Page 95 of Idaho

"No," I denied, "it made me realize that we let you walk all over us. We're your children, but we're adults. If you want to order someone around, go find Mother," I snapped.

A muscle in his jaw clenched. "Don't speak that way about your mother."

"Then don't speak that way about us," I countered, glaring at him. My hands fisted, in order to keep them from trembling and giving me away. This was one of the first times I'd really stood up to him, and in public, no less. People were beginning to stare.

"I expect your best behavior for the rest of this party," he growled in a low voice. "Or there will be consequences."

"There will be consequences," I mimicked in a nasty voice. Too bad he'd already walked away.

"What's gotten into you?" Amelia said from behind me.

I hadn't realized that she, Ketti, and their husbands had approached while I fought with Father.

"I'm so tired of him bossing me around," I muttered.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Olivia said with a grin. Her enthusiasm made us all smile.

"Am I the only one?" I asked, looking around at all of their faces. Even the men were ordered around by Father and I knew for a fact it bothered William. I suspected it made him more angry when Father ordered Amelia around than when it was him taking the brunt of Father's commands. He loved her too much to let her be treated like that.

"We're used to it," Amelia said with a shrug. It was obvious she was biting her tongue.

"You don't have to be," I told her. "You know he's going to punish you when he finds out you helped me?" I searched her gaze. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

"It doesn't matter," Amelia told me, voice firm. "It's not like he'll beat us. We'll just have to sit through a lecture about the family name and-"

"Our legacy," me and my sisters mimicked with groans, then laughter when we realized we all said the same thing at once.

"I'm still worried about you," I said to Amelia.

"Don't be," she told me, giving me a hug. "We're all here for you." She pulled back and gave me a firm look. "It's important to us that you're happy. That's all that matters."

"And that you get true love," Ketti said, slipping her hands inside her husband's.

"Everyone deserves that," Olivia added.

Henry cleared his throat. "Helped you with what?" he asked, suspicion coloring his tone. Ketti's eyes widened as she searched for some excuse.

We hadn't let the men in on the secret, mostly because they would try to talk us out of it. They were strong men, in their own right, but they knew better than to mess with Father. He could make life hell for them if he wanted to. I didn't want my sisters, or them, to be punished by him because of something I'd done.

"Nothing," Amelia said quickly.

"Just girl stuff," Olivia added.

The men just shook their heads and wandered off to go find their friends to talk to. We knew exactly what they were doing, getting out of the way so we could continue to plan. It was as much permission as we'd receive from them. I had the best brothers-in-law. We sat around, drinking small amounts of champagne and laughing together as Father continued to do his rounds. Amelia was right. He'd already checked in on us three more times.

"That should be good," Ketti whispered, holding her glass to her lips to hide her words from prying eyes. "He's already settled in to speak to some of the council."

"That will keep him busy for at least twenty minutes," Amelia said. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. "Now's your chance. Just promise me one thing?"

"Anything."

"Please keep in touch. And if you can, come see us?" She swallowed hard, trying not to cry. "We'll meet you anywhere in the world. To hell with Father. But we need to know you're safe."

It was almost impossible not to pull them all into the group hug we'd been doing since we were kids. My arms twitched upward, but she shook her head. It would draw too much attention. "I promise," I told them. "I love you all so much."

"Us too," Olivia said. She sniffled as she discreetly wiped a tear from her eye. "But I think you have to go to the bathroom."

Giving them a sad smile, I walked away and went upstairs. It was unfortunate for me that the bathrooms weren't on the ground level. I went into the women's restroom and studied the tree outside the window. This was going to be risky. I'd be lucky if I didn't break my neck.