Chapter Eight

"This is ridiculous," Julie laughed. "There is absolutely no way those Ringwraith's couldn't find the hobbits."

"What, you really think they could sense the Ring's presence from a whole three feet away?" Sam chuckled.

Dean shook his head as he watched them. His brother and girlfriend, sitting together on the couch, eating popcorn and mocking The Fellowship of the Ring. He'd be totally cool with being in there with them if they were just watching the movie. But, no, those two nerds had to compare it with the book!

Sam, Dean, and Julie had been living together here at the bunker for three months, although they spent most of their time in motel rooms on a hunt. They were having their first break from work in weeks, and the two were having a great time, marathoning Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Sometimes it concerned him how nerdy his hot girlfriend could be.

More concerning was how well she got along with his brother. They had become close friends by the second hunt the three had done, and now they were the best of friends. They never fought, and they never seemed to run out of things to talk about. It was actually a little scary, how much the woman he loved was like his brother. They were both extremely smart, talented, hardworking people who could easily have had successful lives and careers if it weren't for hunting. They had similar interests, and not just hunting. They liked the same books and movies, and Dean often caught them trading books and discussing them afterwards. It was quite scary.

There was another thing that bothered him a little about the amount of time Sam and Julie spent together, although he tried to ignore it. It was the primal instinct any man felt when he saw another young, handsome guy with his girl. But it was Dean's brother, and he knew Sam would never do anything to hurt him. But every time they exchanged a look or smiled knowingly at each other or laughed at some inside joke, something deep inside him stirred angrily.

It was stupid, and he knew it. So he ignored it. Instead, he just focused on the positives. If Sam didn't like Julie…now imagine how awkward that would be. This couldn't work, and he was so happy right now…he should just be grateful.

The phone rang, but Sam and Julie were far too engrossed in the movie to notice. Dean sighed and got it himself. "Hello?" he asked gruffly.

"Dean?"

Dean grinned. "Jasper! How are you?"

"I'm doing great, son," Julie's uncle said. "Well, actually, I was doing great until a couple of hours ago."

Dean frowned. "What happened?"

"I got a call. From Julie's grandmother."

"What happened? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah, don't worry," Jasper said quickly. "Listen, can you put Julie on the phone? I should probably tell her this."

"Of course," Dean sad quickly. He covered the phone with his hand and yelled, "Julie? Jasper's on the phone, he's got something to tell you!"

A moment later, Julie appeared. "Thanks, sweetie," she said, kissing him briefly. "Here, go keep your brother company. And tell me how many inconsistencies there are with the book while I'm gone!"

Julie watched Dean walk away, knowing he would have no idea what were inconsistencies and what weren't. Then she turned to the phone. "Uncle J?"

"Juliet," her uncle said fondly. She cleared her throat and he quickly amended, "Julie."

"What's up?" she asked, sitting down.

"Okay, so, first of all, don't hate me," he said. That made her nervous, but he plowed on. "So, as you may remember, this weekend is your Grandmother Helen's annual family get together-"

"No."

"Julie-"

"Uncle Jasper, you know how much I hate those things!" Julie cried. "I'm twenty-seven years old! I don't need to spend an entire weekend getting told what a disappointment I am and how I should marry some rich old guy like she did so she won't be ashamed to mention my name."

"I know, Julie, they're awful," Jasper sighed. "God, you know how much she hates Taylor and I. But the thing is…well, over the past month, two maids have gone missing, and a chef was found dead in the house."

"Wait, what?" Julie asked. If she didn't know better, that sounded like…

"We think there may be a case going on there, and this seems as good a time as any to investigate."

Julie thought for a moment. "Okay. So, say maybe I'm interested in the case. I am not going alone to that thing, though."

"Of course not!" Jasper said quickly. "Tay and I will be there, and you should definitely bring Dean."

"Sam too," she added quickly.

"Ah, yes," he said. "The infamous Sam Winchester."

"That's right, you haven't met him!" Julie realized. "Well, I'll convince the two of them, and we'll be there. When is it?"

"We're meeting there tomorrow night at six for a formal dinner," Jasper groaned.

"Thanks for giving me lots of time to prepare!" Julie snapped.

