𝚂𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 ✔

Chapter Forty-Three

"Your sister looks as ghastly as ever." Georgiana seemingly manifested out of thin air beside me, nearly causing my heart to leap from my chest.

I tried to keep from laughing at her comment while I did my best to spot where Adela had gone to, then added, "Then there's mother, trying to convince everyone attending that she has miraculously reverted back to when she was once one and twenty herself."

The corners of her lush lips curled, "You know, they say your mother has a spy in our home that feeds her information on what mine wears just so she can dress the same." She chuckled, "Rather mad when you think about it."

"I would not doubt it." I continued my search, "Even I have considered the possibility, for my mother is as odd as they come."

"She is indeed something." We both perused the peoples, all elegantly dressed though many were hard to tell apart with how generic they all ended up appearing. Since most of the men dressed the same save the colors of their vests, and the women, despite trying to appear different, all chose the same cut of dress since it was the most popular style of the season. Only the wealthiest folks truly stood out because they had the money to afford the more out of reach styles.

The momentary silence between us shifted.

"It seems you have done something to get on the Dampierre's bad side." She lowered her voice, "I dare say, mind your words around Castellana or you might end up with something worse than a botched woodland attack befalling you."

"Are you saying it was her who hired those bandits?" My stomach started to curdle as the playful air of our conversation started to sour.

"I'd never do something so bold as to accuse the daughter of such an important Duke of orchestrating such a heinous crime." She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice even more, "Do tread carefully, dearest Emma, because these people are worse than you could ever begin to imagine."

When she and I had grown close enough for her to offer me a friendly, yet cryptic, warning, I was unsure. But just as quickly as she had appeared, she vanished into the many bodies around me as if she had never even been there to begin with. A skill of hers that would always unnerve me.

But perhaps she was right. I hardly knew any of the influential families that currently surrounded me, let alone all the other people. So maybe I had bit off more than I could chew. She all but said the Dampierres were responsible for the attack, yet she also sounded uncertain of it as well.

The overwhelming feeling of uneasiness settled in as I finally grasped the situation in which I had found myself. Everyone in the room had been wolves, ready to set upon me at any moment and devour me whole. Waiting for weakness, for me to make mistakes.

I tipped back the glass of sparkling wine I had in my hand, attempting to drown the terror that slowly crept up my spine. If they were more than willing to have me sullied out of spite, then what would they have done to anyone that had gotten in their way?

After finishing the drink, I handed it to one of the many servants making rounds around the room and exchanged it for another.

"Breathe." I reminded myself, "The night has only just begun."

Across the room, I caught a glimpse of icy blue eyes staring at me through the numerous bodies weaving between us. A pair of eyes swirling with anger, hate and disgust.

Adela had watched my conversation with Georgiana, but to her I was sure it only appeared worse than a casual chat. For me simply laughing with the girl she had hated for the entirety of her life was the equivalent of treachery in her eyes. Though my sister had betrayed me long ago when she chose to hate me, bully me and blame me, when instead she could have just simply loved me.