We don’t want her with us,” Liesa protested when they reached the noble’s table.
Sandry looked down with her button nose at the other girl. “She is my guest,” she said flatly. “She- what’s your name?” she asked in Tradertalk.
Daja nearly refused. When she saw anger on the faces of the other girls, she grinned instead, white teeth flashing aginst dark skin. “Daja Kisubo.”
“Lady Daja is my guest,” Sandry told Liesa.
A girl nearby muttered, “If that’s a lady, I’m a cat.”
Reaching out, Sandry lifted the pitcher of milk from the table. Cradling it in both hands, she walked over to the mutterer. “I am Sandrilene fa Toren, daughter of count Mattin fer Toren and his countess, Amiliane fa Landreg. I am the great-niece of his grace, Duke Vedris of this realm of Emelan, and cousin of her Imperial Highness, Empress Berenene of the Namorn Empire. You are Esmelle ei Pragin, daughter of Baron Witten en Pragin and his lady Colledia of House Wheelwright- a merchant house. If I tell you my friend is a lady, then you-” carefully she poured milk into Esmelle’s plate- “You had best start lapping, kitty.