Vic didn’t bite, but her eyes betrayed her as they flashed quickly to Sophia, making it clear she didn’t want her to hear what was about to be said. It was the final break. She didn’t know exactly what Vic thought or felt, but all the affection had drained from her gaze, and now she wouldn’t even air her concerns in front of Sophia. Not only couldn’t she bear the shame of watching her onscreen, she could no longer find the strength to defend her in person.

Vic turned back to her mother. “I’d like to speak to you in the corridor. Now.”

The move could’ve been construed as polite, but they’d long since left the realm of good manners. Withdrawing now felt weak, and Sophia couldn’t stomach weakness.

••••

Vic’s blood ran hot and her skin burned as she stormed out the door to the library, then slammed it behind her mother.

“Victoria, I’m appalled by your behaviour. Stomping around and slamming doors like a petulant teenager is beneath both your age and your station.”

She refused to engage in a discussion of manners after what her mother had done in there. “If you had a problem, you owed it to me to air that grievance to me.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Sophia is a guest in our home.”

“Oh, now it’s our home? I worried you’d forgotten that fact. Maybe it slipped your mind when you invited an entire film crew into our family space, or maybe you had a momentary lapse when you moved that woman into the residence, but surely you have to have had some pause when you decided to parade around half-dressed in front of our staff?”

There it was. Honestly, her mother could have dragged it out much longer before showing her cards. She didn’t know if that meant she was more or less angry than usual. Honestly, she didn’t care anymore. Nothing in her mother’s range of emotions could match Vic’s rage.

“I know decorum has never been your strong suit, but honestly, if you were going to lower your standards so drastically again, you could’ve at least done so discreetly.”

The remark hit her like a slap. She couldn’t even parse it out with the blood roaring through her ears.

“Don’t look at me like I’m some sort of monster. I’ve made my peace with the gay thing, and I even understood your dating pool would be smaller, but surely you could’ve found someone with a touch of class.”

“Sophia has class.” She sputtered her weak defence. “Just because she’s not from our social status doesn’t mean she’s common.”

“That’s exactly what it means.”