'Please Larissia, don't go. Not tonight. What will Deblen think?'
'Hmph. What he usually thinks. He spends all night in his office anyway. If I tell him I need to work for the good of the kingdom, he'll be happy. Besides, I'll be telling the truth.'
'Larissia . . . You should spend your evenings with Deblen.'
Larissia rolled her eyes. Figenia was starting to sound like her older sister. 'For goodness sake, I'm only going to a tutoring session. There is plenty of time for Deblen to do his duty by the kingdom later . . . if he's interested.'
Larissia twiddled with her fork and stabbed at her beans. Feeling stuffy in her tightly laced-up dress, her gaze kept wandering to the window. The sky had darkened to deep blue, and only a faint strip of orange remained of the day.
Knives and forks
