"Come, my children. Let me look on my beautiful family."

At the Cullen family matriarch's direction, Edward held his arm out, smiling widely as Bella took his invitation. Together, they went to go stand in front of the the mirror that stretched along nearly the entire wall of the ballroom.

Tilting his head, Edward studied his family in the mirror.

At one end, Emmett stood proudly. He was the tallest and broadest among them. His hair, the same cinnamon shade as their mother's, was a mass of thick curls cut close to his head. His fine features guaranteed he'd be handsome, but his dimpled grin made him devilishly good looking. Despite the sleeve that hung only part of the way down, neatly pinned where his muscular arm used to be, he didn't seem maimed but whole just as he was.

Beside him, holding his right arm with her left and their tiny daughter in her right, Rosalie was much changed from the traumatized girl of his memories. These last few days, Edward had learned she had a dark humor that was the polar opposite of Emmett's more sunny disposition. Like his own wife, Rosalie could not be characterized as meek, but she was more rough where Bella was mild. She was unquestionably, ethereally beautiful, even more so because she wore her gold spun hair tumbled down her back - a daring move as wives and mothers typically stuck to more conservative up-dos.

But then, Edward had no doubt that was done on purpose.

Alice stood to Rosalie's right. She was Rosalie in reverse: miniature where Rose was statuesque, vivacious where Rose was aloof, hair black as pitch and curled into a mass of tight coils where Rose's hair was straight and so blond it was nearly white. Her grin was cheeky, her eyes sparkling like she knew something no one else knew and was just itching to tell everyone about it. Edward had absolutely no doubt that she would catch the eye of every single man in the room and the vast majority of the adulterous married ones as well.

In between Alice and Edward, Esme Cullen stood proudly. She'd aged gracefully, the picture of the elegant lady with silver streaked hair in a refined coif. Privately, Edward knew her grief over her husband's death was crippling. Outwardly, she was what every widow wished they could be - poised and calm. She was everything a well brought up lady should be, which made her complete, unconditional acceptance of her daughters-in-law all the more impressive to Edward.

Finally, Edward let his gaze fall on the woman who stood to his side, her free hand resting on little Peter's shoulder. She caught his eye in the mirror and smiled, making his body feel warm, like he was laying by a comforting fire. Dressed in a brand new, deep blue gown, with her hair coiled up on top of her head, tendrils coming down on either side to frame her face, she was unbearably exquisite. He understood fully his father's words from so many years ago. That she chose him, that it was him and him alone she looked at like that, was a gift, and he felt nothing but unbearably lucky.

All things considered, even taking into account a stab to the gut, Edward would have told anyone he got the better part of the bargain.

He looked at the reflection of his family and smiled, a deep sense of satisfaction settling over him. "We should arrange for a family portrait soon," he murmured.

"Yes," Esme said with a grin. "Though perhaps we will have to just take another portrait in a year, if our family's shape changes again." She eyed Edward and Bella significantly, smiling knowingly when they looked at each other and blushed.

~0~

Amongst blue bloods, most any perceived shortcoming was excused with the word 'dear'. As in, 'there goes, Nathan. He likes to wear women's rouge whilst being walloped with a wooden spoon, the dear boy'.Folks might shake their heads and sigh, but as long as one was a member of the club one was generally accepted and excused.

There were exceptions to this rule.

The word 'decency' was bandied about frequently amongst the upper crust, and they all shook their heads at sordid things like courtesans or women that acknowledged sex at all openly. Many 'decent' people would walk the other direction rather than be caught on the same street as a known lady of the night.

So, even as a member of their most elite club, Rosalie was looked on with disdain. Many tolerated her because they had to - they had no reason not to respect Emmett and she was now his wife. There was much gossip that she had seduced and trapped the poor, innocent Cullen boy with a baby, and some women went as far as to steer their husbands away from the part of the room she inhabited.

It was hard to tell if Bella had it better or worse. Unlike Rosalie, she was not a natural member of their rank, and beside that, she was a Southerner. She was an outsider on several levels and though they had no way of knowing how she had come to be married to one of Chicago's most sought after bachelors, that fact didn't stop them from attacking her virtue behind her back.

Edward thought it was a pity Men's fashion didn't lend itself to much difference. If you'd seen one black suit, you'd seen them all. That was, perhaps, why the two ladies he heard whispering cattily to each other didn't seem to realize that their host - brother-in-law and husband to the women they were verbally ripping to pieces - was right behind them.

"Oh, it's a scandal. Did you see at dinner when the servant signaled to her? Do you know what she was doing?" one hissed.

