The first week taught Katarina exactly how much she didn't matter here.
Back in Vellasera, she was the Signora. People said hello to her on the street. Merchants came to her with proposals. Stellara sent her veiled threats dressed up as compliments. People moved when she walked into a room.
She had weight there.
At the Compasso, she was a seventeen-year-old from a port town nobody had heard of.
"So, House Montecardi," said a girl named Fiametta during the first group exercise in Trade Law. She was Valdari, Pavona-born, with cheekbones sharp enough to cut stone. Six generations of people who married well will do that. "That's in... where, exactly?"
"Vellasera. Southeastern coast."
"Oh! The fishing village?"
She said it without malice. That was the worst part.
