Siobhan stood alone in the kitchen and paced the floor as she watched the party winding down from the window. For eighteen years, she had dreaded the day ahead. She counted and drew a shaky breath with each stroke of the grandfather clock as it rang out twelve times. It was time to say goodbye. “Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the camel he rode in on!! Where the hell did you come from?” she shrieked as she turned to see her cousin, Bradford, standing behind her in the doorway. It was clear he had been watching the clock in his own rare moment of silence.
“I was not feeling quite up to the task of smiling and accepting well wishes, Shiv. That, and you took the cake inside with you, and I wanted some,” he shrugged.
Sliding the half-eaten cake in his direction, she shrugged and handed him a fork. “Butler’s out. Dig in, Fancy Pants,” she hummed with a mouthful of cake. After a long moment to chew and savor the sweet emerald frosting, she frowned. “You mean, you left Galen out there to be social? And Caro alone to smile at people? What have you done?”
“I imagine I was too concerned with our daughters to consider the consequences. Shall we return?” he asked, mouth full of cake.
“Your father would die seeing you like this,” Siobhan laughed, handing him a red cloth napkin. At my home, seeing our daughters off to New York City, together.”
Brady shrugged and dabbed the corners of his lips. “Perhaps we should have done this sooner,” he grinned.
“Do you know how it started? The rift between our grandparents? They were siblings, after all. It seems like such a shame that it turned our fathers into enemies,” she said with sadness clouding her voice. “I think, after tonight, we can consider the feud at an end?”
Nodding in agreement as he watched his young twins accepting Bon-Voyage gifts with their cousin as they prepared for their journey across the sea, Brady smiled. “Your father was always kind to me, and really, everyone with a kind heart was an enemy to my father. His legacy, the feud, it all ends with me. You, your husband, and your children are dear to my own family. I believe I have even seen my Caro crack a smile at your tamest limericks. Indeed, Siobhan, let us consider this an official truce.”
“Sounds like something we should drink to, Fanc… Brady. Think we can drag this party out as long as they dragged out this feud? I don’t want to see them leave,” she asked, hopefully.
Brady offered his arm and a glass of champagne. “No, but they will be safe. They’re going to be with family, after all.”
Carolyn, Cassandra, and Cressida Pendleton are from the incredibly brilliant mind of @lifeofkaze Wilhelmina and Galen Stagg are from the boundless creativity of @cursebreakerfarrier 💛💚💙
