The orchestra played a low, slow melody, a backdrop to the quiet war being fought at the high table.
Lady Jane sat in Derek's empty chair. She picked up a delicate porcelain tea cup, inspecting the painted rim as if looking for a crack. She didn't drink. She set it back down with a soft clink.
She turned her gaze to Marissa. Her eyes swept over Marissa's figure, lingering on her waist, then moved to the small plate of untouched pastries on the table.
"I tend to gain weight when I lack sleep," Jane sighed, her voice dripping with false intimacy. "So I am worried. The life of the court is exhausting, you see. If I had a naturally stunning figure like yours, Duchess, perhaps I could enjoy this festival without a care. I could eat whatever I wanted."
It was a polite insult. She was calling Marissa gluttonous, implying that Marissa let herself go while Jane had to maintain her beauty to keep her Prince.
