As Ms. Bird did Ilona's hair, she accidentally let it slip that Nick and Jamie had left early that morning before the rest of them were awake.
"Where did they go?" Ilona asked in confusion.
"Ian didn't say," Ms. Bird sighed, "But I had a feeling they weren't too keen on wearing the clothes I brought in for them."
A small smile pulled at Ilona's lips, and she looked up at the maid in the reflection of the mirror.
"That's not your fault. Jamie and Nick have always been wild. They're used to climbing through the rigging on ships and swinging around on ropes. I don't know that they've ever been dressed properly in their lives."
Ms. Bird chuckled, and Ilona noticed the tiny wrinkles at the corners of her eyes from a life of smiling.
"They seem like good boys," she said as she continued her work on Ilona's hair, "I can't understand a word they say, but they remind me of Ian, and I know he's a good boy."
