Love Letters

A snickering was heard from behind them and they parted to turn and look.

The young man who had the same blonde hair as Titus, only wavier, curlier, and in a bolder shade of brownish yellow, was standing right behind them. Hands behind his back, a scowl in his eyes but a smirk on his lips.

"You two look awfully cozy for people who don't belong here."

Titus stepped forward, subtly shielding Rosary as he approached his brother.

"Ticky." Paris said, planting her hands on her hips. 

Atticus' smirk soon turned into a scowl, now matching his eyes. 

"Don't call me that! Especially not in front of a stranger." Atticus hissed at her with gritted teeth. 

"Rosary is not a stranger, she is a guest and we were both given a clear invite asking us to be here." Titus retorted.

Rosary still had her purse at her side, and she pulled the card out. The one with his mother's handwriting and signature at the bottom. She showed it to the young man but she did not let him grab it when he reached for the card. 

Paris looked over her shoulder, hand hovering over her mouth to subtly cover it. Rosary turned the card in her hand for her to read. Paris looked back up at her brother. 

"Oooh! They've got receipts! They were invited fair and square! You can't object to them being here!"

Atticus scowled, looking between his siblings. He gave one last glance at Rosary before trudging away, back to his bedroom, and shutting the door. 

Paris whistled lowly. 

"What's his problem? Because I'm not gonna solve it." 

She then stepped between the couple, taking Rosary by the hand.

"H-hey what-"

"I'm gonna borrow your girlfriend for a moment!" Paris said over her shoulder as she began pulling the confused young woman to her bedroom. 

"You wouldn't mind leaving your boyfriend to the vultures for a bit, yeah?"

She didn't give Rosary much time to negotiate as they went into her room, and Paris locked the door behind them. 

Her room was all pink and with old fairy lights still strung over her king size bed. Her bed sheets were a big pastel difference compared to the darker, more blue colors of Titus' room, including the door out to the balcony. The door was decorated like one from a fairytale, but it also seemed old. It was highly likely that no one wanted to take the decorations off. 

There was a shelf with old books, a big makeup vanity instead of a desk, and there was also a big screen TV right on front of her bed. All in all, the setup of each sibling's room could be assumed to all have the same setup. King size bed, TV, some sort of table, just different decorations, colors, and nick knacks. 

But, one look at the books on the shelf and the items on the vanity, and Rosary learned more about Paris. 

The books on the shelf ranged from the history of different countries, to translation dictionaries between English and other languages. The most noticeable item on the vanity was of an antique typewriter, and based on the several ink bottles nearby, it was a functioning one. 

"I take it back, you're more like an Elle Woods." Rosary muttered, looking around the place.

"Oh, thank you!" Paris said cheerfully, before sitting both her and Rosary down, using her stacked luggage as seats, and putting on a serious face. 

She brought her warm, family-loving, theatric smile and gave her a stern, serious face. Paris planted her hands over Rosary's shoulders.

"Did Titus mentally prepare you for the fiasco that would be this family?" She asked in a voice far different from her warm, dramatically boisterous and energetic one before. 

This new voice was the type you'd hear in a serious conference room filled with a board of directors, and from the boss having everyone's attention. 

"Not exactly? It has been years since he's seen all of you. I could only so far guess that all of you would be, pretentious and perhaps vain?"

"That's an understatement!" The sister got up and paced around her room, then she went and searched through one of her suitcases. 

The small suitcase she opened conveniently had polaroid photos. She pulled those out and sat back next to Rosary, reorganizing the photos in order. 

She showed an older looking one to her first, one where the colors were more dull, with only bright colors like yellow and red being the most saturated. 

"He should've known that a few years doesn't mean anyone in this family will change that easily. This photo is from when Titus, Atticus, and I were still kids. Notice any similarities between the people here and today?"

"Um, your mother looks the same?"

"Exactly!" Paris tossed that first picture back into her suitcase. 

