CHAPTER 7: No Child Is a Prop

Sebastian tried to laugh, and the sound did not survive the room.
'This is absurd. A child dropped food. Vivian is emotional.'
The word emotional moved through the ballroom like smoke.
Vivian had heard it from him before. Emotional when she objected to Maisie's name being removed from the program. Emotional when she asked why Sebastian's assistant had requested guardianship summaries. Emotional when she found the draft press release describing him as the natural steward of Elaine Rowe's legacy.
She shifted Maisie higher on her hip and answered him without heat.
'My daughter is not a prop you can shame when she ruins your picture.'
A woman near the flowers lowered her champagne glass.
Sebastian's jaw tightened. 'Your daughter needs manners.'
'My daughter needs adults who do not turn kindness into permission to hurt her.'
That sentence ended the last polite laughter in the ballroom.
Maisie lifted her head, cheeks wet, and whispered, 'I said sorry.'
Vivian kissed her temple.
'You never had to.'
For the first time that evening, the guests looked at Maisie not as an interruption, but as a child.