Sydney Sawyer's face flushed with embarrassment when Sebastian Lockwood called her "his little girl." She lowered her head and followed him to two adjacent empty seats.
"Why don't you let her sit here with me? If you men are all drinking, it wouldn't be right for a young lady like her to be squeezed in the middle." Nancy Zane smiled, poised and gracious. "Surely you're not worried I'd neglect her!"
"Yeah, let the girls sit together," someone chimed in.
"That could work."
The wars between women are often waged without a single shot fired.
Although the two addressed each other as uncle and niece, Nancy Zane could sense that Sebastian Lockwood treated her differently from everyone else.
Sydney Sawyer glanced at Sebastian Lockwood. "Uncle, should I go sit over there?"
As she spoke, he placed a hand on her shoulder, the pressure firm but gentle, and guided her into the chair. "You're sitting right here."
