After dinner, Cynthia badgered Evianne into playing with dolls with her. Judson had been jealous of Evianne all night, expecting Cynthia to shift her attention to him, but his hope was met with disappointment. Exasperated, he went upstairs without a word.
Pearly gave a resigned chuckle and told the others that she needed to check on her husband. She went upstairs and never came back.
The three adults and Cynthia were the only ones left in the living room.
Since Cynthia was playing with Evianne, Martha began to chat with Zamond.
Evianne pricked up her ears to hear their conversation, but all they talked about was affairs in the Tanke group.
Zamond's tone of voice was bland. He sounded rather uninterested in the topic.
Martha, however, was tender throughout the conversation, her voice
