Serena didn't know that Katherine was now engaged to Earl Dante Winston whose family were also part of the radical faction in the past. Then again, it was not a surprise because Katherine's family must have gained something in return after being turncoats.
Though not as handsome nor striking as most of the men in her life, Dante was above average in terms of looks.
Anyhow, the quartet struck the first notes of a waltz, bright and lilting, a cruel contrast to the tension that still clung to the air. Serena's fan snapped open with a soft crack, her smile cool and practiced. She could still taste the sharpness of Lady Katherine's words on her tongue—saccharine, poisonous, and utterly beneath contempt.
As always, Childish taunts, whispered behind gilded cups still passes for victory in society, Serena thought, her pulse steadying.
In any case, she refused to give the woman the satisfaction of a visible wound.