"Hey, I was hoping she might cancel!" There was a beat, and then uncle and niece laughed. "So, I'll see you tomorrow. You better give those boys fair warning. And you also might want to pretend Sam is like a billionaire lawyer or something, and you're actually dating him and Dean is just your personal servant…"

"Goodbye, Jasper," Julie said firmly, hanging up on him. She took a deep breath to steel herself and then walked back into the room, forcing a smile. "Hey, guys."

"What was up?" Dean asked.

She took another deep breath. "You guys like me, right?"

"Of course!" Sam said, confused. "Why?"

"Well, just remember how much you like me…" Julie sighed.


"I still can't believe you talked me into this," Dean muttered, fiddling with his tie as they got out of the car.

"Oh, no you don't!" Julie cried, smacking his hand away and tightening his tie. "She cannot stand a man with a loose tie."

"Or a man who drinks beer out of a bottle, or a man who discusses sports at the dinner table, or a man who shows public displays of affection, or a man who doesn't speak at least three languages, or a man that doesn't read classic literature, or a man who doesn't have at least a few hundred thousand dollars in the bank, or a man who wears cheap suits, or-" Dean rattled off sarcastically.

"Okay, I get it, it's a lot to ask," Julie sighed. "But this is my family, and I do want them to like you, even if I hate them."

Sam pulled their suitcases out of the trunk. "Is this everything?" he called.

"Let's see, there's our three bags, plus her gift which has to be separately bagged, and then the hunting bag which we're going to have to hide because it's burlap…" Julie stopped when she realized both brothers were chuckling and shaking their heads at her. "What?"

"I've seen you take on demons and angels and vampires and ghosts and every monster imaginable," Dean said. "And yet I've never seen you as terrified of anything as you are this woman."

"Shut up," Julie muttered, shoving his chest lightly. He grabbed her and pulled her into a long hug. She sighed and relaxed a little. "I hate this," she admitted.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Dean smirked, letting her go. He smiled at her and added, "Have I told you that you look beautiful yet?"

"Four times," Julie muttered, blushing a little.

"Well, you do." And she did. He blond hair was twisted back into an elegant bun, a couple blond curls framing her face. She wore some light makeup, two inch black heels, and a sleeveless black dress with a deep neck that showed off her ample cleavage. Sam and Dean both wore suits, against their will, but Julie had made it very clear they could not get into the house if they were not dressed in black tie formal.

"Julie!" someone cried, and the three of them turned to see a man wearing a suit, with greying hair and Julie's blue eyes approaching. A busty blond young woman walked behind him, somehow keeping up in three inch heels, wearing a strapless purple dress with a short hemline. She looked bored and moody until she spotted Sam and Dean, and just like that, her expression turned flirty and suggestive.

"Jasper! Taylor!" Julie cried, rushing to meet her family. She hugged them both as the Winchester's joined them. "I've missed you guys."

"We missed you too, sweetheart," Jasper smiled. He grinned at Dean. "Dean Winchester…"

"Hey, Jasper," Dean smiled, giving the man a brief, one-armed hug. "Good to see you."

"Hey, Dean…" Taylor practically purred.

Dean smirked and nodded politely at her. "Taylor."

"And this must be your brother, Sam," Jasper said, turning to face the other Winchester. He stuck out his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Sam said, shaking his hand. "I've heard a lot about you. I have to say, I'm very fond of your niece."

"Aren't we all?" Jasper grinned. "You two are the lucky ones. We get the occasional call saying she's not dead, but besides that…"

"Oh, shut up," Julie said, pushing his shoulder. "We've been busy!"

"So…you're the famous Sam Winchester, huh?" Taylor asked flirtatiously. Sam smiled a little uncomfortably. "What is it with your family and handsome men? Your girlfriend is pretty lucky."

"I don't have a girlfriend," Sam said carefully.

"Really? Lucky me," Taylor said, and she winked at him.

"I am so sorry," Julie muttered to Sam, and he smirked. "What do you say we get this over with?" she asked the group, and the five of them approached the huge mansion in front of them.

A doorman took their bags and waved them into the huge dining room where several well-dressed people stood talking, holding cocktails. "Where is the alcohol?" Jasper asked right away. "I need the alcohol."

Sam, Dean, Julie, and Jasper headed straight for the bar, while Taylor peeled off to go hit on a couple of Julie's second cousins. The nice thing about this for Taylor was that she was not related to a single person in here by blood, and therefore, they were all available to her.

