After reaching the end of the corridor, Vittoria slowed and didn't even know why she'd done that.
2 months wasn't a long time, but she'd been gone long enough for everything to feel just slightly unfamiliar again.
She stopped outside the final door, returning a slight nod to the staff that greeted her before she knocked.
At that, the door eased open on its own, and she stepped inside her father's study.
Five walls disappeared behind shelves filled from floor to ceiling, every inch occupied by books, while narrow ladders rested against polished rails, ready to slide wherever they were needed.
Away from that, the centre of the room was dominated by a heavy wooden table surrounded by three chairs and beyond it, the glass wall overlooked the sea where the afternoon sun rested lazily across the coastline.
Her father stood with his back to her, reaching for a book high on one of the shelves.
