The Innkeeper's Last Round: Locking up a warm house for the night

Isla Merriweather

The last guests have gone up, the fire is settling, and someone still needs to walk the rooms one more time. This is that quiet final round through a house built for rest: checking latches, banking coals, dimming lamps one by one, and listening for the small sounds that mean everyone is settled. A gentle close to the day, told with the steady care of someone who has locked up a hundred nights before this one.