Chapter 9 - The Reckoning
“Are you canceling the wedding?” Vanessa cried out, falling onto the velvet settee, clutching her face. “Mom, you can’t do this to me! Everyone will laugh at me! My life will be completely ruined! Please! I’m your daughter!”
“Yes, you are my daughter,” I replied, looking at her with a mixture of profound sorrow and unyielding strength. “And as your mother, I failed you in one crucial area: I protected you so thoroughly from the realities of hard work and struggle that you grew up believing service was something to despise rather than respect.”
Marcus stood beside me, awaiting my command.
“Margaret, please,” Christopher stammered, stepping forward. “Think about the Blake name. You can’t do this to our family in public.”
“Your family did this to yourselves when you confused wealth with decency,” I said. Then, I turned to Marcus.
“Marcus,” I instructed. “We will not humiliate the guests who traveled here in good faith. Allow the ceremony on the lawn to proceed. They may exchange their vows under the live oaks as scheduled. But the grand ballroom reception is canceled. The commercial kitchens will remain locked. The estate gates will be closed to all parties promptly at four-thirty. No party will take place on this estate tonight.”
Arthur gasped. “No reception? Where are two hundred people supposed to go on a Saturday night in Charleston?”
“Downtown has plenty of public restaurants,” I said coolly. “I’m sure an illustrious family with such pristine standards can easily make reservations.”
Without waiting for their protests, I turned on my heel and walked out of the bridal suite.
As I walked down the sweeping marble staircase, I saw Eleanor Blake standing near the grand doors. She had clearly caught wind of the commotion. Her face was ashen, her fingers twisting her pearl necklace so hard the string looked ready to snap.
I paused on the final step, looking her straight in the eye.
May you like
“The servant has decided to close the house early today, Eleanor,” I said with a faint, polite smile. “Enjoy the lawn.”
I walked out the side entrance to my car, leaving the whispers, the panic, and the chaos behind me. For the first time in thirty-five years, I was not staying to clean up anyone else’s mess.
