ngers of light across the polished

y gown. She wore no jewelry, her hair pulled back i

sat at its head, her face a web of disapproving wrinkles. Martha, her mother-in-law, picked at a pie

de like a king and his new queen, we

ostility. The only sounds were th

d authority. She did not acknowledge the previous night's unpleasa

n Oakhaven," she declared, her gaze sweeping over the room as if it were already be

"Oh, yes! I shall host the most splendid salons. W

of selfish glee. "And the fashions in the capital! I hear the gowns ar

ate performance, calculated to show her the glorious future she would be excluded from if

al with slow, deliberate grace, her exp

rtha who finally lost her patience a

ire a great deal of money. You must begin planning the accounts immediate

air of eyes fixed on her,

h her napkin and placed it beside her

, she exited t

hey thought she had broken, that she was g

ter, Briann

the thick dowry ledger and

steps measured and silent, and stopped b

ed in the silent room, she placed the le

her servitude-and placed it directly on top of the ledger. She slid them acro

g. "From this day forward, the finances and domestic affairs of the Sma

t over their

f my dowry, and the signet ring. I, Brian

a silence so profound it w

e was a picture of disbelief. Penelope

the ring, a flicker of avarice in her eyes

d expressions, the dawning horror as they began to understand wh

kingdom that was nothing but a mou

m rule