Julie didn't even make it to the bar before one of the bachelors found her. There were several people here like Taylor and Jasper, who were only related by marriage, and far too many were men for Julie's taste. Chris Book was one of these men, and for the past six years, he had been trying to sleep with Julie. He caught her before she even made the bar and said, "There she is. The ever lovely Julie Carters."

"Bye, Chris," she said coolly.

"Oh, don't be like that," he said. "Let me buy you a drink."

"They're free."

"I'll pay you to have a drink with me, then," he smirked. "Come on, Julie. What do you say?"

"Is this guy bothering you?" a low, gruff voice asked, and they both turned to see Dean standing there, arms crossed.

"Who's this guy?" Chris asked coolly. "I don't remember seeing you before."

"Chris, this is my boyfriend, Dean," Julie smirked, putting an arm around Dean's waist. Dean smirked and did the same.

"Wait. Seriously?" Chris groaned. "Is it serious?"

"Very."

"Dammit. I bet Gabe five thousand that I could get you in bed by the end of the weekend," Chris grumbled.

"And that was a stupid-ass bet you would not have won even if I was single," Julie snapped. "Now, bye, Chris."

He walked away and Dean raised his eyebrows. "Is that normal?"

"Dean, that was just the beginning," Julie sighed. "I'm going to need that open bar if I'm going to get through this weekend."

Julie hadn't even gotten a whole glass in her before a woman cleared her throat behind her. I'm not drunk enough for this, she thought, but then she turned around anyway and forced a smile. She took in the woman before her, looking surprisingly good for a woman nearing eighty, dressed in a deep purple dress, her silver hair swept up in an elegant bun. "Grandma!"

"I insist you call me Grandmother," Helen Mayor said in her unbelievably pretentious way. "It sounds much more sophisticated, and if you cannot do that, then call me Helen or Mrs. Mayor; you know the rules." She was the mother of Julie's mother, Katrina, but Helen was as different from Julie as could be. Helen Mayor, then Helen Aldrich had married an extremely wealthy man when she was twenty and he was forty-six. She was his beautiful young trophy wife, and proud to be so. She gave birth to two strong, handsome, wealthy sons who had gone on to be great business men and had several children each, creating for her a nice, big, wealthy family. And then there had been her only daughter.

Katrina was a small, sweet, shy, beautiful girl who had fallen in love with a boy in high school and eloped with him. She and Thomas Carters barely scraped by, raising their little daughter in a small home, both working to keep themselves afloat. Helen had frozen their assets when Katrina refused to go with the plans her mother had made for her, and Katrina was the disgrace of the family.

Still, she had been Helen's favorite. No one said it, but everyone knew it. And when Katrina was murdered in her home by a vengeful vampire, leaving behind a widowed, vengeful, young hunter and a two-year-old daughter, it broke Helen's heart. She never forgave Thomas, blaming him, and it wasn't until after Thomas had died and Julie was eighteen that she finally began trying to reach out to her estranged granddaughter.

Julie knew, deep in her heart, that Helen loved her. Helen saw in her at least the tiniest spark of Katrina, and she hoped that Julie could be everything Katrina wasn't. But that wasn't who Julie was. Julie couldn't be the perfect little doll, marrying an old, rich politician and being his beautiful trophy wife until he died, leaving her rolling in piles of money. That was not her. Helen and Julie both knew it, but Helen was determined to change that.

"Sorry, Grandmother," Julie sighed. She took another swig of her drink.

"What is that you're drinking?" Helen asked, sounding offended. "It doesn't look like the sort of thing a lady should drink."

"I don't even know," Julie shrugged. "Sam made it for me."

"Pardon? Who is this Sam?" Helen sniffed.

Sam, who had been pouring himself a drink a couple feet away looked up. He joined Julie and nodded at Helen. "You must be Julie's grandmother," he said in that impossibly charming way of his. He held out a hand to shake hers. "It's a pleasure to meet you. This is quite the gathering."

She delicately shook his hand, taking in the tall, well-built, handsome man in front of her. She nodded, satisfied with his appearance at least. "This is Sam Winchester, Grandmother," Julie said, encouraged by that nod. She searched quickly for something about the hunter next to her that would actually please her grandmother. "He got a full ride to Stanford right out of college and was top of his class."

"Impressive," Helen said, actually giving a small smile. "And how long have you two been dating?"

