The soft scrape of cutleries against ceramic was the only sound in the room, a rare if not bizarre situation when the courtesans of Holloway Palace found themselves gathered.
The reason for that oddity would be the Duchess or 'Della' as she insisted the nervous raven-haired woman seated at her right call her.
News of her invitation from Penelope spread like wildfire, and Rhea found herself a victim of stares and whispers from the courtesans who were not brave enough to walk up to her, demanding answers.
Besides Apollonia and Calida's excitement, Rhea had not thought the invitation to be worth any drama until she had been invited (ordered) by Della to have lunch with her and the courtesans.
Rhea had not dined with the bitter group since the Duchess' welcome dinner and their behaviour was a reminder of why she cherished her self-imposed isolation from them.
