CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The last time Etta attended a ball was for the queen’s birthday. She’d been ten-years-old and was only invited because Queen Catrine had a fondness for the children of the court. Normally, they were kept away.
No children would be present tonight, but every noble of the kingdom would go out of their way, some traveling for days, to be there when their new king gave his first toast. There was to be no more mourning for dead kings. It was Alexandre’s wish. If the realm was to withstand the challenges to come, they must look to the future, not the past.
That future had Etta wearing a gown that was much too tight, and rouge that made her look like someone else. She ran her hands down the soft fabric of her pink dress. It hugged every curve before flaring out at the waist. T