Both Sam and Julie blanched. "Uh…" Julie stammered, then laughed nervously. "Grandma...Grandmother, I mean…we're not dating."

"Yeah, we're not…" Sam said, laughing nervously as well.

"No?" Helen asked with a smirk. "You bring a handsome, intelligent young man here with you, and yet you're not dating? Jasper did inform me you were bringing your boyfriend with you in that charmingly vague way of his."

"Well, I did bring my boyfriend here," Julie said, still reeling slightly.

"And yet it is not this Sam. Although he is standing here next to you, and he poured your drink, and you just praised him to me, and you two make a very handsome couple," Helen smirked. "Do you see my confusion, Juliet?"

"It's Julie, and that's actually my boyfriend over there with Jasper," Julie explained, pointing to Dean a few feet away, chatting with Jasper. He noticed her pointing and came over.

"It is rude to point," Helen said coolly as Dean joined them.

"What's up?" Dean asked Julie, completely ignoring Helen. She frowned.

"Um, Dean, I just wanted you to meet my grandmother, Helen Mayor," Julie said quickly, gently turning him towards her.

"Ah, right," Dean said, sticking out his hand. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. This is quite the house you've got here."

Helen did not shake his hand, just raised her eyebrows. "It is, isn't it?" she said drily.

Dean dropped his hand and shifted awkwardly. "Thank you for inviting us," he tried again, smiling weakly.

"I don't actually recall inviting anyone but Juliet. However, she's such a strong independent woman she chooses what to do and who to bring herself, doesn't she?"

Julie bit her lip to keep from snapping at her grandmother. She had been rather nice, for her at least, to Sam, but she was already acting like she hated Dean. And that wasn't fair.

"Well, Grandmother, I thought you would want to meet my boyfriend," Julie said, going for a smile. "This is Dean Winchester. He and I have been living together for a year now, and I thought you would want to meet him since things are pretty serious."

Dean gave her a small smile. "Winchester?" Helen asked suspiciously. "Isn't that also Sam's last name?"

"We're brothers," Dean explained. Helen shot him a cold look that said very clearly she was not asking him. He gulped and took a small step back.

"I see," she said slowly. "And why exactly did you feel the need to bring your boyfriend's brother along then, if you two aren't also dating?"

"Well, Grandmother, Sam and Dean are very close," Julie said carefully. "They're…business partners. I actually…work with them, and we live together, so it just made sense to bring Sam-"

"You mean to tell me you live with two men?" Helen asked, sounding scandalized.

"Yes, Grandmother, I do," Julie snapped. "Sam is a very close friend of mine, and Dean is my boyfriend, and they both agreed to come with me, so I ask that you treat them both with the utmost respect and courtesy."

Helen studied her. "I shall try, Juliet," she sniffed after a moment.

"Julie."

"So, what is it you do then, Dean Winchester?" Helen asked coolly.

"I…well, Sam and I actually…we work for the government," Dean explained. "Julie actually does, too."

"My granddaughter works for the government, and no one thought to tell me?" Helen asked.

"It's a small job, Grandmother, not important-"

"Does it pay well? Are any of you very wealthy?"

"Well…" Dean glanced to Sam and Julie for help. "Not exactly."

"Of course," Helen said almost under her breath. "Alright then. Well, Dean… how old are you?"

Dean blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Do you have hearing problems? I asked how old you are. Is that hard to understand?" she snapped.

"No, no I just…I'm thirty-six," he finally got out.

"And you, Sam?"

"Thirty-two."

"Hmm." Helen sniffed. "Don't you think he's a little old for you, Juliet?"

Julie glared at her. "Your husband was over twenty years older than you, Grandmother," she shot back.

Helen smirked slightly. Then she sighed dramatically, "I suppose that is all. I should go speak to some of my other guests."

She walked away without another word, and Julie swore quietly. "I cannot believe her!"

"You weren't exaggerating," Dean muttered. "She really hated me."

"She didn't…" Julie tried weakly, but no one believed her.

"Hey, I think she liked me, at least while she thought I was your boyfriend," Sam said, trying to lighten the mood.

"What?" Dean snapped.

Sam and Julie both sighed. "It's going to be a very long weekend," Julie muttered, before pouring herself another drink.


If Dean had not already been to hell, this would probably be pretty close to how he would have imagined it.

