Dinner was an awkward affair. Tessa's mother was more pursed lipped than usual, which made everyone uncomfortable.

"Is everything alright, Maman?" Gaston, Tessa's older brother, asked.

"Nothing that should be discussed at the table," she answered loftily.

Tessa stiffened, she knew it was her. What had she done? Gaston smiled at her; he knew too. Not what she had done, but that she had done it. Odette, across the table knew it, too. What had their mother upset?

Nicolas, the youngest, concentrated on his meal. Long ago he learned to ignore what happened at the table. Tessa smiled at the top of his curly blonde head with a sigh. Nicolas was the only child of the four that seemed immune to their mother's dramatics. Quietly, her brother slid in and out of the house, nearly always under the radar. She wished she had learned how to do that. But she, being the second oldest, hadn't been able to witness what would happen when the Noel spirit went up against the Noel spirit. She only got to learn first hand.

One could tell a meal was over when Nicolas raised his head. Tessa was still staring at him and he caught her eye with a knowing smirk.

"You're going to get it now," it said with a baby brother's glee.

She smiled back a sister's disarming smile. "I could tell her about you."

Nicolas' smirk faded into a frown, curious as to what his eldest sister knew.

Sebastian Noel, patriarch of the family, formally announced the meal was over by pushing away from the table and standing up. As the family left the dining room, the maid came in to clear the table.

"Tessa, we need to discuss something," Madame Noel said as they settled in the parlor for coffee.

"What is it?"

"I overheard some of your phone conversation earlier."

"Oh?" What did she say that upset her mother so much?

"How could you not tell us?" she asked in an almost foreign gently tone.

"Tell you what?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," she continued. "We can help you. No wonder you wanted to come here on your own."

"Maman, what are you talking about?"

"That he beats that boy."

Her sister gasped, her brothers jumped to their feet, and her father began to reach for the phone.

"Who beats whom?" Tessa asked running her phone conversation though her head…then she understood, then she laughed. Her family looked disturbed by the reaction, but she couldn't help it. The idea was absurd. If only they knew how protective Duncan was. "It was an accident," she explained. "They got a little out of hand. You know how boys are. If no one is there to tell them to stop, they don't. Besides, you really can't feel too bad for Richie; he's usually the one who starts the wrestling anyway."

Her father scoffed. "Just the idea of a grown man playing such childish games with a boy too old for them himself…"

Tessa shrugged a habit her mother hated that she had picked up from Richie. "They seem to have fun."

"It's absolute nonsense. I thought this Duncan was a business man, after all, you had to move all the way to America to get the best opportunities."

"That doesn't mean he doesn't like to have fun," Tessa pointed out reasonably. "He and Richie have a great time together; they may get a little rough sometimes, but it's just the way they bond."

"How often does he hurt the boy?" her mother asked.

"This is the first time he's ever left a mark. It's just a bruise. The only reason Richie even said something is he likes to stir up trouble if he can."

"Sounds like a delightful child."

Tessa groaned to herself. She had played right into their hands, explaining how she lived with a child abuser and a trouble maker. With a smile, she tried to explain again. "It will make more sense when you meet him. He doesn't want to cause any real trouble, he just likes the attention."

"What do you expect from an orphan?" Madame Noel retorted. "They do anything for attention. Why do you think they all turn into murders and psychopaths?"

Tessa's jaw clenched at the off hand comment that everyone in the room accepted as truth.

"You can hardly blame them," Odette added. "No one takes decent care of them. They get herded around like cattle. It's as if no one realizes they are human, so then they forget themselves."

"If people would give them the attention that children need, they wouldn't be so desperate for it later in life," Gaston agreed.

"The government does too much for them as it is," Madame Noel insisted. "They have no sense of work ethic. Everything gets handed to them."

"That's not true," Tessa spoke up. "You can't generalize like that."

"It is true."

"Richie has a very good work ethic. He works nearly everyday. He's always helping…"

"I think we need to drop this discussion," Monsieur Noel cut in.

Tessa pursed her lips and stood up. "I think I'm just going to go to bed. I've had a long day," she said before leaving the room.

She was sitting up in bed trying to read when there was a knock on her door. "Entre," she called.

Gaston entered the room and crossed to her bed. "Don't be angry with me," he started. "Just one word and I will believe you. But tell me the truth, does he purposefully hurt you or the boy?"

"No," she snapped. "And they have names!"

Gaston smiled calmly and hugged her. "I believe you. I just didn't want to put up a fuss in front of Maman."

"I just wish they could understand; Mac and Richie may be different, not what they wanted, but this is my life, and I love them both."

"At the risk of getting yelled at again...why don't you bring them here?" he suggested. "If they are as wonderful as you say, they can't protest then."

Tessa smiled at her brother. "That's a good idea. I shouldn't have to pretend they don't exist, especially when I'm getting married."

"That's right. Plus you are a Noel; you have every right to behave like one."

She laughed and got out of bed to hug her brother. "I'll call right now."

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "That is the Tessa I grew up with. You leave Papa and Maman to me."

The phone ringing awoke Duncan. "MacLeod," he answered, glancing at the clock, it was just past one in the morning.

"Did I wake you?"

"Tessa? Is everything alright?"

"To a degree," she answered with a sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, my mother overheard part of our conversation and it put some rather ridicules ideas in her head."

"Oh? What happened?"

"She heard the bit about you giving Richie a black eye."

Duncan sighed. "I can only imagine the reaction."

"You'd be right."

"How goes damage control?"

Now Tessa sighed. "I haven't started yet. The conversation just kept getting worse and worse so I left the room."

"They honestly think I'm beating him?"

"I think Maman wants to think you do. It gives me reason not to marry you."

"Then she'll just have to live with the horrific idea that I treat you both right."

"She will. I am going to do this no matter what she has to say about it."

"Good. Because this is about you, not her."

"Anyway, I was calling because Gaston gave me an idea that I wanted to ask you about."

"Oh? What is it?"

"What if you and Richie came here? So Maman and Papa can get to know you."

"Your parents already know me," Duncan pointed out.

"Then they need to get to know you better... Please come, Duncan."

"If you want us to come, we'll come."

"Good."

"I'll start making arrangements first thing in the morning."

"Um...maybe you should take Richie shopping before you come," Tessa told him shyly. "To get some nicer clothes. My parents judge him enough as it is, I don't want them to be offended because he doesn't dress properly."

Duncan chuckled. "Like a certain French woman I know?" he teased.

"They won't take the time to get to know him if they can just look at him and find him unworthy."

"Alright. I'll take Richie out shopping in the morning and make arrangements in the afternoon. I'll call when we get everything settled, alright?"

"Okay, good."

"Do you think I should make hotel arrangements?" he offered.

"No. You will stay here. I am through tiptoeing around your existence," she answered sternly. "You are my family and should be treated that way."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh..." Tessa started.

"Yes?"

"Maybe you should wait a few days."

"Richie's eye," Duncan realized.

"Exactly. He's a fast healer, though, it shouldn't be too long."

"Okay. I'll make reservations for later this week."