"Shall we call for tea?" Catherine finally asked.

The family stared at Catherine as if she'd spoken a strange foreign language.

​​

"Some tea would be wonderful," Catherine said.

Catherine rang a small bell, and the doors swung open. Two men carrying a large silver tray with a silver teapot and crystal tea cups entered the room. They moved in lockstep, carefully placing the heavy tray on the low table before they backed out of the room.

"Please allow me to pour the tea," Catherine said.

She slid forward on the sofa and reached for the teapot. It was surprisingly heavy as she lifted it and her arm trembled slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Iris smirk. With a deep breath, she began to pour the tea, steadying the enormous teapot with her other hand. When each cup was filled with steaming brown liquid, she added the sugar and stirred in the milk.

"I don't take sugar with my tea," Iris sniffed.

"I'm sorry, sister," Catherine said. "I should have asked."

"I'm not your sister," Iris said.

"In law," Catherine added. "It's alright though, I can call you Iris. It's a very beautiful name. Is it French?"

Iris narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips but didn't say a word. Catherine reached forward and took a cup of tea, and the rest of the family followed. Catherine took the last cup, gripping the delicate crystal handle as tightly as she could without breaking it.

"The tea is lovely, dear," Catherine said.

"Thank you," Catherine replied.

Amanda smiled kindly, "You really do make a very nice cup—much better than me, I'm afraid. Our father-in-law will be grateful—he loves a strong cup of tea, and I'm afraid he's suffered through too many of mine."

Catherine smiled back at Amanda, surprised by the warmth in her voice. Had Amanda suffered the same coldness from the Blair family? Did her kindness come from empathy?

"Thank you," Catherine said. "My father was the same—he taught me to prepare tea."

As if prompted by his mother's kindness, Bentley climbed off of Amanda's lap and tottered toward Catherine. He climbed onto the sofa and smiled shyly up at her. She smiled back and placed her teacup back on the saucer.

"I have a present for you, Bentley," she said. She reached into one of the bags she brought and pulled out a small toy airplane modeled after a fighter jet.

"It's just like the one Daddy used to fly," Bentley said, hugging the toy with excitement.

"What do you say, Bentley?" Amanda asked.

"Thank you, Auntie Catherine," he said, already swinging the toy through the air.

He climbed back onto the sofa and gave her a wet, childish kiss on her cheek. She smiled and kissed the top of his blonde head, enjoying the outrage in Iris and Vivian's eyes. Iris leaned over to Pearl and whispered something, and the other girl sneered unpleasantly.

"Wow, he's really warmed up to you," Amanda said. "He's usually quite shy with strangers."

"Enough niceties," Vivian snapped. "Let's talk about why you're really here today."

"Oh, I'm not here to get to know you?" Catherine asked, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

Vivian had called her on the phone and demanded she come alone to their house. She was practically kidnapped by Vivian's men, and when she walked through the doors and saw them all waiting for her, she was expecting an ambush.

"We all know about that nasty business on your wedding day," Vivian said. "And I want to make it clear that we don't tolerate that kind of classless behavior in our family."

Catherine smiled blankly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, save it," Vivian snapped. "It's no secret you eloped with another man on your wedding day."

"I don't understand," Catherine said, wrinkling her forehead in confusion. "If I'd eloped with another man, why would I be here talking to you?"

"Aren't you arrogant," Vivian said. "We know all about this Marco Jacobs you tried to run away with."

"There's been a misunderstanding," Catherine lied. "I didn't elope with anyone, let alone Marco Jacobs."

"You really think you can lie your way out of this?" Iris asked. "Maybe the innocent, uneducated act works on my brother, but we know better. Everyone knows you tried to escape with Marco."

"That's not true," Catherine said.

"Then pray to tell us, what is the truth?" Vivian asked.

Catherine squared her shoulders, "Marco is a school friend of mine, and he happened to be going abroad. I thought I'd see him off and say goodbye, but I never even left the estate grounds."

"Never left the estate grounds?" Vivian asked. "More like, my son caught and detained you."

"Friend?" Vivian asked. "Everyone knows that you and Marco were more than friends."

"I don't know what you've heard," Catherine said. "But all I can say is if I'd eloped with another man, I wouldn't be here speaking with all of you."

"We all know you dressed your cousin up in your wedding dress and sent her back to the reception to pretend to be you," Vivian said. "And we know that Marco Jacobs is currently detained on the estate."

"I have no idea about that," she said. "Sean's affairs are his own—perhaps you should ask him about that instead."

"You bitch," Iris said. "You dare to lie to us like that? You have no idea about this family and no idea about my brother."

Catherine leveled a huge smile at Iris, "You know that's true. I'm afraid I know very little about you all. But I do look forward to spending time with you in the future—girl's spa weekends, family holidays, Sunday dinners—I'm sure we'll get to know each other quite well in the coming years."

Iris looked as if someone had punched her in the gut, and Vivian's scowl darkened. Catherine had known many women like them—they were bullies plain and simple. They thrived on making the people around them uncomfortable, but she refused to let them see her crack.

"There will be none of that," Vivian said. "You humiliated our family and disrespected Sean, and we won't forget about it just because he's decided to keep you around."

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about, but I suggest you speak to Sean about it," she said. "For my part, I'm Sean's wife, and I intend to do my best to be a good wife to him and a good in-law to all of you."

Iris leaned over to Pearl and whispered, "Lucky, I speak fluent bitch—that's code for Sean's money and intends to do her best to spend it all." Pearl hid her smile behind an elegantly manicured hand.

Catherine rolled her eyes. No one has any doubts you speak fluent bitch, she thought.

"What did you just say?" Iris asked.

Catherine felt the blood rise to her cheeks—had she spoken out loud again? She glanced at Catherine and saw that the older woman was suppressing a smile—her blue eyes twinkled merrily.

"I said, I love Sean, not his money," she said.

"We're not naïve," Vivian said. "We've met women like you before, and they never get very far."

"I'm telling you, I'm not interested in Sean's money," Catherine said. "I'm perfectly capable of earning my own income and supporting myself."

"Ha, like you've ever worked a day in your life," Iris scoffed.

"If you know so much about it, why don't you give me some career advice, dear sister," Catherine said.

"I fully intend to get a job once I graduate," Iris said. "And at least I'm at university."

Catherine bit her tongue to keep from asking Iris just how many years she'd already spent at university, partying and spending the family money while she flunked her classes. "Well, as I've said, I'm going to do my best to be a supportive but independent wife," Catherine said. "I won't embarrass Sean or the Blair family."

Vivian and Iris's expressions froze in surprise and horror. Catherine stared at them, wondering how her words could have inspired such a response. She heard footsteps, and a pair of strong hands squeezed her shoulders. She turned to find Sean standing behind her. His eyes were fierce as he stared at his family members, and he wore a severe frown.

"Who dares to call my wife an embarrassment?" he asked. "This is the woman I chose to marry. If you have any issues with that decision, you can take it up with me."

Though Sean's face was severe, she felt at ease for the first time. Warmth flooded her, and she relaxed under his hands. She was used to defending herself, and she'd dealt with women far worse than Vivian and Iris. Still, it was a relief to have Sean protecting her.

"Come on, Catherine, we're leaving," Sean said.

She stood, and he crossed to her side and wrapped his arm possessively around her waist. She snuck a glance at his serious expression and wondered how much of the conversation he'd heard before entering the room.