The brightness came from neither chandeliers nor candles; the hall possessed no great windows through which such light could have entered. It lay within the walls and floor, suffused the air between the columns and illuminated the distant arches, alcoves and galleries with an even, shadowless clarity.
Clara cast scarcely more than a pale suggestion beneath her feet, and the familiar shelter of a darkened corner was absent from the entire splendid expanse.
"Lady Clara! Wait, please!"
The sanctuary softened the voice behind her, taking the sharpness from its echo. Clara glanced back without slowing and found Lady Evelyn attempting to follow at a pace for which neither her clothes nor her composure had been prepared.
