"Why do you refuse to mingle with your peers?"
Seraphina closed her heavy book with a loud, echoing THUD.
She turned fully toward Alistair.
The innocent toddler facade was gone completely; the soft smile disappeared, and the childish sparkle vanished from her eyes.
What remained was a cynical gaze that seemed wrong on the face of a six-year-old girl.
Seraphina leaned forward.
"My peers?"
She scoffed softly.
"Do you truly believe those invitations are about tea and ponies, Auntie Alistair?"
Alistair froze.
"They are fishing expeditions."
His emerald eyes widened.
"Those Countesses want to put me in a room with their pampered children so they can extract information. They want to know what the Archduke's weaknesses are, and whether I am legitimate. They want to know how much influence I have over Papa."
Alistair swallowed hard.
Seraphina's voice dropped lower.
