It wasn’t so obvious at first. Everyone was so, so polite. A written transcript would have shown nothing untoward, but listening to it in person was a different matter. Every comment contained a barb for Mae and occasionally Justin and Tessa as well.
“Well, Mae,” said her sister, Claudia. “It was nice of you to come by. I know Mom appreciates it. I know she especially appreciates you bringing your friends.” She peered over at Tessa as the housekeeper set down chipped bowls of yellow pea soup. “Do you guys use silverware in the provinces?”
“Of course they do,” said Mae, the outrageous question breaking even her composure. “For goodness’ sake, Claudia. She’s from Central America.”
Claudia sniffed at the rebuke. “Well, it’s not like I have that much time to study the provinces.” She fixed her attention on Justin and gave what he suspected was meant to be a seductive smile. “So, Dr. March. What do you and my little sister do together exactly?”
Cyrus and Claudia’s husband snorted in amusement. Astrid blanched. “Claudia!”
“What?” asked Claudia innocently. “I want to know about their work.” She fluttered her eyes at Justin. “A servitor’s life must be fascinating.”
She’s so bitter and jealous of Mae that she can barely sit there, Justin observed.
Can’t you see why? asked Horatio.
Justin could. Claudia was short and dumpy, with none of the beauty and grace of her younger sister. Cain had dulled Claudia’s hair, and judging from the family’s finances, she wasn’t able to afford any treatments. That, and she had the drained look of someone who’d never left her hometown and had little to occupy her time. From the sharp looks she also gave her nephew, Mae wasn’t the only sibling Claudia envied.
She’s jealous of you too, said Horatio. You’re unsuitable by their standards, but you represent another thing Mae has that she doesn’t: dashing, exotic, good-looking.
Are you trying to take me home? Justin asked.
You know what I mean. And look who she’s with.
Justin couldn’t fault that logic either. Claudia’s husband was a lump of a man, with a thick jaw and soup running down his chin. He mostly communicated through grunts. A lowly plebeian might have been preferable to that. In fact, recalling Mae’s story, Claudia did have a thing for plebeians. With her airs, it wasn’t that hard to imagine her giving away a baby to save face. It especially wasn’t hard to imagine Astrid encouraging it.
“My job’s not that interesting,” said Justin, fully in public relations mode. “Mae just comes along to make sure no zealots get out of line. She keeps me safe. You never know what they’ll do.”
Mae’s eyes rested on him briefly, and Justin realized she was mentally assigning him to the zealot category.
Niklis brightened at Justin’s words. “Aunt Maj, do you have a gun?”
“Of course she doesn’t,” answered Astrid. “Maj would never bring a gun into this house.”
“I have two,” Mae told her nephew.
Astrid gasped. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“Because I’m on duty, Mother.” Mae had simply been stirring her soup and now pushed it away. Her face had on that emotionless mask she excelled at maintaining.
“More exciting than being Kris Eriksson’s wife, I suppose,” said Cyrus. He wasn’t exactly antagonistic toward Mae, but he definitely had a mocking attitude. It was one he dealt out to his entire family, so at least he was fair. He topped everyone’s wine off without asking. “Mae ever tell you about all the proposals she turned down? She could’ve made this family’s fortune.”
“Mae’s always done what she wanted,” grumbled Claudia. “Gone where she wanted. Run around with who she wanted.” She gave Justin and Tessa supercilious looks as she spoke.
That, more than anything else, cracked Mae’s tough exterior. She snapped some sharp Finnish retort to her sister, earning snickers from Cyrus and his wife, who seemed to think this was dinner theater. Claudia responded with something that must’ve been equally venomous, judging from Astrid’s scandalized expression.
“Show some manners!” she scolded. “Our guests are more civil than you are.” The subtext, of course, was that it was a huge embarrassment to be shown up by a plebeian and a provincial. “Remember that our family is built on principle and decorum.”
Awkward silence fell. Mae’s face became blank once more. Claudia glowered, and Cyrus kept pouring more wine than even Justin could drink. Glancing over at Tessa, he saw that the girl looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. He couldn’t blame her. Surprisingly, it was Claudia’s dull husband who resumed some sort of civil discourse.
“So,” he said. “Did you hear that the Comets made it to the playoffs?”