Chapter 31: Playing the Game 3

"The tea from the North is quite bitter," Baroness Bethia Bohan smiled as she finished drinking her tea. "But I heard that the Duke of the North loves it, he can't quite live without it."

"My husband said the same thing," Countess Helen Stacey said. "It is said that the North had been giving bitter teas to other kingdoms and empires hoping that they would like it. I suppose they wanted to make it a new trend."

"A new trend?" Victoria smiled. "Bitter teas aren't as popular as the others because, well, it was just too bitter for a lighthearted conversation. Womenfolk prefer something sweet and light. I doubt that that was the intention of their gifts."

"Marchioness, I believe — "

"Marchioness, I apologize for interrupting the conversation, but the daughter of the Duke of Daunce just arrived."