"Welcome!" The leader of the Republic addressed his guests celebratory. "And thank you all for accepting our invitation to this delightful festivity." Despite his age, the voice of the man sounded strong and confident, reaching every corner of the large room. "The Carnival of Venice has a long-lasting tradition and the legends of our divine festivities have travelled the world for centuries. So let us honour traditions and celebrate like our ancestors did long before us and our descendants will long after we are gone!" He paused, inspecting the guests who looked up to their leader in silent amazement.

"Herewith, I officially pronounce the Carnival Season 1793 open!"

A loud cheer erupted from the audience, as people celebrated the opening of Venetian's favourite season. After an appropriate amount of time, it stopped, allowing the Doge to continue his announcement.

"I am getting too old for such festivities," he laughed forcefully, which his audience politely mimicked. "Therefore, my grandson, Antonio Alvise Grimani will open this ball with the first dance together with our honoured guest Princess Mariana of Portugal!"

Spellbound, in complete silence the guests watched the young heir lead the princess to the centre of the room where they waited for the string quartet to start.

Everyone's eyes riveted the girl in the black-and-white dress, but Giulietta barely took any interest. Cecilia would need support from a family within the republic, so this opening dance was just a matter of formality.

Instead, she let her eyes scan through the visitors, looking for a potential dance partner for her sister when she spotted a young man around her age approaching them with a military stiffness.

"Patrizia, may I obtain your permission to ask your sister for the first dance?" He shot, bowing before Giulietta and Peppina.

A little startled but pleasantly impressed by his manners, Giulietta smiled warmly. Now, from such a close distance, she could recognise Angelo, the third child from the House Cornaro.

Ashamed, Giulietta pushed aside the sting of surprise that Peppina was asked right away for the first dance. But a healthy demand for her attention will only increase her value on the marriage market, she rationalised the situation, suppressing a glance to Cecilia.

"As long as my sister has no objections, I have none of mine, Angelo."

This reply earned her a puzzled look from Peppina but with a quick curtsy, the girl accepted the stretched hand, allowing him to lead her to the filling dancing formation.

Absentmindedly, Giulietta watched the pairs that looked like they were floating over the ground. It has been a while since she danced with someone, but who could blame them?

What respected gentleman would leave his family only to subordinate to a woman?

A shiver ran down her spine, and she shook her head to free it from the thoughts of self-pity. Now was not the time. Longing for a distraction, she looked through Cecilia's retinue in hopes to find Alessia's familiar face, but in vain. The girl was likely to be working in one of the rooms upstairs, watching upon Antonio's younger sisters.

"Rerieri," A raspy voice tore her from her thoughts, almost making her jump. "I trust you enjoy yourself," the speaker continued without waiting for her reply. "It must not be an easy task to escort your sister to such an event in absence of your father. Allow me to assure you that he is deeply missed by the entire council."

"Senator Cornaro, gratitude for your kind words," she indicated a curtsy as she hid her scowl. The little fat man stood way too close for her taste, and she attempted inconspicuously to take a few steps back from him.

Giulietta concealed a frown, recollecting what she knew about Angelo's uncle: a senator with ambitions to run for the minor council. Twice divorced and freshly widowed. "To which circumstances do I owe the pleasure?" She swallowed the lump of disgust in her throat.

"Your sister turned into a fine young lady. I wish to dance with her," he announced self-assured, combing with his sausage-like fingers through his oily hair.

For a second, Giulietta could only bink. "We are most humbled by your kind proposition," she started looking for the least offensive words, as she forced herself to look straight through his dry-foliage-brown mask. "But I'm afraid, I must decline. Giuseppina's dancing card has been already filled up for the eve." Giulietta smiled curtly as the unconvincing lie fleeted her lips.

The girl swore internally, blaming herself for coming unprepared. She should have thought of better excuses before the ball. But since her father's death, it was her first ball she escorted her sister to. She would have to do better in the future.

The senator apparently didn't expect to be rejected, so he just stood there, blinking his popping round eyes and silently opening and closing his mouth like a surprised fish that was washed with a wave on the shore. As Giulietta's words had finally sunk in, his face turned fire-red, illuminating his pale eyes with glowing rage. 

"You lying cunt," he shouted against the music, drawing the attention of bystanders. "Nobody wants neither you nor your sisters. You better take what you can get now or in five years' time the three of you will be nothing more than cheap whores."

Diverting their curious gazes and pretending like they heard nothing, the people around them started to slowly dissolve into every possible direction. No one wanted to cross paths with a furious senator.

But Giulietta smiled relieved. That, she was used to handling.

"I will make sure to deliver warmest regards to your first wife from you once I join their circles, Senator" she nodded slowly with a sincerely happy smile.

Giulietta straightened her shoulders and turned around in search of a healthy distance, bumping right into something hard. Furiously sparking dark-brown eyes stared down on her from behind the black mask. The stormy look quickly softened, as the coated wall stepped back from her, allowing her to realise that she just ran in no one else but Niccolò Veneri.

Unable to deal with another man, she swallowed a series of curses before doing what any responsible adult would do: pretending not to recognise him behind the mask.

