Early Saturday morning, the gloomy sky looked as though it might snow again. The Girl with Purple Eyes passed through the slightly chilly mist of the winter dawn, tightening the collar wrapped in her scarf. At half past seven, she appeared in Saint Derain Square with light steps.
Brown ladies' boots stepped across the square's pavement. Luvia turned to look at its center. Now that winter had arrived, most of the pigeons in the square, often watched by Little Mia, had left the city for warmer southern lands.
Only a few newspaper-selling children remained in the square, waiting for passersby. The children selling papers by the roadside could accurately tell who might be a customer, so none approached Luvia.
Holding her handbag, Luvia paused beneath the steps outside Shade's home and looked up toward the second-floor bedroom window. Seeing that the curtains had already been drawn open, she knew Shade must be awake. In a good mood, she hummed a tune, found the key to Shade's home in her handbag, and naturally unlocked the door before walking in.
She closed the door, tilted her head to look up the staircase, then deliberately made some noise while climbing. Even if Shade could not hear it, Luvia believed that sharp-eared cat certainly could.
But after reaching the second floor and entering Room One, just as she was about to say hello to Shade, she discovered that a beautiful woman she had never seen before was sitting in the dining room.
At first glance, she seemed quite mature, but upon carefully examining that beautiful, almost inhuman face, Luvia realized that she had to be younger than herself.
Miss Sylvia sat at the dining table with a languid morning expression, holding a teacup in her left hand and a newspaper in her right. The