
She even takes temporary work occasionally to afford an extra fine desk or a lovely bureau.

She moved closer and the design became more intricate and abstract and impenetrable: a globe, a web, a sunburst, a maze, a slab carved with ancient pictographs.”

Swirls and garlands were cut into triangular panels that met in a small, raised pistil. It was white, and framed within the narrow, smooth border was an intricate pattern of lines and curves carved into the wood, so delicate in the room’s dim light that she hadn’t noticed the design until she came within a few feet. It was the door itself that caught her attention now.

”The hum that drew her to the door at the end of the sitting room had become deeper and stronger, but almost imperceptibly so.
