The afternoon sun streamed through the tall windows of my study as I turned to the final chapter of my research. After documenting the remarkable legacy of Dowager Duchess Annelise Thorne, I found myself drawn to another figure whose story remained incomplete – Clara Beaumont, Isabella's half-sister and once-bitter rival.
"You seem troubled," Gerald remarked, entering with a fresh pot of tea.
I sighed, shuffling through my notes. "Clara Beaumont vanishes from most records after the Night Weaver incident. History remembers her primarily as Isabella's cruel tormentor – the jealous sister who scarred her face and later schemed against her marriage."
Gerald set down the tea service. "People are rarely one-dimensional. Have you checked the provincial records from the southern counties? I recall mentions of a Beaumont widow settling there."