"Our mother is the best example to summarize what most of the relatives will be like. They care about appearances first, and everything else second. If you ever end up getting corner by literally any of our relatives, minus the little cousins, talk yourself up! Do not let any of them trample on you, got it?"

Rosary nodded, mostly because she thinks that's the response that the young woman wanted. Paris let her skim through more of her childhood photos. Rosary noticed how in most photos, Atticus would always give Titus this look, even as a child. As the ages for the children got older in the newer, modern photos, the personalities began to show more, and rarely ever was it through photos of them playing. 

Paris went from the little girl with her plushie, to this girl who posed for the photos but always had something else in her hand, showing that each photo caught her doing something else, and she would soon get back to it after the picture was taken. Atticus was the boy who kept doing things to draw attention to himself, such as juggling, or holding up a trophy. And for Titus, his expressions stayed constant throughout the ages of each photo. A nervous, crooked smile.

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm an assistant." Rosary looked up as Paris began to quiz her.

"To?"

"Well, my boss likes to dabble in multiple projects. She's got a lot of side business like a cafe, and an office building she rents out to other small businesses-"

Paris snapped her fingers pointedly. 

"That. Go with that. Don't hesitate or ramble like you did a minute ago, when everyone asks what you do for a living, say that you're the secretary to a landlord and business owner. What college did you graduate from?"

"I uh- I'm actually a drop out-"

"Don't say that!" Paris hissed and shushed her, as if someone could burst through the door with a voice recorder.

She gingerly placed her hand on Rosary's shoulder and whispered. 

"I think you and I both know that it's still pretty taboo to tell someone you're a drop out of any kind."

The young lady nodded. 

"When people ask where you graduated from, just say you haven't graduated yet because you're studying for your masters. You're like, what? In your twenties? That's about the age of most people still in college. That whole 'completing college in four years' thing is the falsest ongoing lie ever! And my relatives are the type to believe that lie, in fact, they'll even change the subject to try and brag about themselves at that point."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Rosary whispered back. 

They both stood up as Paris placed the rest of her family photos back in her opened suitcase, and zipped it closed. She went and sat at her vanity, crossing her legs, carefully moving the typewriter aside as she checked her hair and makeup in the mirror. 

"Because, unlike the rest of those cackling geese who think they're swans, I have thoughts, opinions, goals, and a life outside of what is deemed best for appearances. Did Titus tell you about how I live in New York? Yeah, that sounds prestigious and rich on paper since it's expensive to live there, but also, New Yorkers are actually pretty decent." She undid her ponytail, scratching her scalp. 

Rosary walked over to help her redo her hair and offered to do a braid. Paris silently thanked her.

"They couldn't care less about your appearances, your social status, or where you come from. They just care about whether you'll help a woman move her stroller down the stairs, or do the actions of a decent person if you know you can."

As soon she she made sure her face and hair were the way she liked it, she quickly switched places with Rosary, sitting her down. 

"And I'm helping you and Titus, more or less as a fair trade."

"A fair trade for what?"

"I told you a summary of my background, and gave you some advise for how to survive this family for hopefully the week. Now you tell me all the details about you and Titus in exchange. Like for starters-"

She spun Rosary in her chair, revealing the chair to have a spinning seat, and trapped the woman between her arms as she looked down at her.

"- How in the world did you turn someone like Titus, a former frat boy then convict then ex-convict, into some guy who looks like he runs with his husky and has hot chocolate with his girlfriend?"

Rosary sputtered, surprised at her actions and also thinking where to start. 

"Well- I don't think I was the one who turned him- things just happened. When he got out of prison, he moved in with me, and I helped him get used to the outside world, but everything else, he accomplished on his own."

"That can't be right." Paris shook her head, pulling away and pacing about her room again, pondering. 

