Tristan Sterling barked.
Vivian Linton flinched, looking at Tristan Sterling in shock.
'Is he disgusted by my crying?'
'I was hit, I've been wronged! Shouldn't he be holding me, comforting me, and then punishing Holly and that lowly maid?'
'How could he…'
Tears streamed down Vivian Linton's face, real ones this time.
Looking at the bristling hostility between Holly and Vivian Linton, Tristan Sterling felt a headache coming on.
He let out a heavy sigh and tried to persuade her gently, "Holly, be a little more tolerant of Vivian. She's sick—"
"When's she going to die?"
Holly cut in.
'Tolerant?'
'Sorry, not a chance.'
'Vivian Linton doesn't deserve it!'
As soon as she said this, both Tristan Sterling and Vivian Linton froze.
Ms. Beatrice: 'Madam, that was brilliant!'
"Holly, you—"
After a moment of stunned silence, Vivian Linton shrieked, flustered and exasperated, "Tristan, Holly's cursing me! She's so vicious… COUGH, COUGH, COUGH…"
