Hello Emma. It was strange meeting you in the market — somewhere you should not have been in the first place. But I managed to slip this note into the shipment to Umber Hollow and hope you find it before someone else does. Even though we only spoke briefly, I could tell you are a decent woman. So the rumors of Umber Hollow being a deplorable place where cruelty abounds cannot be true, can they? I have heard so many stories of thievery and corruption. . .
I sincerely hope we can both come to understand one another now that the world is changing before our very eyes. We might just need one another to survive. Please write me back.