of the mansion. They walked down a long, drafty hallway in the north wing. The air grew colder here, and the portra

that was more of a large closet than a bedroom. It was small and dusty, furnished with a singl

nnounced, a note of grim satisfaction

ins and the thin film of dust coating every

er. "You will eat your meals here. You are not to wander the estat

something that looked dangerously like amusement dan

a slap. Mrs. Hicks straightened, indignant. "I am the

ley Sinclair's wife. According to the law, and more importantly, according to the contrac

pening and closing like a fish. The sheer audac

"This room is unacceptable. The welcome was unacceptable. And you," she

re a pr

at the end of the hall, drawn by the sound of their confrontati

ed by a look of profound, wounded dignity. "Mrs. Sinclair," she said, her voice polite but firm,

"I was under the impression I was marrying into the

into slits. "You will l

if the Sinclair family intends to breach our agreement within the first hour of m

team of very expensive lawyers. I'm sure they'd be fascinated to hear about this reception

A scandal was the last thing the

n her eyes. She had clearly underestimated t

he meaning

r, the patriarch of the family, stood there, his presence radiating an aura of absolute

tly. "Theodore. The girl

ed his daughter-in-law completely. They

nclair now, I believe," she corrected him gen

nt made even Theodore's eyebro

. Hicks's insolent posture, and the calm, defiant girl who looked as if she held all the cards in

his de

f ice. "You will move Mrs. Hadley Sinclair's

, the opulent rooms adjacent to Hadley's own, ha

on Vivian. "My grandson's wife will be treated

face a mask of humilia

unreadable in his eyes-not warmth, but perhaps a flicker of grudging resp

The first battle had been fought. And won. S