The Countess finally moved, rising from her chair with the smooth grace expected of nobility despite the tension crackling through the room like lightning preparing to strike.
Her voice emerged soft and measured, trained to soothe rather than inflame.
"Perhaps we should all take a moment to..."
"Silence, woman!" the Earl barked, his attention snapping toward his wife with fury that had nowhere else to discharge. "Your family's blood is why our soldiers are cowards! Those guards came from your father's territory, trained by your family's methods, and they ran the moment danger arrived!"
The Countess's expression went carefully blank, her eyes dropping to the floor as she recognized that speaking further would only redirect his rage toward easier targets.
The Earl turned back to Victoria, his breathing heavy as he prepared to deliver whatever final condemnation would end this argument and restore his authority through sheer volume if not through logic.
