Ting.
The maid gently placed a plate of steak on the dining table. Bennett slid it across to rest before Alia's chair.
"Thank you, Bennett."
Bennett smiled softly and nodded, then picked up her own fork as the maid served the next dish.
Before either of them could take more than a few bites, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"How disrespectful. Do you have no shame? We were your biological father's closest friends, and yet you couldn't even wait for us before breakfast."
A sigh slipped from Bennett's lips, her smile fading. She slowly turned her head toward the left, her gray eyes narrowing as a middle-aged woman swept into the hall.
The woman's expensive green dress shimmered in the light, a jeweled fan half-concealing her face, her eyes looking at her slyly.
"Aunt Trina, I wanted to," Bennett replied coolly, slicing her steak in half with a knife. "But some people prefer to sleep longer than normal. What could I do?" She lifted her fork and returned her focus to her meal.
