Sean whistled as he handed her a fresh glass of tea. “I bet you were terrifying. What did Mrs. Cassity have to say then?”

“Not a blessed thing. She turned white as the proverbial driven snow—which she sure isn’t—and almost ran out of there.” Helen Louise swigged down half her glass with evident satisfaction.

“I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself like that.” I bent to drop a kiss on her cheek. “Vera is a nasty piece of work, that’s for sure.”

Helen Louise frowned. “She did say something odd, though, in the midst of all those lies about the food poisoning. Now, what was it? Oh, I know, she said I ought to be more careful about the company I keep. What do you think she meant by that?”

I felt my blood pressure start to rise, and if Vera had been anywhere near, I think I would have set aside the manners of a lifetime and slapped the pee wadden out of her. It took me a moment to calm myself enough to speak.

“I know exactly what she meant, that vicious harpy. She’s angry with me because I wouldn’t let her snoop around in the Ducote family papers. She threatened me, but Miss An’gel thwarted her, so she decided to get at me through you.”

Helen Louise used a word I had never heard her speak, disconcerting me. Diesel drew back in alarm at her tone, however, and Helen Louise hastened to reassure him. He calmed under her touch.

Laura said, “Amen to that. That woman ought to be put away somewhere. Who does she think she is, anyway?”

“Evidently she thinks she can run roughshod over everyone in town.” Sean shoved his hands in his pants pockets as he leaned back against the counter. I could see his hands ball up inside the fabric as his face darkened in anger. “Dad, we can’t let her get away with this.”

“She won’t, I can promise you that,” Helen Louise said. “The minute Vera was out the door I got on the phone and called Miss An’gel to tell her about it. She advised me to call my lawyer, as I threatened Vera I’d do. She also said she had plans to give Vera the comeuppance she so richly deserves.” She laughed. “She wouldn’t tell me what she meant. All she’d say was that I would enjoy this year’s gala more than ever and to go ahead and proceed as we’d planned with the pastries.”

That must have been the phone call Miss An’gel had to take as I was leaving River Hill, I realized.

“Who is your lawyer, by the way?” Sean asked as he set the heaping bowl of salad on the table.

Helen Louise’s expression turned impish. “Why, your future father-in-law, of course. I deal only with the best.”

Sean turned bright red, and Laura and I exchanged amused glances. Sean had been remarkably close-mouthed about his relationship with Alexandra Pendergrast since he’d begun working for her father. I could understand his reticence. His abrupt departure from Houston and his job there was connected to a prior romantic relationship.