The guest list felt heavier than Valerie had expected.
She sat at the small table in the sitting room that afternoon, a thick sheet of paper resting in her hands, brown eyes tracing the neatly written names Edward had prepared. One line after another. Titles. Houses. Territories.
Nearly fifty names.
Valerie swallowed.
"This many…?" she murmured without realizing it.
Rowena stood behind her, glancing over the list before letting out a short breath.
"Edward is overly diligent," she said calmly but firmly. "This is a safe list. But it is not a clever one."
Mirabel, seated across the table with her legs crossed elegantly, smiled faintly.
"A tea gathering is not a formal imperial banquet," she said. "It is a stage. And a stage does not need the wrong audience."
Valerie lifted her gaze.
"What do you mean…?"
Rowena took the list from Valerie's hands and pointed to several names with her fingertip.
