Chapter 9: Seraphine's Invitation and the Gallery of Defeated Portraits

The invitation arrived the following morning in a manner so precisely calibrated that Honoria spent several minutes simply admiring its construction before permitting herself to be suspicious of it.

It was a card, not a note — cream stock of a quality that Province Twelve did not produce, engraved with a small floral border that managed to be both decorative and restrained. The handwriting was not Seraphine's own, which told Honoria that Seraphine kept a dedicated secretary for social correspondence, which in turn suggested either that she found writing cards beneath her dignity or that she understood the value of a hand that could not be directly attributed. The message itself was three lines: an expression of admiration for Honoria's performance at the Waltz Examination, an observation that the Court gardens were most pleasant in the late morning light, and an enquiry as to whether Honoria might find herself at leisure between ten and noon.

There was no explicit reference to their previous exchange. There was no need for one. The card's existence was the reference.