Page 26 of Spilling the Tea

“That’s good. Do you want a cup of tea?” she asked while motioning to the teapot on the table in front of her. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing like a cup of Madaris tea—a secret tea recipe made of special herbs and spices—that had been in the Madaris family for generations.

“No, thanks. I’m fine. Marilyn and I had breakfast together before Diana arrived.”

“So, what brings you here this morning?” Although Jonathan visited her often, she knew something else had brought him here. She had a sixth sense where her sons were concerned. Her beloved Milton used to refer to it as “mother’s intuition.”

“I heard about the young lady who visited Chance the other day. I also heard she’s joining you for lunch later.”

A knot settled in Felicia Laverne’s stomach. “And?”

Jonathan’s thick brows drew together, but his expression gave nothing away otherwise. She figured it was something he’d perfected after years of being a teacher; and even more years as a principal and college professor. “And I understand she might be Arabella’s granddaughter,” he said.

Felicia Laverne nodded. “And what if she is?”

Jonathan didn’t say anything for a moment, but then continued. “Arabella Satterfield and I were best friends until she turned fifteen and was sent to that all-girls school in the East.”

Felicia Laverne smiled softly. She’d known at the time Jonathan had been sweet on Arabella. “I recall you would walk her home from school every day. She was a couple of years younger than you.”

“Yes, and back then, I was only allowed to walk her to the boundary of her family’s property. I think her parents would not have minded had I gone beyond that marker. However, her grandmother, Ms. Penny, didn’t like our family. Neither I nor Arabella knew why. I asked my older brothers, and they said they’d heard about some feud between the two familiesthat happened before we were born, but they didn’t know any specifics about it. So, one day, I asked Dad.”

She took a long, deep breath. When it came to her husband, she knew him better than anyone. He’d always been close to his sons. If one of them asked him anything, he would have told them what he felt they needed to know and nothing more. But this particular son would have dug deeper, asked more questions. “And what did he tell you?”

Jonathan paused a moment and then, leaning slightly forward, said, “Dad told me that the two of you postponed your wedding for a while, and why.”

Felicia Laverne took a sip of her tea. So, he knew that part of it. The Madaris scandal. “Although our wedding was postponed, Milton and I did marry and had seven handsome sons.”

“Meeting with this young lady won’t bother you, knowing she is a Satterfield?” he asked.

“No, it won’t bother me. Waylon’s mother, Penny, deliberately kept the discord between the two families, as if the lies and deceit hadn’t started with her daughter.”

To this day, Felicia Laverne believed Penny Satterfield had been behind Waylon’s decision to send Arabella to that school in Alexandria after his wife, Deedra, died. Penny feared another Satterfield would fall in love with a Madaris.

“And then there was your grandfather Jantzen,” Felicia Laverne said, shaking her head. She, of all people, knew Madaris men could be bullheaded, stubborn, and unforgiving, all because of that blasted Madaris pride. “Pa Jantz died before you were born, Jonathan, but he was alive for my first four sons. When it came to protecting his family and the Madaris name, he was a force to be reckoned with.”

“Dad said he and Mr. Waylon never stopped being best friends. They just let Ms. Penny and Grampa Jantz think so.”

“They only fooled Penny. Pa Jantz knew the truth, and in his own way, I believed that he admired Milton for his loyaltyto his best friend. After all, when it counted, Waylon had remained loyal to Milton.”

She paused, thinking of the words Pa Jantz had spoken on his deathbed and how, in the end, he had made things right. “Even if Milton and Waylon had become enemies, I would have no ill feelings toward Waylon Satterfield’s great-­granddaughter. Why would I?”

Jonathan shrugged. “I thought her visit would dredge up unpleasant memories, Mama. I’m sure postponing your wedding was a difficult time for you.”

“Yes, but I look back at that period as a test of Milton’s and my love, trust, and devotion to each other. We made it through. But like I said, Ms. Penny was determined to keep the feud going. There were days I honestly thought hatred for this family would consume her soul. But then Pa Jantz had a problem with forgiving, forgetting, and moving on, all because of that Madaris pride.”

Jonathan stood. “Trust me, I know all about that blasted Madaris pride. I almost lost Marilyn because of it.”

Felicia Laverne remembered that time. Jonathan wasn’t the only Madaris man who almost lost a good woman because of it. “Did you ever tell your brothers about your conversation with your father regarding the Satterfields?”

“Nope,” Jonathan replied. “Like you said, you and Dad did get married in the end, so it was water under the bridge.”

He grinned and added, “Besides, my four older brothers would have found any excuse to get rowdy.”

“That’s the truth,” Felicia Laverne agreed. Although her four oldest sons had settled down by then, it would not have taken much to rouse them back into their hell-raising ways. That was the main reason she and Milton had agreed to cover up the full details of his sister Victoria’s death. Had her sons known everything about their favorite aunt’s death, they would have taken the law into their own hands.

“Alright, Mama,” Jonathan said, interrupting her thoughts. Leaning down, he placed another kiss on her cheek. “I’ll leave so you can return to your knitting. What are you making, by the way?”

Not wanting to say just yet, she replied. “Umm, just a little something to keep my hands moving so my joints won’t get stiff.”

Jonathan nodded. “I appreciate how you take care of yourself. We all do, Mama.”

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