"I try to think as little as possible as to what Rosalie Hale - excuse me - Cullen," she said the word scathingly, "does."

The first woman's voice dropped considerably. "She was feeding the baby. You know. Feeding it," her voice was rife with disgust. "I've never heard of such poor taste. As if we're cattle, not women."

"Terrible," the second woman agreed. "Emmett seems like such a nice boy. I wonder..."

"It's best not to wonder how a woman traps a man like that. My goodness, the thought makes me faint." She sighed and shook her head. "The poor, dear boy. He can't be blamed."

"Boys will be boys, after all. Rosalie must have known he was in a vulnerable position, what with his arm. Ghastly. So ghastly."

"Mmm, yes. And then Edward, so far away from home. If he'd had a sweetheart here... Ah, well. You remember my Jessica was so sweet on him, but he's always been a distracted boy."

"The girl, what is her name. Betty? She knew. She must have known he came from money. I wouldn't put it past her to have staged that attack."

At that, what little patience Edward had snapped. He turned, fully intent on unleashing a few choice of words of his own, but was stopped by a strong grip on his arm.

"Edward," Emmett said loudly, and out of the corner of his eye, Edward saw the ladies jump a mile. "There's someone I want you to introduce you to."

Standing from where he'd been sitting, Edward nodded at his brother and turned around to face the ladies who were looking appropriately mortified. "Her name is Bella," he said serenely, smiling at them as if he genuinely hoped their memories would improve, and strode off beside his brother.

Out of sight of the women, Edward let out a long breath. "It's impolite to raise your voice to a lady, right?"

"I have trouble defining those women as ladies." For once, Emmett didn't chuckle. His jaw looked taut. "Mother would be ashamed of us if we didn't hold our tempers. Just remember that. And it would not make things better for our wives." He breathed deeply. "We're just new, that's all. They will find something else to talk about soon enough."

"And it might be prudent to our agenda not to make enemies of the wives of the men we wish to do business with," Edward reminded grudgingly.

"There is that. Mrs. Stanley's husband is a partner at the firm I've made inquiries to," Emmett said thoughtfully.

Edward sighed, calming. "I'd hoped... Well, I know Bella has been lonely. She has Alice and Mother, but I'd hoped she could find some friends here."

"Well, they're not all bad, now are they?" Emmett said, his good humor returning. "Mrs. Stanley's lovely daughter seems to be getting on with Bella just fine." he nodded his head across the room where Jessica was indeed talking with Bella. They were both smiling.

"Hmmmm," Edward hummed. He'd had extensive dealings with Jessica before he'd gone off to West Point. She was sickeningly saccharine in a way that smacked of falseness to Edward. But that had been many years ago. It was uncharitable to assume she hadn't changed.

Downing what was left of a sifter of whiskey, Edward closed his eyes as the liquid burned a path down his throat.

When he opened his eyes, he felt a lot calmer.

"Come then," Emmett said, slapping him on the back. "There is someone I want to introduce you to. Be nice. Some day, I'll be able to do whatever I want with my own practice. Until then, we should keep our noses relatively clean until I build some respectability."

"Relatively," Edward echoed. He had plans of his own that his peers might or might not approve of.

"Relatively," Emmett agreed, grinning wickedly.

~0~

Edward thought that if all anyone could talk to him about was his wife, he may as well be by her side. He had been trying to mingle, but the conversation inevitably turned to his pretty, southern belle.

It was slightly irritating. They were nice about it, that much was true, but many of his peers seemed to think Bella went about wrapped in a Confederate flag, lamenting the lack of the small army of slaves she'd, apparently, left behind in Texas.

That and many were curious about how he'd gotten his new wife to accept his bastard child to raise.

That particular question had made Edward choke on his drink.

Fidelity was not the rule amongst his society, it was the exception. Enjoying sex was not considered ladylike, and above all things, well bred women considered themselves to be ladies. Often, particularly after they had the all important boy, many men didn't like to bother their wives with an act they, at best, considered distasteful.

While youthful indiscretions, among boys and men, were considered inevitable, and those children quietly provided for, it was thought to be in poor taste to let wives discover affairs and any further bastards.

So, the man who, leaning close so as to be discrete, asked how Edward had managed to converge his two lives, he did so with honest curiosity.

After he explained Peter's true parentage, he excused himself to find his wife.

"Why my dear!" Edward entered the parlour in time to hear Katie Marshal exclaim. "You've not been to Greece. Why, that's terrible. It's simply a must, darling, a must!"

