Hesper Quill’s Last Measure
- A quick catch
- Passage creeps up
Hesper Quill stood alone at the back of the Coldharbour lamp-floor when the catch was sealed and counted what the thin oil had left her. The measure held enough for one more shift and not for two. She tipped the last of it into the reservoir with a steady hand, then wrote the figure on her palm in ink so she would not lose it on the walk home.