There had always been a vague, unspoken awkwardness between them. --Even prior to New Year’s Eve in Monte Carlo...Arnauld would hate her saying so, but Mimi had always imagined that this must be the kind of tension which petulant teenagers shared with their fathers’ new young wives. You’re-not-my-real-mom style. So, when they ran into one another in the corridor - Mimi had been on her way to carry out Arnauld’s orders; Fanni, she imagined, was probably headed for the lake to transform into a swan...Or whatever it was that beloved fairy tale princesses did at night - Mimi’s first instinct was to offer a quick smile and keep moving...But her cousin’s advice repeating in her head slowed her steps to a stop in front of the Hungarian Princess. “Late night stroll? You should avoid the front courtyard, my dog walker is out there with the whole pack...Your trousers are too pretty to risk the pawprints. --Georges Hobeika?” @fannicroy