Getting out of bed, he went to the bathroom. His reflection in the mirror: He looked like shit. No; he felt like shit. The cold water splashed on his face made no difference at all to the dark circles under his eyes, and neither did it beat back the darkness that hovered in his mind.

He ambled to the dining room. Food had been placed down already by Ewan. Marcus sat at the head of the table and served himself sausages and mince pie with vegetables.

Tomorrow, he will surely put an end to his problems. He would see Morava and agree to marry her. There was no way in...