"Titus was a mess even before he got arrested. When he was in his first year of college, on the surface to mom and dad, he was all professional with his business major classes, but when they left, he was so lost and such a mess! Literally, he once accidentally sent me a photo of him in nothing but his boxers, and a box of pizza in his lap." 

Rosary tilted her head, imagining the picture she described. 

"And then he went to jail because of that gambling website, and we all expected him to come out like a zombie and drained of everything. Everyone was just going to forget he existed, and I was planning to help him if he called me- but he never did! And then I kept track, and saw on the jail records website that he got released, still didn't call me, and then a year later, I find on a random photo sent to the family group chat- him and you." She spun around, revealing her phone that suddenly appeared in her hand like magic. 

She showed the screen to Rosary, revealing a picture that was indeed screenshotted and sent to a group chat labeled 'The Feremore's'. It was one of Rosary and Titus, who took a random photo and shared online just because social media was like a public photo album to him now. 

They were at home, Titus was sitting in a large loveseat, Rosary cozy in his lap, and Wolfie sleeping on his bed in the background. The couple were wearing matching sweaters, drinking hot chocolate, and sitting by the fireplace where three stockings were hung. That was taken on the first of December.

"Titus was a loud mouth chatter box back then, before he became this shy and seemingly polite guy. He would've let it slip that he had a girlfriend, but we never heard anything about you until this month." 

Paris moved her bedazzled phone out of the way and leaned towards Rosary again. Not to tower over her and scrutinize, but as her way of seriously questioning. 

"When and how did you two meet?"

"... A-allow me to begin by saying you really are kinda like Elle Woods."

"Thank you! She's kinda my role model!" Paris chirped happily before going back to serious again. 

Rosary gulped. 

"Well, we met when he was in prison- o-or more specifically, we were pen pals first."

"Pen pals?"

The young woman nodded. 

"I used to be majored in Political Science, and one of our projects for the fall semester was to each choose a current prisoner serving jail time and write to them regularly. This was sort of like a psychological assignment too, and near the end of the semester, we'd write our research papers on the types of laws and crimes correlated to the prisoner we communicated with."

Paris planted one hand on her hip, and offered the other to help Rosary back up. 

"Well, I'm a little confused where the romance part starts, but at least now I know how you met. I can only give you advice for so much, but if anyone asks how you two met, I don't think there's any fancy way for you to speak around what actually happened. So, good luck with that."

"We will, and thank you, for actually making us feel welcomed here." 

Paris brushed the comment off as they walked out of her room. 

"Don't thank me for something like that. Thank me for something bigger later. Now then, where's Titus? Clearly jail time has made him forget a lot of things about our family, so I've gotta be rougher with him."

"He's probably with Wolfie."

Paris was about to ask who Wolfie was as they headed to Titus' room, but as soon as Rosary pushed the door open to check on him, Paris gushed. 

Titus was helping Wolfie into a vest fit for the holiday, trying to prep him to entertain the little cousins later. When he looked up, he reeled his face back in surprise to see Paris melt over the sight of their boy. 

"Oh my gosh- he's so fluffy- can I pet him?"

Titus quickly nodded and moved out of the way as his sister dived in, snuggling her face right into Wolfie's fur. 

Wolfie's leash was detached from his collar, and he hid the collar with his fur so that no child could easily find and yank on it. 

Paris was kissing and snuggling into his fur, squealing with genuine joy. 

"Who's a good boy? Who's the goodest boy? Who's such a handsome boy?" She cooed as Wolfie sat there, not minding her actions. 

"Can we trust you to treat him well? We're gonna go and, try to converse with the family." Titus asked, smoothing out his sweater as he took Rosary's hand. 

"Hold up!" Paris abruptly said, pulling her face away, but still scratching Wolfie behind the ears.

She held a finger up, asking for a minute.

"I still haven't screened you yet!" 

"Oh, right!" Rosary gently nudged Titus forward, knowing the questions already. 

Titus looked confused but he cooperated, kneeling down to be at eye level with his sister who wore her stern expression again. 

