Ekaterina was in Cora's room early with the new dresses she had designed for the coming days.
Cora's eyes were swollen from crying herself to sleep the previous night after Zane had left her room, and she had been fighting with herself all morning about whether or not he was actually right. Why did he have to put that doubt in her mind? She had been sure that her instincts were right to keep her heart going.
Was she being selfish? Was it actually the best thing to embrace this other side of her if it meant keeping herself safe and keeping her family from worrying about her?
"Miss Cora, are you all right?" Kat's eyes grew large when she saw how red and swollen Cora's face was.
"Yes, I'm okay," she smiled weakly. "It will go away."
Kat looked at her as if she did not believe it, but she wheeled in her long rack of gowns anyway for Cora to look at.
"I tried to keep in mind your style with what the Queen was asking of me," she said.
