"For being the one to draw the queen's attention to it. It's because of me that she knows her favourite son is the type of man who enjoys romping with a slut." Ilse met her mother's angry gaze head on, her own eyes hard and her face deathly pale. "Her Majesty struggles with receiving hard truths, you see."
Lady Thierre snorted with outrage, her eyes pinching into slits. "That hardly seems fair, if she's blaming you for others' bad behaviour. She should -"
"Why does it matter what you think, wife, when she's the queen?" Lord Thierre interrupted rudely. "She's going to do what she wants to do regardless. That includes banishing our daughters for ridiculous reasons." He looked at Violet briefly with a sneer. "Ridiculous reasons for one, at least."
"Why were you even involved, Ilse?" Lady Thierre demanded. "If you knew your sister had become the prince's mistress, why didn't you just keep the secret to yourself? There might've been some benefits to Violet -"
