In spite of her conversation with Madame Dolores, Emilia kept her distance from Raymond for the rest of the day. She couldn’t shake the image of him, furious and unyielding as he dealt with the maids. She’d never seen him like that before, and it left a sour, unsettled feeling in her chest.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Emilia finally decided that avoiding him was only making things worse. She needed answers. She needed to understand where his anger was coming from, and perhaps, more importantly, who he was becoming. She took a deep breath, gathering her courage, and stepped out of her room, heading down the main...