Fiona
Margaret arranged for Thea's absence with the kind of careful precision she brought to everything, telling the other staff that Thea had come down with a stomach bug and wouldn't be needed for the evening, a small, forgettable excuse that raised no questions among people already consumed with preparations for the gala. My mother, still at home recovering, had no idea her name was being borrowed once again, this time for an absence rather than a presence.
"If anyone asks where Thea is tonight, that's the story," Margaret told me quietly that afternoon, helping me into the dress Archie had sent over, a deep emerald gown that fit like it had been made specifically for me, which it likely had been. "Stomach bug. Nothing more specific than that. And Fiona, please, stay near Mr. Chester
