For a wedding dinner that had been arranged at such speed, the banquet hall had been magnificently decorated. Twinkling candles and vast bouquets of mistletoe and snowdrops made the room look like a scene from a winter fairytale.
Queen Celia might've still been furious about who she ended up with as a new daughter, but her pride wouldn't allow her to host anything less than a spectacularly beautiful wedding for her firstborn.
It was a pity then, Violet thought, that her mother-in-marriage had spent much of the chapel ceremony and now the dinner, glaring at her. There wouldn't be any forgiveness coming from the queen anytime soon.
Violet sat straight and tall at the high table, the scent of fragrant winter greenery enveloping her. She could see Leo across the hall, laughing loudly with a cluster of his friends, the small group of pampered young noblemen with the same fondness for drinking and riotous nights.