"What conversation ideas do you have?"

"Nothing much, just, talk about how Rosary and I have been doing...?" The young man fidgeted with his fingers.

"Christ that's not going to cut it- you know they are going to be judging you left and right." Paris hissed at him. 

"I know! I get it, and I'm a little underprepared but as long as everyone can see how accomplished and great Rosary is, then I think everything should go smoothly." He reasoned. 

Paris looked at him like his brain jumped out of her ear. 

"Everything will go smoothly? You're just gonna talk up your girlfriend? What about yourself? What do you do for a living?"

"I work at a cats and dogs cafe." He shrugged. 

"They've got some really adorable stuff there. I think you might like it, I'll send you the address so you can visit when you can."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure that place is great and if they let you adopt certain pets- I'll definitely go." His sister nodded and briskly answered before shaking her head. 

"But that's not gonna help you survive here! A cafe? Look, just say you're a manager of this exclusive cafe, and that should help you. Considering how you got out of jail only a year ago, that's already more than anyone here has expected of you. But Atticus is definitely going to poke and prod about everything about you to make himself look better to mom and dad."

"And? So what? He can be the best golden boy here now, whatever, just as long as we're accepted. I could care less what our relatives think of me, just as long as mom and dad are accepting of Rosary."

Rosary frowned as she listened, and so did Paris. 

"... What are you planning? Why did you accept the invite?"

"Good question." Rosary lightly said as she crouched down beside Titus, patting his shoulder. 

"Why were you so insistent on us being here?" She asked with a frown. 

Titus was silent, too nervous to answer as he looked between the two women. 

He let out a shaky exhale as he rested his hand over Rosary's.

"It's a surprise. I'll let you know at the end of the week." He ultimately said. 

Rosary still frowned, but sighed as she stood up and said she'd be waiting for him to head to the living room. She signaled for Wolfie to follow her and the good boy stood up, brushing past Paris who gave him one more scratch behind his ear, and he brushed past Titus who smoother the fur on his back. 

Wolfie went with Rosary as they headed to the stairs and she checked her items in her purse, pulling out her phone. 

Paris gave Titus a look. 

"Depending on how friendly and sensitive she is, you've essentially brought a lamb to the slaughter." She told him. 

"No, it won't be like that! Not if I can help it." He retorted. 

"And why exactly is that? You're already on thin ice now with a prison record. No one out there is going to take you seriously or think you'll be able to succeed in anything, and you're planning to what- ride on your girlfriend's coat tails?"

"I'm not planning to make myself look good through her! I don't care how they see me. And as if my case is the worst. Uncle Motley brought his girlfriend and the two kids they had when they aren't even married! And he's not doing anything special with his life!"

"Yeah but he's entertaining and oblivious, that's why everyone humors him. You on the other hand, are a scandal. Look, why don't you just tell me what you're planning, and I can help-"

"No." Titus insistently shook his head. 

"No, if I'm to do this, I can't accept help, I need to convince everyone on my own." 

"Convince everyone of what?" Paris asked, frowning. 

He refused to answer. 

At the stairs, Rosary was brushing down Wolfie's fur and checking her own hair. She took her phone out and switched the camera to selfie mode to check herself. She didn't wear much makeup because Titus didn't like how her foundation would hide her freckles, and the cold weather should've made them disappear. It was a small surprise to notice that they were somehow visible still on her tan skin. 

Rosary frowned to herself, wondering if this was the type of family who judge against freckles as well.

She flinched when noticing Wolfie let out a bark to alert her, and turned to see Atticus with a new, very peculiar smile on his face. He was clearly forcing it. 

Rosary stepped back and Wolfie stepped between them, sensing her unease. Atticus held his hands up in a show of innocence. 

"Hey now. So sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." He said with a smile and his hands behind his back.

Rosary stayed silent, but she did step further away from the stairs. Wolfie did not growl, so Atticus didn't seem hostile. 

