One could not be a social hermit forever. Millicent held her head straight forward as the carriage halted in front of Malfoy Manor. She sucked in a breath as she stepped out, it was remarkable that although the two structures looked remarkably different, she was still reminded of Balga Castle. She was no longer in Russia, she told herself. Ivan had no power over her.
And as much as she was loathe to come to such an event, tradition and decorum dictated that she should. Politics may have shifted in the years she was... gone, but some facts of life still remained. She was wealthy and pure, not that she was looking for anything. Millicent had her independence now and wasn't looking to give it up any time soon.
Head held high, as to not betray the fluttering of butterfly wings in her stomach, she made no noise upon surrendering her wand, though it pained her to be without it. She simply had to remind herself that nobody else would be armed either and this place was likely crawling with Aurors and other Ministry officials. Still, she couldn't help but smooth her Prussian blue robes, trying to calm her nerves even more. At least the cuts of dress robes had gotten more flattering in the past twenty years.
Trying not to sigh as she passed through the Great Hall, Millicent missed Dunmore something terrible, but she was still fighting for control of the Estate and the business. The sooka her father married was making life particularly difficult. She had nearly scratched the older woman's eyes out when she had appeared at their last meeting wearing her mother's jewelery. But there was no doubt in her mind that Millicent was getting control of what was rightfully hers in the first place, no doubt.