. "Thank you. Safe travels, doctor."

The doctor bowed one last time and quietly left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Zade shifted on his bed. He looked closely at his older sister’s face. He had noticed her spacing out a lot over the past few days whenever she came to visit him. She always looked deeply confused, as if she were trying to solve a very difficult, impossible puzzle in her head.

"Sister," Zade called out softly. He leaned forward a little bit. "Is something bothering you?" he asked, his voice full of worried, brotherly concern.

Camilla quickly shook her head from side to side. She waved her hand dismissively in the air.

"Nothing really," Camilla replied smoothly. She gave him a reassuring smile.

But inside her head, a massive storm of absolute confusion and deep suspicion was raging wildly.

"Actually," Camilla thought to herself, her internal voice sounding incredibly frustrated and highly paranoid. "It is not ’nothing’. Something very, very strange is going on at the Benson mansion."

She crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her true feelings behind her blank face.

"Why do I feel so uneasy?" she asked herself internally. "It feels exactly as if someone sneaks into the bedroom in the very middle of the dark night and then completely disappears before the sun comes up."

She thought about the past seven mornings. Every single night, she went to sleep leaving her dinner plates on the table and her dresses thrown over the chairs for the maid to clean in the morning. And every single morning, she woke up to an absolutely spotless, perfectly organized room.

"Is the house haunted by a neat-freak ghost?" Camilla wondered, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Are the maids sneaking in while I am asleep? But I am an assassin! I am a light sleeper! No maid can move that silently. And Damon is still away at the military camp. He has not come home all week."

She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache starting to form.

"Or am I just being completely paranoid?" she thought, letting out a heavy internal sigh. "Maybe I am sleepwalking and cleaning the room myself? This historical world is making me crazy."

Zade watched her face carefully. He saw her rub her forehead. He saw the deep, troubled frown line appearing between her delicate eyebrows.

Because Zade did not know anything about her thoughts, he completely mistook Camilla’s spacing out.

"Oh, my poor sister," Zade thought to himself. His heart filled with deep sympathy.

He firmly believed she was thinking about her cold, absent husband. He thought she was deeply sad because the General had been away at the military camp for a whole week without sending her a single romantic letter.

"She is completely love-crazed over that terrible man," Zade concluded in his mind. "She is sitting here, looking so sad, just waiting for him to come home. I cannot let her waste her youth pining over a man who ignores her."

Zade made a firm decision. He was going to distract her. He was going to show her that there was more to life than being obsessed with a man who doesn’t love you.

Zade threw the thick wool blankets off his legs. He swung his feet over the edge of the bed and stood up slowly. His ribs ached just a tiny bit, but he felt strong enough to walk.

"Get ready, sister," Zade announced cheerfully. His voice was suddenly loud and full of exciting energy.

Camilla stopped rubbing her forehead. She looked at him, completely confused by his sudden change in mood.

"Get ready?" Camilla asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zade nodded his head eagerly. He walked over to his closet to find his own clothes.

"Yes," Zade continued, smiling widely. "I’ll tell the maids to get you something appropriate for you to wear. They have some beautiful new dresses in the guest rooms. We are going out."

Camilla remained sitting in her chair. She looked highly suspicious.

"Where are we going?" Camilla asked carefully.

Zade turned around and gave her a very mysterious, highly mischievous smile.