Marie took a glance at the condition of the paper before quickly shaking her head. "It's no inconvenience at all," she assured him, moving back to the pile of linens and pulling out a thick drying cloth and laying it on the chest of drawers. "Here, set it atop this and keep it level so it doesn't drip and smear further. I have some things in my room down the hall, I'll be just a moment."

She didn't wait to see if he followed her instructions, gathering her skirt in one hand so she could move faster down the dark hall, following memory alone since she'd left the candles behind. It was easy to locate the ink, pen, and paper, all of them settled in the small desk she had put in the corner of the room. Usually, she would write anything needed downstairs in the library, but every so often she preferred to stay upstairs. She was grateful for that tendency now.

Barely two minutes had passed before she returned to her guest, slightly out of breath but with supplies in hand. "Here you are."