Lèse-majesté

Part 15

Chapter 14

Heather was snapped out of her pondering when Astrid, carrying herself with a frosty poise, extended her hand towards Lord Nelson to accept his dance invitation.

"Just what the hell is she thinking?" Dagur frowned as he came to stand near his sister, placing a careful arm around her shoulders while Dame Mala stood on his other side. "She knows how much he hurt you,"

"Brother, wait and watch." Heather said. "Astrid never does something without a purpose."

"I don't think she wants to make a scene right now," Mala observed. "After all it's bad form for a lady to decline a dance. Besides look, she's deliberately stepping on his toes." The knight smirked as she pointed out the pained expression Lord Nelson tried to hide.

Heather actually had to stop herself from laughing out loud. She quickly opened her lace fan to hide her growing grin. Whatever Lord Nelson was trying to convey was interrupted by Astrid's feet. She was tormenting the man and he could say nary a word about it. It was rather rude to comment on one's dance partners' abilities after all.

Once the song ended they could see Astrid making her way over to them while Lord Thuggory vanished into the crowd. "Oh dear me, I must be tired from socializing," Astrid dramatically declared but the smirk directed at Lady Heather gave it away that she wasn't tired at all.

"Did he try anything?" Heather asked nervously.

"He complimented me and then he was talking about his business and fortune. Honestly, I tuned him out halfway. The man is as dull as a nail in an oak tree."

"Why would there be a nail in an oak tre-OOOH," Dagur finally got it. "Can I borrow that? I might want to use that on someone in the future,"

"Why do I have a bad feeling about who you are going to insult?!" Heather's eyes narrowed.

Astrid was used to the sibling bickering and instead turned to Dame Mala who stood by Dagur's side. Instead of the traditional ball gown, the knight wore her official uniform. It had a similar cut to the Royal Navy uniform but was instead white and adorned with a red and gold sash. A ceremonial rapier was fastened to Mala's belt and she wore pants which caused quite a few eyes to turn and mouths to wag, but the lady looked very prim and proper in her ensemble. "I'm so glad you could attend Dame Mala. However, did the Earl convince you?"

Mala actually blushed slightly and coughed to hide her embarrassment and just as she was about to answer, Astrid was yanked back by a firm grip on her arm. Astrid's head whipped to the person who dared to touch her only to see her father bearing down on her with an angry look. "Just what are you doing?!" he asked as his eyes narrowed.

"Let go of me," Astrid hissed as her eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?!" her father asked instead, choosing to ignore his daughter's words. "Why are you associating with someone that has no last name?! Do you know how this looks? You shouldn't tolerate their sort!"

"Let go of me, you're causing a scene," Astrid hissed back.

"Astrid, do you know what it means to associate with a disgraced Noble?!" Samuel said loud enough for Mala to hear. "They are not our sort,"

Astrid growled and finally managed to yank her arm free. She jabbed her father in the chest where his cravat was neatly tucked in and uttered "I will converse with whom I wish to converse."

"H-How dare you speak to your elders that wa-" Samuel was in the process of raising his hand to backhand Astrid when a strong arm stopped him. The man looked to his right to see his wife, Esmeralda, holding his wrist.