Chapter 27
Crushing Weight of Her Own Consequences
Grandmother Halton and Mrs. Halton sat together on the silk-upholstered settee, poised and immovable two pillars of authority disguised beneath elegance. Their presence alone established the hierarchy in the room.
The butler had finished serving tea. The apology had been delivered. Accepted. But only barely. And the silence that followed was the kind that made every inhale feel observed.
Beside me, Lilith was unraveling in real time.
She lifted her teacup, but her trembling hands rattled porcelain against porcelain. Her eyes darted everywhere, at the rug, at the windows, at her lap, anywhere but Grandmother Halton, whose unwavering gaze pinned her like a butterfly beneath glass.
I attempted to shift the conversation toward safer ground.
"How is your health, Grandmother? After the food poisoning, I hope you're feeling stronger?"
Her gaze flicked to me briefly and sharply before returning to Lilith.
