thick with tension. The clinking of s
nus, servants, guests, and household accounts with the certainty of a woman who believed power became hers simply because she had held it long enough. Princess Victoria might hav
one's eye. Across from them, a younger woman, Lady Cordelia, th
er voice loud enough for the entire room to hear. "It is
manor hours, coming from the co
teacup down with a decisive click. The sound cut off any furthe
, Seraphina ma
her hair glittered, drawing every eye. She was not the timid country gir
and executed a flawless curtsy to
ologies for my tardiness." Her voice
pology is insufficient. Your lack of co
look ill-bred, selfish, and unfit for command on her first morning, then the new Duchess would begin her reign alr
t Philippa. Instead, she turned to Princess Victoria, her
Highness. I lost track of time. I rose
fted instantly. Every ea
g. "I sat with him for a while. I bathed his face and hands.
improper for His Grace to wake, however briefly, and find only servants at his
ntly, "Especially in a house where gentlemen have l
d, caring wife. Philippa's accusation o
ion softened. "And how is he, chi
l, hopeful, yet uncertai
perhaps it was only my imagination... but when I held his hand to c
tronger than one might expect from a man some me
to the silent room like
A sign of life.
or Alistair, it was the first g
scraping against the marble floor. "Truly
o physician, my lord. It may have been nothing more than
ss Victoria's face. She reached out and patted
f you are tired from caring for my son, you may sleep unt
of favor. It was a shield for Serap
us click. She had tried to brand Seraphina as lazy, disrespectful, and unfit for the household; instead, the girl had turned tardiness into devotion, country igno
sound like an attack on a devoted wife caring for a wounded husband. She
ly accepting a cup of tea from a servant. She ignored
she had won. She had successfully tied herself not ju

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