Iris' eyes flashed, and she raised a neatly manicured hand. Pearl grabbed Iris' wrist and shook her head. Catherine smiled at the two of them.

"Go ahead, Iris," she said. "Why don't you hit me in public? I'm sure all the photographers here would love to get that image. I can see the headlines now: Blair Family Drama."

​​

"Shut up," Iris hissed.

"Don't let her get to you, Iris," Pearl said. "You have a future ahead of you. In a few years, Sean will get tired of having an ignorant, illiterate wife, and he'll kick her to the curb. Let her enjoy her victory for now—it won't last."

"Maybe," Catherine said with a shrug. "Or maybe I'll go to King's College, graduate, build a successful empire with my father's business and live a long and happy life with Sean."

"Really?" Iris sneered. "King's College would never let you in."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Catherine replied. "We might be seeing a lot of each other this Fall."

Iris' face darkened, "Did my brother pull strings for you too?"

"Too?" Catherine asked. "Oh, Iris, did Sean have to help you get in?"

A pink blush crept up Iris' neck and cheeks, "Of course not."

"Oh, this is too good," Catherine said with a laugh. "The famous Iris Blair couldn't get into Kings College on her own."

"Shut up," Iris shrieked.

A few people turned to stare at them.

"Well, this has been a very interesting conversation," Catherine said. "But I'm starting to get bored. See you, girls, at uni."

She turned to leave and came face to face with Sean. His eyes were ice-cold, and his face was set in a furious mask. Her heart hammered in her chest, and then she realized he was looking at Iris.

"Sean," Iris squeaked. "Good to see you."

"Who told you you could leave the house?" he asked.

"I—I—You see—" she stammered.

"I don't see," he said. "Please enlighten me."

"I swear this is the first time I've left the house," Iris said. "And I have a really good reason."

"I don't care what your reason was," Sean said, his voice low and cold. "You disobeyed my orders."

"I came to help Pearl," Iris said. "I was just supposed to pop in and leave—I didn't think I'd run into you."

"Save it for someone who cares, Iris," Sean said.

"I—" Iris began.

"I don't want to hear another word," Sean said, his voice low and dangerous. "Tomorrow morning, you're checking into Willowsden, and you're going to stay there and reflect on your attitude until I say you can leave."

"What?" Iris asked.

"You heard me," Sean said. "You're going back to Willowsden."

The color drained from Iris' face, and she began to shake her head back and forth.

"No, Sean, please," she begged. "That place is like a prison!"

"I don't want to hear it, Iris," Sean said.

"Please, Sean," Pearl said, placing her hand on his forearm. "Please don't punish Iris on my account—she wouldn't be here if I hadn't begged her."

Sean glared at Pearl, and she removed her hand from his arm as if she'd been stung.

"I man Willowsden is a mental hospital," she continued. "Don't you think it's a bit severe?"

"Exactly," Iris wailed. "Everyone there is absolutely mad."

"Pearl, stay out of Blair family business," Sean snapped. "As for you, Iris, you should have thought about that before you started acting crazy. Kidnapping your sister-in-law and scheming against my marriage—I'd say any psychologist would agree there's something wrong with you."

"I know I made a mistake," Iris said. "Please, let me make it right. I promise I won't leave the house until the Fall term begins. I'll do whatever you want. Just please don't make me go back to Willowsden. Just think about how bad it will look for the family."

"I'm getting very tired of this conversation, Iris," Sean said. "Many young women from respectable families go to Willowsden. After all, it's billed as an exclusive wellness retreat. You will leave this party now and go directly home. My driver will take you to Willowsden in the morning."

Iris' upper lip trembled, and her eyes glittered with tears. She stared at Catherine and mouthed something.

"What's that?" Catherine asked. "Speak up."

"Help," Iris whispered miserably. "Please help me."

Catherine sighed, weighing her options. On the one hand, she wanted to see Iris sent away. Iris deserved every second in that place. But on the other hand, it would be nice for Iris to owe her a favor.

"Hmm," she said. "Sean, can you please be more lenient with your sister? As a favor to me?"

Sean gave her a long, hard look.

"Do you really mean that?" he asked.

Catherine sighed, "I do."

"Get out of my sight, Iris," Sean said. "And consider yourself lucky."

Catherine watched Iris and Pearl walk away, but she could feel Sean's eyes on her. She turned and looked at him, and he gave her a questioning look. She shrugged and looked away, and his large hand wrapped around hers.

"Your hands are freezing," he murmured.

"Oh, I'm fine," she said. She took a deep breath and continued, "I don't think you should be so harsh with Iris."

He raised an eyebrow, "No?"

"No," she said. "Though she has a bad way of showing it, I'm sure she loves you."

"She needs to learn to respect me," he answered, his voice flat and final.

"If you treat her like this, she'll only learn to fear you," Catherine replied. "You'll get further by being gentle and considerate. Young women like that."

"Oh, is that what young women like?" he asked, gently tracing a fingertip up her arm. "I can be gentle if you want."

Her cheeks burned, "I wasn't talking about myself. Can we go home?"

"Sure," Sean said. "This party will end soon enough."

"And Brad and Leydon?" she asked.

"Don't mind them," he replied. "There's plenty here to distract them."

Outside of the museum, the golden street lamps twinkled and shone in the dark night. A few glamorous guests made their way down the sidewalk, but most were still inside. A valet pulled Sean's car around, and Catherine settled into the passenger seat. As Sean drove, she thought about Ken Hosk.

"Sean, do you know much about JJ Studio?" she asked.

"I've never heard of it," he said. "Why?"

"Hmm," she said. "Never mind."

She chewed her lip and thought. Though Sean didn't know much about the fashion world, he knew everything about the business. If he didn't know JJ Studio, it wasn't worth knowing. So why would Ken choose it? She wondered. I have to find a way to make Feather Textiles more appealing to him—and fast—if he's older than Iris, he must be in his final year at uni.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing," she lied.

"Come on," he said. "You can tell me."

"I was just wondering about Leydon and Clara," she lied. "They both seem like such nice people, but they won't even look at each other."

"That's none of our business," Sean said.