“Silas Byrnes!”
His teeth snapped together in a tight smile. Though he’d spent most of his married life far from Portsmouth, Silas knew his sister-in-law’s strident tone anywhere: it was identical to Deborah’s. Others in the room turned their direction, and Silas sent them a reassuring nod before turning to face the dragon charging towards him.
“I cannot countenance that you would do such a thing, yet Helen insists you have,” said Ruth Slade, speaking of all her concerns and worries without giving any context as to the source of her agitation.
“‘Tis a fine day, Ruth. I do not see a reason to ruin it with—”
“Your blind stubbornness and refusal to give your son a proper education?” she interjected.
“Ruth…” whispered her husband as he came to stand at her side.
She turned on Christopher with wide eyes, shaking her head. “Do you think I can remain silent as he goes against everything Deborah wanted for Felix?” Then, turning to Silas once more, Ruth scowled. “How can you, Silas?”
“I have no idea what you mean—” he began.
“Do not lie to me, Silas Byrnes!” Ruth hissed. “Helen has just told us you are withdrawing Felix from his school. Deborah took great care to choose a place that would educate her son as she thought best. She is hardly gone, and already you are casting aside what she held dear!”
“I can think of no better education to give my son than to have him work at my side, learning that which will secure his future,” said Silas.
Ruth placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. It was as though Deborah had resurrected from the grave.
“Papa?” Helen’s voice barely carried past the back and forth between him and the harpy, but Silas sent her a smile—one she did not return. Watching him with wide eyes, her gaze darted between her aunt and father.
“There is more to life than ledgers,” said Ruth. “And Deborah wanted him to have options to pursue beyond merely following in his father’s footsteps.”
Silas huffed. “Yes, because it would be a great sin for him to become anything like me.”
Ruth merely lifted her brows with a smirk. “From your lips to God’s ears.”
Teeth clenched together, Silas fought against the first and second thing he longed to say, shoving them aside for something not born of the flames that had taken up residence in his heart.
“Felix has spent years learning the things Deborah prized.” Silas managed to speak the words through his tightened muscles and the foul taste they left on his tongue. Ruth had no right to demand answers, but in the name of family unity (what little there could be), he would swallow his pride as he had throughout his marriage. “He detests that school and being away from his family, and I will not have my family scattered across the country solely because Deborah wished Felix to elbows with the heirs of the upper class.”
Ruth’s breathing heaved, her nostrils flaring as she glowered at him, though it did nothing to unsettle Silas. Deborah’s tempers had provided him with an immunity towards such things.
“That school is teaching him character,” said Ruth, “and it is giving him connections that will aid him in the future.”
Miss Delmonte came to stand beside Helen, urging her to turn away, but the child refused to move. Helen’s shoulders rounded, her gaze darting from her aunt to her father as she witnessed every hard word they spoke.
“Papa, it is what Mama wanted,” she said, though her voice was little more than a whisper.
Silas sucked in a deep breath, his nostrils straining as he fought against the pain those words elicited. Even still, Helen sided with others. Would he never gain equal standing in her mind?
Crossing his arms, Silas narrowed his gaze. “He is my son, Ruth. You have no say in what I do.”
His sister-in-law threw her arms wide. “Of course not. No one can ever contradict Silas Byrnes. What he says is law and ought not to be opposed. To have another opinion on a matter is lunacy.”
Christopher stepped closer, placing a hand on his wife’s arm. “Please leave it be, Ruth. We can discuss this later.”
“Why would she wish to do that?” asked Silas with a scowl. “She is inserting herself into my business in the name of her sister, and Deborah found great relish in berating me.”
Ruth jabbed a finger at Silas. “I can only imagine what she would say if she were alive to see you besmirching her memory, but I suppose I can expect nothing less of a man who delighted in vexing her!”
“Papa?” Helen called, but Silas’s heartbeat picked up its pace, thumping in his chest like a war drum calling the soldiers to battle. His fists clenched, and he held his sister-in-law’s gaze and stepped closer, dropping his voice to a whisper so it wouldn’t carry beyond her ears.
“We both know your dear sister was no saint. If her life was not as glorious as she wanted, she held much of the blame, Ruth. If she hadn’t thrown aside her good sense with my brother, both of us would’ve been saved from such a miserable marriage.”
Jerking away, Ruth gaped at him, her hand raising to strike him, though Christopher caught it before everything devolved into a brawl.