Atticus looked down at Wolfie, looking at his features and body language. 

"Your dog looks pretty obedient. His vest makes him look like he was trained for service. You've got a medical disability or something?"

She shook her head. 

"He's technically my guard dog."

Atticus hummed.

"Well, hopefully this guard dog won't try to interrupt our chat, unlike what your other dog might try."

"He's not a dog-"

"I was just hoping to greet you properly without my older brother around. Really get a feel for who you really are aside from my brother's girlfriend."

He stepped forward and offered an arm. Rosary hesitated, noticing he already took the first step on the stairs. She felt Wolfie brush past her legs and skirt of her dress, going down the stairs first. He turned around, looking over his shoulder at them. 

She took the young man's arm and they slowly walked down the stairs. 

"Why the hesitation? Were you afraid Titus would see and think his little brother was trying to court his girlfriend?" 

"No. I was pondering whether you were the type to push me down the stairs, or the type to fall and act like I pushed you down the stairs."

"Psshh! I'm not some petty drama-seeker!" He told her. 

As they got to the living room, Atticus took her by the shoulders and pulled her over to his aunt and uncle sitting at the couch. He shoved her right in front of them and cleared his throat, asking for their attention. 

"Uncle Edgar! Aunt Josephine! Have you met Rosary yet? She's Titus' girlfriend! You know, the nephew who got arrested seven years ago and only recently got out of jail some time ago? Yeah, well she sees something in him!" He shoved her forward. 

Rosary turned and gave him a look. 

Wolfie barked once, making him step back. Still, he forced a smile. 

Rosary turned to his aunt and uncle who were already giving her a questioning look, and now they were looking between her and Wolfie. The older woman held her infant closer to her chest, while the man merely leaned back in the sofa, sizing her up.

"Was it necessary that you bring your dog to the family home? Guest?" Edgar said with an arched brow. 

He sat laid back in the sofa, one leg crossed over the over. Josephine sat square next to him, her infant in one hand, and a children's alphabet book in the other. She put the baby book down. 

"He's my guard dog. I take him with me whenever I don't feel safe, especially if it's to an unknown winter lodge in a small town I'm not familiar with."

Aunt Josephine really looked at her after that bite. 

Baby George was becoming fussy in her arms as he noticed Wolfie. His little grabby hands reaching out for the canine, making Josephine notice how still the dog acted, even as there were two other kids running about the living room, there was the smell of food coming from the kitchen, and lots of unfamiliar people, mingling. 

Despite the amount of distractions, Wolfie sat down and stayed close to Rosary, specifically between her and Atticus. Josephine's eyes darted between them. 

Rosary looked at them, not completely down at them. Atticus was waiting for his aunt and uncle to retort with something after what the young woman said. 

Instead, Josephine looked over to her son who was sitting on the same sofa as his parents, but at the opposite end. He was writing something in his notebook, and his body language revealed him to be anxious despite his attempt at composure, and acting like he wasn't struggling with the questions in the textbook. 

She patted the empty spot next to her, inviting the young woman to sit down, surprising Atticus and Edgar. 

Her husband turned to her, his face asking why. She did not need to see his face to read his mind. Rosary was too wary to accept the offer just yet. This made Josephine see more of who this young woman was. Certainly not some naive, young woman who thought this would be a normal Christmas party. 

Josephine was more trusting of people who were cautious and wary, then those who easily assumed kindness in others. 

"Come sit. Let's us get to know each other." She said in the most unshakeable voice Rosary had ever heard. 

Atticus was silently flabbergasted, watching Rosary go and accept the seat next to his aunt. The young woman expected him to go off, but instead, as soon as his aunt and uncle brought their attention back to him, he merely replaced his shock with a smile and bowed. 

"I'll leave you all to get familiar! I should go and check if grandmother needs any tea!" He said as he walked off. 