He was surrounded by the kind of judgmental, pretentious snobs he despised, and every single one of them hated him. Some hated him because he wasn't one of them and all the women hated him because when they hit on him, he turned them down. The men hated him because he was with Julie, who was the most desirable bachelorette here, apparently. And then Helen Mayor hated him because he wasn't an old, rich guy who was about to die and leave Julie filthy rich. She hated him because he wasn't intelligent and mannerly and wealthy and perfect. She hated him because he wasn't good enough for her orphaned granddaughter.

After that first long, painful first evening, where neither Sam, Dean, Julie, Jasper, nor Taylor could get any information on the case (although Tay wasn't trying very hard), he and Julie collapsed into bed. Dean got out of the suit he had to wear and just tried to sleep. Julie joined him, and she touched his bare shoulder gently. He opened his eyes and stared at her. She was so beautiful, and young, and intelligent, and good. She deserved to live in a place like this, deserved a guy who could give her everything she wanted. Not a guy like him, who would probably eventually get her killed.

"I'm so sorry," Julie whispered, and he pulled her as close as he could to her and tried to forget the way these people made him feel. It was ridiculous, because normally pretentious assholes like this would make him laugh. But this was Julie's family, and he knew that she wanted them to love him. And they didn't. He wasn't good enough for them, for her, and everybody here knew it, and he saw it in the way they looked at him, and it really got to him. He hated to admit it, but it bothered him. A lot.

Julie stroked his hair, touched his cheek. "Dean, I hate this," she said. "These… these assholes…" She laughed bitterly. "My family…they shouldn't treat you like this. You're too good for this."

He snorted bitterly. "You are," she insisted. "Sam too." But they weren't as rough on him, because he wasn't a surly, borderline alcoholic high school dropout. Sam was the kid who had gotten a full ride to Stanford and been top of the class. He was charming and intelligent, and he easily could have been one of these people, with beautiful Jessica on his arm, living a life like this if Dean hadn't dragged him back in.

Dean sighed and kissed the top of her head. "I like you better than the rest of your family," he muttered.

She laughed lightly. "I love you," she whispered.

"Get some sleep, Jules," he sighed. She rested her head against his shoulder and he lay still until her breaths were regular on his skin. Then, finally, he was able to fall asleep too.


The next day, they were able to dress in their normal clothes. The five hunters met up for breakfast, a serve-yourself kind of thing at a huge buffet in the dining room. Full of delicious food, Dean felt a little better. He and Julie split off from the group to talk to some of the older couples about the accidents that had happened recently, while Sam talked with a group of guys who were grilling out for lunch, Taylor tried to get information out of all the single men, and Jasper talked with the more serious adults.

The hunters rendezvoused for lunch, but not a single one of them had found any leads. Lunch was another tough ordeal, when Helen reappeared and sat down next to Julie, surprising all five of them. She then proceeded to spend the entire meal asking Julie questions about her life and the two brothers she now lived with, hinting heavily that Julie should be dating Sam, not Dean. At one point, Helen was so blatantly obvious and rude that Dean excused himself and walked away.

"That's it," Julie snapped, and since the meal was wrapping up anyway, she stood up and said coldly, "Grandmother, if you would come with me."

Helen glared at her. "You cannot be serious?"

"Deadly."

Helen sighed dramatically, excused herself, and the two women stalked angrily upstairs to Helen's grandiose bedroom before Julie whirled around. "You are being horrible," she snapped, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Juliet, that is terribly rude to say-" Helen started.

"No, you're the one who is being terribly rude!" Julie cried. "I didn't have to come here. I didn't even want to come! And I brought Sam and Dean with me because they're a very important part of my life, and if you don't approve of that, then I'm sorry but-"

"I didn't say I don't approve of Sam," Helen sniffed. "He seems like a fine man, and a very good match for you."

"Stop!" Julie snapped. "Just. Stop."

"Juliet, I don't understand-"

"It's Julie, Grandma!" Julie said, finally letting everything out. "And you're right. Sam's a great guy, and he's a very close friend of mine. But I've known him three months, and I've been with Dean coming up on a year!"

"Just because you meet this Dean first doesn't mean he's the right one for you," Helen said, and her voice wasn't cold or superior, but honest. She was really trying to convince Julie.

