The Emperor gestured to a girl behind him, who shyly came forward and placed a small bundle in the Empress’s arms. “I present to you our beloved daughter Margareta, Archduchess of the Holy Roman Empire.” The courtiers shouted and moved forward as a heaving mass, causing a frantic scuffle among the guards in order to keep them back. Only the nobles who had wagered a small fortune on the birth of an Archduke slunk into the shadows. “Our dear Empress Isabella has not been the only one bringing new life into the world,” Frederick continued. Amihan and Krystállina stepped forward. “I am pleased to present Caroline Bestwick, the Marquise de Queensberry and her twin sister, Grace, Lady Hartford.” Very few of the courtiers stepped forward to see the ducal daughters; most had been reduced to an awed murmur that Catherine had survived the birth of twins. “I do not mean to put Your Graces on the spot,”
