“The haughty stares brought her back to the ground floor. Rank was a cultural concept as well as a personal philosophy. She would admit to being humbled by two-carat emeralds and ivory disdain when confronted by such a show as this. But pay obeisance to it? Nah. You earned your place in society; anything conferred without commensurate effort was ultimately worthless. The trappings of rank weren’t always bestowed on those who had earned them. And some who were truly powerful sometimes wore no trappings, gave no sign until it counted.”