Rosary raised an eyebrow, confused by his actions that almost seemed like a whiplash left and right. Wolfie sat by her feet, laying his head in her lap, and she lightly ruffled his fur as she turned her attention back to the older couple. 

"What do you do for a living?" Edgar asked. 

"I'm a secretary to a normally very busy landlord and business leader in the making." Rosary answered automatically. 

Ruffling Wolfie's fur helped prevent her from wringing her hands nervously. It was not exactly a lie, but it certainly was a fancy way of describing her boss. However, she trusted Paris' advice more than she could even think about what her normally eccentric boss was doing at the moment. 

"It's a wonder I was even able to have this Christmas break. She normally has multiple projects back to back."

"So you also know someone who's got a lot of side businesses?" Edgar asked, showing that she now fully grabbed his attention. 

He sat up and fixed his collar, adjusting in his seat to better face her.

"What a coincidence! I've also got a few projects myself."

Josephine resisted rolling her eyes. She noticed how much her infant wanted to pet Wolfie and she looked at Rosary. The young woman nodded and advised for her to let Wolfie sniff the baby first. 

"I've got a few small businesses that I've been investing a lot of time and money into on the side. Most are just the usual malls and stuff, but I have been looking to invest more in some new bank companies."

"That's very interesting! I think I remember hearing about some new small banks lately." 

Upstairs, Titus and Paris were done having their banter and went out. As they headed downstairs, Titus looked around for Rosary. He sighed in relief when seeing her calmly conversing with one of his uncles, or more, her listening while his uncle chatted away endlessly about his side hustles and grinds.

Aunt Josephine was even letting her baby pet and play with Wolfie. 

Paris leaned over to Titus, whispering. 

"Whatever you're planning, it seems like it might go smoothly." She said, already having a guess. 

As uncle Edgar starts to prone about a particular shopping mall he'd been peeved with, aunt Josephine interrupted him.

"Yes, yes your projects are certainly very interesting dear, but there's something I'd like to know." 

Her husband paused, lost in thought as Josephine turned to Rosary. 

Paris held Titus back as they both leaned over the banisters of the stairs to listen in. 

"How long have you been with our nephew?" Josephine asked. 

"About, well," Rosary lightly stammered, wondering what the right words to say were. 

"Are you asking how long I've known him, or had romantic ties with him?"

"Either one works." 

The young woman pondered quickly. 

"I've known him about three years, which I am aware sounds awfully short but-"

"Three years isn't short at all!" A happier sounding voice interrupted. 

She turned to see a man come over and brazenly sit down beside her. 

He wore a red holiday themed suit with bedazzled edges and along the seams. He had this face and personality that made it easy to imagine him in a Hawaiian shirt for tourists. He held a hand out to Rosary, already taking her hand before she could react. 

"Nice to meet you, don't think we've been introduced. I'm Motley, Penny's youngest brother. Heard you were dating my nephew! Let me tell ya, if you've already known him for three years, that you guys must be pretty close!" 

The bounce in the sofa caused the cousin sitting at the other end to stir out of focus. He looked up from his book finally to see the amount of people at the sofa, and in a hurry, picked up his books. 

"Mother, father, I'm going to continue my studies in the dining room."

"Ask a servant to hold your supplies for you, Edward. I didn't purchase those books just so your frantic hands can wrinkle the paper." Edgar said. 

Wordlessly, the boy nodded, calling a servant over and passing his textbook and notebook to him. Edward and the servant left to go to the dining room. 

The uncle that strolled up and brazenly sat next to Rosary let out a low whistle as he stretched his arms out over the back of the sofa. 

"You put too much pressure on that kid, and for what? Is he gonna be a lawyer."

Edgar waved him off, letting out an annoyed sound. 

"Law school is a waste of time, time is money, and the only type of education I'm spending money on is business school for my boy! Gotta prepare him to inherit the legacy I'm creating for him."

