Chapter 10

Pearl jumped in before Dominic could speak. "Mr. and Mrs. Steele, Lila should be here any minute. Please just give her a little more time." Beatrice gave Pearl a cold once-over, clearly unimpressed. "Pearl, whatever issues you and Lila have, keep them to yourselves. Today is Dominic and Lila's wedding. If you step out of line, I won't hesitate to call you out." Pearl knew exactly what that meant. She forced an awkward smile. "Please don't worry, Mrs. Steele. There's nothing inappropriate between Dom and me. The rumors are all nonsense. He and Lila are doing perfectly fine." Beatrice snorted. "Good. As long as you're clear about that." She wasn't always satisfied with Lila, but even so, Lila was still way better than Pearl. Lila was just too soft to keep Dominic in check. Beatrice knew Dominic inside and out. She thought only a strong-willed woman could ever make Dominic settle down. But since Dominic only wanted to marry Lila, Beatrice couldn't bear to put him in a difficult posi