CHAPTER THIRTY NINE

CHAPTER 39

"This has nothing to do with petty material trifles, Mother," Miranda bit out, trying to keep her rage under control. "This is about my future - our _family's_ legacy - being jeopardized by the actions of that addlebrained old crone Mrs. Wilkins!"

Now she had their full attention. Grant lowered his cigar, a concerned expression on his face. "Wilkins? "What did she do this time?"

Miranda braced her hands on the back of the sofa as if to keep herself stable. "That woman is in charge of some savage scholarship competition in which kids compete like gladiators. And she had the unmitigated nerve to place Caleb in the same group as that...that stuttering little freak, Lila Emerson!"

"Good heavens," Judith exclaimed, putting a perfectly manicured hand against her chest. "You can't be serious, my dear. Even with Willow Creek's notoriously inadequate academic requirements, forcing your Caleb to socialize with such...undesirables seems out of the question."

"I only wish I _was_ jokin