Motley raised an eyebrow, pulling down the sunglasses that he still chose to wear inside.

"... You mean all those multiple little stores and stuff? Are you still trying to copy mom and dad? Because that's not exactly how they did it."

"I'm creating my own legacy! I don't need any help from our parents, unlike you who's not doing anything with his life!" 

Titus rushed downstairs while Paris stayed at the stairs, watching the drama from a distance. 

Rosary noticed the change in volume as Edgar retorted loudly, and Motley in turn raised his voice simply because his brother was doing the same. She stood up and offered a hand to the aunt, surprising the older woman. 

"This is becoming, ah very, loud for a baby and a dog." She said.

Josephine was likely used to the volumes of this banter as she was the only one to not flinch, but that wasn't the same for baby George. 

She scooped up her infant, took Rosary's hand, and after making sure Wolfie came with, they moved away from the sofa. 

Titus met them and he suggested moving to the kitchen. 

"No, the servants are in the kitchen working at the moment." Josephine shook her head.

"The library then."

Titus soon realized he didn't fully remember where the library was, and Josephine called a servant over to guide them.

As they got to the library and Josephine signaled for the servant to leave them, Titus exhaled a sigh as he could feel his aunt's stare. 

Not even the smell of old books and the warm light of the dim lamps could add any comfort.

"How could you not remember where the library was? It's only down the hall and to the right. And it's only on the first floor."

"It's been years, aunt Josephine." Titus retorted in the softest voice he could muster at the moment. 

He checked on Rosary and Wolfie. 

"Are you okay?"

"Aside from your little brother pushing me, I'm fine."

"Atticus pushed you?"

"More like shoved her into my and your eldest uncle's attention." Josephine cleared her throat, getting both of their attention back on her. 

She gently rocked baby George in her arms to ease him after all the increase in volume earlier. Then she turned to look at Rosary with a face that was neither scowling nor a smile of approval.

"So far, you seem well-mannered and well versed. But I hope you know, just being a good person and having a career that sounds good on paper, isn't enough."

"So I've been told a variation of." Rosary nodded. 

"I'm guessing you've already seen how great she can be, didn't you, auntie?" Titus said as he stood close to the young woman. 

He seemed tense and the young woman noticed how much his hand was trembling and sweating when she tried to hold it. 

"Great? Not sure yet. So far acceptable? Perhaps." 

Josephine walked over to one of the shelves, reading the spine as baby George made babbling noises against her shoulders.

"Still, try as you might to convince everyone of how successful she is, how well trained her pet is, and how well she managed to make you clean up, there is still a thought on everyone's mind that makes us all skeptical."

The older woman turned around. Titus gulped as her eyes strongly pointed towards him. 

"If she's so smart and upstanding, what in the world caused her to set her sights on a convict. She said she's known you for three years. But you were only released one year ago, meaning you still had two years left in prison. Unless there's something she's not telling me, I have no reason to see her as anything but someone who wants a piece of the family fortune."

"That's not true- she's not like that."

Titus gripped Rosary's hand tighter, and she pat his wrist to get him to ease up. 

Wolfie did not feel the need to guard them, and there was nothing that came to the young man's mind to argue back without sounding rude. 

"Young lady, what exactly caused you to meet and fall in love with a man who was still in prison in the first place?" The older woman asked in a stern tone. 

Her tone however also sounded motherly. Not in the exaggerated way like Penny Feremore, but reasonable. Anyone else would also question why someone would fall for a person who was still serving time in prison when they first met. 

Rosary and Titus looked to each other and back at her. 

The library had two leather sofas that faced each other, and another low table set between them. That low table had two lamps that were already turned on, emitting a light that was gentle on the eyes. 

"It's a long story." Rosary said, implying that they should sit down. 

"My husband and his brother are currently arguing in the living room. Titus, your mother is overseeing other steps for this week-long party, and no other family events have begun yet. I think we have some time."