Musicians on the platform played a processional march.
Nobles filed out from the castle, taking their places on raised seating that had been arranged around the platform. They wore their finest clothes—men in tailcoats and high collars, women in elaborate gowns with bustles and trains.
Then came the religious officials, priests of the Holy Empire's dominant faith, wearing robes of white and gold. They carried ceremonial objects, a book bound in leather and silver.
And then, finally, the wedding party itself emerged.
Lord Caden Harrington came first, walking with confident strides.
He wore a coat of deep blue velvet embroidered with gold thread in patterns that probably told his family history to anyone educated enough to read them. His blonde hair had been perfectly styled, his face cleanly shaven. He looked every inch the noble lord, handsome and powerful and sure of his place in the world.
Behind him, escorted by older nobles who must have been family members, came Scarlett.