"My apologies, Signor," she mumbled, seemingly startled and hurried up to look for a plausible alibi to talk to.

She found refuge on the other side of the room in a group of three distantly familiar women her age, who were so deep in their discussion, they barely took notice of her, which elicited a sigh of relief from Giulietta.

"The Doge has never hosted such a grand celebration before! The guests keep arriving from every corner of the Republic, even from the Domini da Mar!" Francesca squeaked, presumably spotting someone from an overseas area possessed by Venice. "Do you recognise this noble couple over there? I had the most pleasant conversation with them last night! They have just arrived from Venetian Albany solely to congratulate the young Grimani for his sixteenth birthday!" She chippered, not-so-subtly pointing with her hand-held mask over to the older couple.

Giulietta barely listened. Thankful for the mask to hide her grim expression, she kept her eyes on the lookout for other potential encounters. She checked again on Peppina, who was luckily still safe from such interactions, dancing among others. Then, her eyes scanned through the visitors, searching for her mother and Giustina, who must have arrived by now.

"Oh! And this exotic young man is a representative from a House in Corfu!" Francesca proudly continued showing off her knowledge of international nobles.

"Well, His Handsomeness can represent me all night," a girl whose name Giulietta couldn't remember snickered.

"Margherita!" everyone gasped, unable to cover their giggles.

"It seems as if His Handsomeness is already taken, my dear," another voice pointed out, still chuckling.

"Oh no, this little shade of his is just his sister. He introduced her earlier to-"

Relieved, Giulietta finally found Flavia's extensive blond curls, standing beneath the heavy crimson curtains at the window. As usual, the woman was the soul of the small crowd that gathered around her, dramatically gesturing, and senselessly flirting with everything that moved. Meanwhile, Giustina stood closely, appearing to be the opposite of her mother. Towering two heads above the petite Flavia, the girl slouched her back, trying to seem smaller, as she almost disappeared behind the curtain.

Slightly concerned, Giulietta furrowed her brows and gathered her skirts, heading to the window when a voice stopped her.

"Apologies Patrizia," the young Grimani approached her, immediately earning her full attention. Suddenly, Giulietta felt like each pair of eyes that she ever came across in her life, stared at her at this very moment, setting on fire every inch of her skin. Fighting for her composure, she pulled back her shoulders and focused her vision on the boy.

"I was wondering if you'll allow me to have the next dance with your sister?" Unable to conceal his inexperience, his voice sounded insecure. Forgetting about the people around, Giulietta smiled sincerely at the youngling in front of her.

This innocent, sweet thing is really nothing more than a figure in a game of chess.

"How can I deny such a request? But this question is better posed to Giuseppina herself," she replied in a reassuring voice.

He nodded, slightly confused about her answer, and Giulietta followed him with her eyes as he approached Peppina. Even though she clearly instructed the girl on how to behave, Giulietta would never force any of her sisters to be with a man they wouldn't want. Despite it, she caught herself holding her breath during the seemingly forever lasting conversation between Antonio and Giuseppina. When the girl finally took his hand, Giulietta closed her eyes. A wave of relief crushed over her.

Her plan has worked.

Energetic tunes filled the room as the string quartet picked up their instruments again, indicating the next round of dances.

Giulietta's eyes fluttered open, naturally landing on the hostess, who looked like she had waited for it. Cecilia's piercing black eyes felt like they were looking straight into her soul, trying to worm out all the darkest fears out of it. Her entire attitude appeared to ridicule Giulietta. Instead of sitting in the centre of the room, it seemed to the girl like the woman was standing right behind her, breathing in her neck, whispering mockingly into her ear: "Assuming I took your bait. Now what?"

As if her entire body was covered in wormholes, leaking the very essence of her life, Giulietta felt weak and empty.

She needed to prove she was a strong ally. She needed ties to the Council. She needed to-

"... and the one next to Niccolò, he is a wealthy merchant from... France I believe? Oh ladies, have you heard him talk earlier? Frankly, I have not even the slightest idea of what he means but his silky voice and his exotic accent make my heart drip like a melting iceberg," Francesca purred, glancing at the blond man, who staged the performance earlier.

"You heart or your-"

"A merchant, you say?" Giulietta interrupted, sensing like Jupiter himself had just stuck her with his lighting.

"A wealthy merchant," Francesca corrected her with a wink.

An urge to scream of frustration slowly spread beneath her corset like a jellyfish that stretched out its tentacles. Of course, Veneri was now talking to other potential suppliers since she snatched his contract. She just didn't expect him to look international. It didn't seem like him. At the same time, what other choice did she leave him?

Her mind raced, screaming at her to intervene with Veneri's new plan. As soon as got on board international suppliers, it would be almost impossible for her to track the operations of her biggest rival. She felt like her entire world was on fire, and she was dancing in the middle of it ablaze.

Suddenly an idea sparked in her mind and Giulietta found herself almost laughing like a mad person. With one last glance to the pedestal, she straightened her back, gathered her skirts and left the group of girls, parading across the room back to Veneri and his new friend.

Let's see how he feels about a deal.