Together they climbed the grand staircase leading toward the entrance. The marble steps gleamed beneath lantern light. Ladies in silk and jewels moved around them as gentlemen stood in clusters nearby. Everywhere Penelope looked, wealth shimmered, not merely displayed, but celebrated.
This was the world society preferred. Beautiful, elegant, and untouched by hardship. A carefully crafted illusion.
At the top of the staircase, Francesca slowed, only slightly. But Penelope noticed. The younger woman looked toward the towering doors, and the music beyond them.
The hundreds of strangers waiting inside. Her first true step into society. Fear flickered briefly across her features, before disappearing. Penelope squeezed her arm gently, and Francesca looked at her.
"You are ready." The words came quietly and certain. For a moment, the younger woman's eyes softened before she nodded. Together they entered, as the ballroom unfolded before them.