"Listen to me," Julie said. "I admitted to myself that I was in love with Dean a week after I met him. And you're going to think that's crazy, but it's not. And he's a high school dropout, and he isn't wealthy, and he has a hell of a lot of baggage. Being with him isn't always easy. We fight sometimes. He's in danger a lot of the time, and I could lose him while he's…working. And those are all reasons I'm sure you think I shouldn't be with him."

"He's not good enough for you," Helen said coldly. "You may not be my only granddaughter but…you're the only one who matters, really. You were Katrina's…you were her only daughter, and she made a foolish mistake when she was young, and look where it got her."

Julie was surprised by the pain in her grandmother's eyes, but she wasn't done. "My mother didn't make a mistake," Julie said softly. "She married a man she loved, and she was happy with him. Life wasn't easy, and her life…it ended bloody. But I'm sure if she was still here, she wouldn't change her decision. And neither will I."

"Why?" Helen asked softly. "Why does it have to be him? This Dean Winchester? Why can't it be someone who can take care of you and treat you well, why can't it be the kind of man you deserve? Why can't you just…why can't you just make the smart decision?"

It struck Julie how right her grandmother was, even though she didn't even know how dangerous and crazy being with Dean Winchester really was. Why couldn't she pick a nice, normal, good guy who would take care of her and love her? Someone who she could be safe with, someone she could marry and raise a family with and grow old with. Why did she have to pick this crazy life, when she could have a nice, normal, simple one like that? A good life.

"Because I love him," Julie whispered, surprised by the overwhelming wave of emotion that hit her as she admitted it.

Helen shook her head and turned away. She strode over to her dresser and studied the picture on it, of her, a good forty years younger, with her husband, Heath. She shook her head, and Julie realized with a start that her grandmother looked on the verge of tears.

"I didn't love him," Helen Mayor choked out after a moment. "Not like I should have. Not like you love this…this Dean."

"Grandma…" Julie tried gently, concerned.

Helen stiffened suddenly, and then a moment later she turned around, and her expression was hard again. "I am getting old, Juliet," she said flatly. "My time is running out, and before long, I'm sure I will join the husband that I didn't love."

"Grandmother-" Julie started.

"I wrote my will a month ago," her grandmother continued. "I could have given all of my property to one of my sons, and they would continue my husband's legacy, run this house and this business right. But instead…" She chuckled bitterly.

"Instead, I'm giving it all to you," she continued. Julie blinked, stunned. "I'm giving this house and a good chunk of the family fortune to you, the foolish daughter of my foolish daughter. And maybe, if you were with that Stanford-graduate Sam or some other man who knew what he was doing, my fortune would be safe, but no, you have to be with a high school dropout who will probably just leave you when someone better comes along. It's okay though, because you love him."

"Grandmother!" Julie snapped, hurt and appalled.

"You're young and naïve, Juliet," Helen sighed. "You've never known heartbreak. You haven't learned yet that there are more important things in life than being with someone who can make you happy, for a time. You have to make smart decisions, decide what you want out of life, and then go and get it yourself. Me? I wanted to be rich and live in a fancy house and have everything I desired. I wanted a large, successful family of people like myself, and I have all of those things. And you, Juliet? What do you want?"

"I want you to quit calling me that," her granddaughter snapped. "I want to be with the people I care about, people who care about me. I want to help people. And I'm doing those things, with the people I love, and while you may have a family here, I can almost guarantee you that there is not a single person here who actually genuinely loves you, Grandmother."

"I am appalled at you!" Helen said disapprovingly.

Julie laughed. "I can say the same. Look, just…don't talk to me. Don't talk to Dean, or Sam, or Taylor or Jasper either, because I know you hate them. Because they're my family, and I love them, unlike everyone else in this hell of a family. Just let us get through this weekend so we can go home and never have to see each other again. And give your inheritance to someone who actually wants it."

Julie walked out without another word, and Helen stared after her, mouth hanging open. Eventually, she composed herself, but the words stung. And the worst part wasn't even that they had come from the granddaughter she wanted most to love her. The worst part was that…she was right.

Helen looked up as a young, fresh-faced maid walked into the room with a tea tray. "Tea, ma'am?" the maid asked sweetly.

"Did I ask for tea?" Helen snapped. "Get out of here, you foolish girl!"

The girl's eyes flashed, and she stepped away from the tray. "Wow. Bad call, ma'am."

Everyone else was still down at lunch, and Julie had already rejoined them, so no one could even hear Helen scream.