Gerald opened the door just a little, enough to peer through at the assembled guests.
"How does it look?" asked Anna.
"Crowded," he observed. "You"re the one that wanted commoners invited, and they"re packing them in as tightly as they can."
"It"s important," she replied. "They need to know that I"m doing things differently."
"I think they got the message," said Gerald, "I only hope things don"t go sideways. Crowds can turn suddenly, without warning. I"d hate to see what would happen if this lot got upset."
"They won"t," promised Anna, "and I"m counting on them to keep the nobles in their place."
He turned from the door to look at her in surprise. "You what?"
"The nobles secretly fear the mob. They won"t try a power play if the commoners are here."
"It"s a gamble," he said, "but I