"Everyone who's anyone has been to Greece," Lauren Mallory agreed, looking down her obnoxiously long nose to examine Bella. "You must not have been raised wealthy, poor darling," she cooed with mock sympathy.

Glowering, Edward began to step forward, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

Giving him a significant look, Rosalie stepped by him, up to the three women.

"Well!" she said, loud enough to get their attention. "Miss Mallory. How long has it been now?"

"Mrs. Cullen," Lauren said with a nod.

"I didn't see you at dinner, dear," Rosalie continued.

"Yes, well, I was somewhat delayed. Austin - that's my beau," she explained to Bella, "had some work to catch up on."

"From what I understand, your dear Mr. Marks works late quite often," Rosalie said, her expression the picture of innocence. "How very strange for a banker. He must be very dedicated."

Lauren's smile faltered. She cleared her throat. "I was just telling your sister-in-law that she absolutely must get to Greece. I can't imagine! Such a rich history. And the artistry. I just loved seeing the David."

"Greece is quite beautiful," Rosalie agreed. "As for the David... Well, I think it must be very cold in Greece."

Edward had to clap a hand over his mouth to cover his snort, especially since Miss Mallory looked so perplexed.

Smiling like the cat who got the canary, Rosalie turned to Bella. "Ah, Bella. There is a minor kitchen mishap that needs attending, I came to tell you," she said, and Edward had never wanted to hug his sister-in-law more. She was not so subtly reminding Lauren that Bella was her hostess and the lady of the house. The title alone demanded her respect.

"Thank you," Bella nodded, standing. "Please excuse me, ladies."

She stepped away quickly, leaving Rosalie to deal with Lauren and Katie, and smiled widely when she saw him in the doorway, her look one of relief. Edward fell into step beside her, his hand at the small of her back.

"How are you doing, dear one?" he murmured, ducking his head so he could talk low to her ear.

"Well, actually," she said sincerely. "It's slightly daunting," she admitted when he glanced at her, "but not completely terrible."

Edward chuckled. "I would think that might sum up life with me, wouldn't it?"

Double checking to make sure they could not be seen by their guests, Bella wrapped her arms around his waist, standing on her tiptoes to place a small kiss on his lips. "Slightly daunting perhaps," she said, smiling up at him, "but wonderful."

Not giving a damn about propriety and the fact that his mother would be scandalized if she caught them, Edward pulled her tight against him, kissing her more thoroughly. "Wonderful indeed," he mumbled against her lips.

~0~

Eventually, the women and men split off, and though he was loathe to follow the men into the sitting room, Edward really had no choice in the matter. This was what grown men did, after all, and he was a grown man.

There, the topic quickly turned to politics. There was much talk in Congress about readmitting the Southern states to the Union and what restrictions should be placed on them. It was the popular belief that any Confederate soldier should not be allowed to take or hold a political office, effectively crippling the South politically for the foreseeable future.

There was much to clean up and many pools of thought on how to do it. The topic of conversation turned from the South in general to the so called 'colored problem'. The rights of colored men were being heavily examined and discussed. Among other things, there was rampant talk about giving them the right to vote.

A great many were not comfortable with this idea. The conversation shifted again when someone brought up a recent editorial that had run in many national newspapers. Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was outraged at the idea, but not for the same reasons as many of her fellow wives and mothers.

"She is a disgrace to the bastion of womanhood!" one man declared. Edward had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "The idea of women voting... It's just unseemly. Women don't think of such things."

"You think a woman has any less thought about the rules and regulations of the society around her?" Edward couldn't help but ask, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back to avoid the mist of cigar smoke that permeated the room.

The elder gentlemen regarded Edward warily. "You would be comfortable with your wife making decisions that effected our country, sir?"

Edward tapped on his lips, thinking his answer through carefully. "I cannot say I've given much thought to the idea of women's suffrage, but I can't say the idea disgusts or outrages me." He looked up, leveling the other man with a cool expression. "I had occasion to lunch with your son just the other day, Mr. Banner. He admitted to me that he had trouble organizing which debts of his had yet to be paid, but since he'd taken a wife, his monetary affairs were well organized and his ledgers balanced." He shrugged easily, smiling friendlily to counter Mr. Banner's scowl.

A snicker from the back of the room. "Doubtless his dear wife has taken care of his ledgers by wiping his bank account clean, as women are wont to do," came a voice that made Edward's hair prickle at the back of his neck.

The man must have slipped in at some point during the debate because Edward had no idea, before that time, he was in the house. He had to grip the edge of his chair to keep himself from standing, grabbing the man by his collar, and throwing him bodily out the door.

