Astoria blinked. She thought his reaction was strange but she said nothing. "And do they belong to our society?" Astoria asked cautiously, referring to the upper class. She didn't think they did because the women Astoria knew weren't really like that. It was nice that he'd found that in his friends but not everyone did.
"I don't misunderstand anything," she said stubbornly. "Just because you aren't privy to that side of a person doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. When we first met you thought I was exactly like those women, didn't you? That I was some brainless idiot just like every last one of them. But I'm not and for all you know, neither are they. Yes, some people only play the game and that is sad but I don't think you're giving women in general enough credit." And what did it say about him, that they chose not to show him their true colors? "The fact is that real, genuine friendship is not as easy to come by as it should be. I'm very lucky to have the people I have in my life. I love them and I trust them to always be there. But that's just it - it's luck." Astoria shook her head. "Not everyone is that fortunate or even that good -- to find people who will love them unconditionally. It's good that you have your friends and it's admirable that you'd do anything to protect them but people are just different." And out of all the things that Astoria judged people for, it would not be for hiding part of themselves when it was necessary. It was protection.
Astoria smiled. "Maybe we should just have had dessert for dinner?"