Chapter 7 - The Master of the House
“Lower your voice, Vanessa,” I said softly, stepping into the center of the room. “You are a bride on your wedding day. Shrieking like a child does not suit the elevated image you are trying so desperately to project.”
“Get out!” she hissed, stepping toward me with venom in her eyes. “Christopher! Someone get Christopher up here right now! You don't have the right to be on these grounds! We paid the venue rental fee yesterday! This plantation is privately reserved for our family today!”
“Is it?” I asked, tilting my head.
The door behind me opened again. Arthur Blake, Christopher’s father, walked in with an exasperated frown, accompanied by the estate’s general property director, Marcus Sterling. Marcus was a tall, distinguished man who had managed the physical operations of Ashley Hall for over fifteen years.
“What is the commotion in here?” Arthur demanded, adjusting his tie. Then his eyes fell on me. “You. Margaret. Look here, madam, we dealt with your childish financial petulance yesterday. We paid the emergency facility fee out of our own pocket. You have no legal standing to harass my daughter-in-law on our private premises.”
Marcus Sterling cleared his throat. It was a sharp, dry sound that cut through the tension in the room like a scalpel.
“Mr. Blake,” Marcus said, his voice carrying the calm, crisp authority of historical estate management. “I believe there is a fundamental error in your understanding. You did indeed wire an emergency facility usage fee yesterday afternoon.”
“Yes, we did!” Arthur barked. “Ten thousand dollars! So have this woman removed immediately!”
“That fee,” Marcus continued smoothly, “was a non-refundable application and maintenance fee to request an emergency usage variance. However, according to the corporate charter of Ashley Hall Historic Properties LLC, all event variances on these grounds require the unanimous written authorization of the primary equity managing partner.”
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Arthur blinked, looking confused. “And who the devil is the managing partner? The board chairman?”
Marcus stepped aside and gestured respectfully toward me. “Mrs. Margaret Hawthorne has been the sixty-percent majority shareholder and managing partner of Ashley Hall Historic Properties for the past five years. She owns this estate, Mr. Blake. You are standing in her parlor.”