"Ah, James. You did make it after all. Better late than never," one of the older gentlemen chuckled, standing and going to where the blond haired man stood, leaning against the back wall, still in his coat and hat.

He took the younger man's arm, leading him forward. "Edward, gentlemen, this is my new associate, Mr. James Hunter, formerly of Richmond, come back to his family on his mother's side."

"Mr. Cullen and I are well acquainted, actually. He and I served in the same battalion in the early days of the war," James said easily. He nodded at Edward. "I'd not heard from you, my friend. I might have feared the worst until Mr. Cope invited me along to this party. I'm sorry I couldn't make it sooner."

Swallowing his fury, Edward put on a more relaxed smile. "Mr. Hunter. It's good to see you came out of the fray unscathed. Seth," he called to the boy who was standing unobtrusively against the side wall. "Won't you take Mr. Hunter's coat?" He turned back to James, reminding himself of his duties as host. "How does your beautiful wife?"

It was James Hunter whose home Edward had had occasion to visit the first Christmas after the war began. Victoria Hunter was a pretty thing, far too young to be married, in his always humble opinion. She seemed skittish and frightened, which Edward hadn't understood until he'd seen James press her up against the wall, taking her right there in the hallway in front of his bedroom, despite her mewling protests.

Edward's stomach churned in revulsion, and he had the urge to check on Bella and his sisters.

"Victoria is well," James said with a broad grin. "She finally managed to give me a boy this time around. Riley. He's six months old now."

"Then you have daughters?"

James barked a laugh. "Just the one, thankfully. Bree is three, perhaps." He waved a dismissive hand.

He turned then to address the gathered men. "As for Mrs. Stanton, I'd advise you gentlemen not to worry. She is but one woman. The most we can do is write her husband with the suggestion that a beating with a buggy whip might benefit her disposition immensely."

Some of the men chuckled heartily. Edward glanced and Emmett and shared his grimace of disgust.

"Don't worry. It will be a cold day in hell before Congress considers opening the vote to women," James assured.

"Just one more reason why I'm glad to have our good Mr. Hunter as a partner," Mr. Cope said approvingly. "James has aspirations of a career in the political arena." He patted James's shoulder. "Perhaps some day soon, we will see your name on the ballot, son."

There were murmurs of assent, and so Edward stayed quiet, silently seething.

His first thought was that he would do anything and everything in his power to make sure that James Hunter never played a hand in the governing of his city, state, or country.

~0~

Finally, finally, the last guest was gone. Edward returned from outside, shaking off the chill of the evening, and followed the sounds of laughter back to the den where his family was gathered.

"Where's Mother?" he asked Emmett as he stepped over to where Bella was sitting, resting his hands on her shoulders. She lifted a hand, clasping his warmly.

"Ah, I took her upstairs to bed hours ago," Emmett said, waving a hand.

Edward shook his head. "I didn't even notice."

"Everything went fabulous," Alice enthused. "Just everyone was talking about you Bella!"

Bella grimaced. "So I noticed."

"Oh, it wasn't bad," Alice chided. "They were intrigued by you. Oh, it's true, some of the girls insist on doing their little dance, strutting around and showing off because they're not the center of attention, but that will pass."

"Jessica Stanley was quite nice, and I genuinely enjoyed Angela Weber's company," Bella allowed amiably.

"Well, there will be plenty of time to get to know everyone who's anyone, I'm sure," Alice said, always smiling. "Edward. I've been thinking, I'd like to throw Peter a party for his birthday next month."

"Alice," Edward groaned. "I don't want to talk about parties just yet."

"And then our Christmas Ball, of course. Oh, goodness it's been so long since we've had a proper ball!" Alice exclaimed, ignoring him.

"Christmas Ball?" Bella echoed.

"Yes," Edward said, squeezing her shoulders. "Did you think the ballroom upstairs was just for show?"

"I didn't think about it much at all, actually."

A thought occurred to Edward and he stepped around the chair, pulling Bella upright. With his arms around her, he began to dance her around the den. "I think I would not mind a ball," he said aloud, thinking that it would be nice to have an excuse not to let her out of his arms for a night.

Bella laughed breathlessly. "You've been drinking," she accused, and clucked at him. "Please excuse us," she said to the rest of the family, resting her hands against his chest. "It seems it's time for me to put my husband to bed."

Edward couldn't stop smiling long enough to glare at Emmett's snicker. That was, far and away, the best idea he'd heard all night.

A/N: Huge thanks to GinnyW for beta work :) and thanks to Kismet for answering a few questions for me. And thanks to Barburella for leaving cackling in my docs. Hehe.