Your thoughts race around your head, only to be interrupted when Freddie trips over Gonzalez's lacrosse stick and starts telling her off for leaving her things around the dormitory. Whatever comes next, it's unlikely to be peaceful.
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A truly refined person behaves with moderation around one's superiors. People who are overly deferential will bore, while those who chatter without regard for the setting will gain only distaste.
-From the Philosophical Considerations of Lady Françoise Renaldt
Sunlight glints on the fish knife. Fabric rustles as Freddie opens her napkin. Lady Renaldt frowns at her, and she sinks down in her gilded chair. At the opposite end of the table, a crystal glass clinks lightly against the dessert spoon as Delacroix lays it down.
Lady Renaldt tuts. "You are here to be refined, but this class has all the refinement of a coal face," she says. "Again."
Your set of cutlery sits in front of you, gleaming, on either side of your empty plate. You've been in Etiquette class for an hour, and this is the practical assessment.
If you can't remember the exactly proper action, you can improvise to give a little extra excitement to a dinner party. You rise to your feet.
"Distinguished companions," you say to the room. "May I take a moment to wish you health, success, and joy for the coming season?"
For a moment, the air is still, and then a murmur of polite agreement ripples through the room.
At the head of the table, Lady Renaldt nods. "Thank goodness . is paying some attention."
As you carry on pretending to eat, Lady Renaldt makes several pointed remarks about performance in Etiquette class being a reliable predictor for marrying well. She quotes from her book: Those who understand social niceties are bound to find one another, and an appropriate match will be made.