Several women lowered their gazes.
One of Daniel’s aunts twisted the napkin resting on her lap. Even the photographer stopped capturing pictures.
Daniel, Evelyn’s only son, produced an uncomfortable smile, apparently hoping to make his bride’s announcement seem like a harmless joke.
But he couldn’t disguise his embarrassment.
Evelyn looked toward him rather than Claire.
She remembered Daniel as a little boy running barefoot through the corridors of their estate.
She remembered the grieving young man who had cried when his father died.
Now that same son stood before her wearing a black suit and a new wedding ring, unable to meet her eyes.
Evelyn inhaled slowly, determined not to let the bride turn her reaction into another spectacle.
“I appreciate the offer, Claire,” she said with a calmness sharper than a scream, “but I live very happily in my own home.”
A quiet laugh escaped from a table near the back.
