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William looked it over and hesitated.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“Well, I can tell a lot of thought went into this, but why did you seat us so far apart?”

“Because we’re hosting.”

“But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Mrs. Anderson said hosts don’t sit next to each other.”

“Did she mention why?”

“Because it’s important to give the most attention to our guests and not one another.”

“I don’t see why we can’t do that while sitting near even if not next to one another.”

Rebecca shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I really want to make sure I do this right.”

He sighed. “I suppose I can understand that, but I don’t know how I feel about you sitting next to your father if I’m so far away.”

“I can understand that, but since we invited them, it important that I sit next to either my sister or my father. They’ll never stop talking about it I do anything else.”

“Can you at least sit next to your sister then?”

“I’m not sure if that would be any better. She can be cruel in her own right when she wants to.”

“I still think she would be easier to handle on your own then your father.”

“I suppose I can agree to that, but you don’t need to worry so much. I might not be physically close to you, but I know I have your support and I put Penelope on my other side just in case I need someone to back me up in a pinch.”

William sighed before nodding in agreement, “I can be content with that I suppose.”

Oh, how foolish William had been then.

He never should have agreed to let her sit so far from him. He should have pushed back more. He should have insisted that she either sit away from them or that she sit near him. If only he had given her an ultimatum perhaps he could have avoided this.

Finally, Rebecca caught his eye.

He gave a pointed look to her sister.

To his disappointment, she shook her head.

William frowned. He wished he was close enough to ask her why. Why she wasn’t stopping her yet, why she was just sitting there and taking it.

It wasn’t right. Rebecca didn’t deserve this. She had put so much work into the evening, she deserved to get to enjoy it.

She had put so much work into it, he reminded himself.

He took a deep breath. This was Rebecca’s first time entertaining. She wouldn’t want him to make a scene here. He had asked her and she said no. nothing Dorothy had done had crossed a line and Solomon was being too careful to risk saying anything.

Soon they wouldn’t be able to do any of this. He would do what he needed to to protect her.

William just needed to be patient.

He had come up with a plan and he needed to stick to it.

After all, there would be plenty of time for him to make his move once dinner was over, he reminded himself again.