Chapter 190: What Was Said Aloud
Lyria's POV
For a moment after Jacinta finished speaking, the hall remained very still.
Then Earl Hawthorne moved.
He stepped forward just enough to incline himself properly, his posture as correct as any of the others, though without the careful excess some of them seemed to favour.
"Your Highness," he said to Jacinta, his tone even, respectful, "you have interpreted it perfectly."
Jacinta smiled, obviously glad he had told her that.
"I am pleased you think so, my lord," she replied.
There was a faint approval in her voice, the kind she reserved for moments that reflected well upon her.
The Earl inclined his head once more.
Then he turned.
And for a fraction of a second, I thought he would simply return to his place, as the others had done.
But he did not. Instead, he stepped toward me.
It was not a large movement, nor one that would draw immediate attention from those not already watching closely, but I felt it all the same.
