The party lost its color after that.
Catriona did her best to smile and talk with the guests who thought she was ravishing in her outfit, and skilled in her ability to make such a thing, but each compliment was bitterly hollow. Although she often wondered what it was like to have the world's approval, she found that it wasn't the slightest bit satisfying knowing that the person whose approval she wanted most wouldn't give it to her.
And just as depressing, she couldn't approve of herself either.
It was nearly twenty minutes before Griffin had seemingly cooled and left his office, but he did not make any recognition to Catriona. He stayed close to Rose's arm, speaking business and other empty things with those around him.
Catriona suddenly missed those nights under the stars with him.
Nathaniel's father and date came back inside after some time. Catriona swallowed as Patrick asked to formally introduce her.
"This is my lovely date for the evening, Catriona," Patrick said to Griffin's father, nodding to her.
"Charming!" Griffin's father said, reaching out a hand and taking hers firmly for a light shake. "Absolutely charming. Wherever did you find such a lovely creature?"
"She works for Nathaniel, actually. She's been helping with the harvesting."
"Oh, I absolutely love the harvest!" the woman on Griffin's father's arm said dreamily. "I have so many fond memories of these vines."
"Yes," Patrick said with a strange pause. "We all do. Would you like to help with the harvest this year, Samantha?"
The woman shook her curls with a laugh. "Those years are so far behind me. I don't think I even remember how to do it."
"I wouldn't let you lift a beautiful finger anyways, my dear," Griffin's father said, kissing her hand.
Catriona watched them, a strange feeling coming from the two. Something about this woman felt soft, not in a feminine way, but in a weak way. She seemed like a hollow shell, beautiful, yet not whole. She didn't seem to possess the glow that Rose had. Rose acted as if she had taken on the world and was better for it. But this woman... something in her smile was so empty that it was as if she had traded her soul for the world.
Perhaps this is what Griffin saw, too.
As if she had conjured him by thinking of him, Griffin and Rose stepped in beside Catriona and Patrick. Griffin's face was cold, a stark contrast to Rose's warm complexion.
"I see you've been introduced to Catriona," Rose said. "She's been a wonderful addition to the staff, right Nathaniel?"
He didn't bother looking at him as he nodded.
"Nathaniel, my boy!" Griffin's father exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything? Patrick told me the news earlier this evening."
Griffin raised an eyebrow. "What news?"
"About you and Rose's engagement! I think it's splendid. A perfect match, quite honestly. I think she's the only woman alive to handle your nonsense for as long as she has."
Catriona's eyes glassed over, her stomach dropping to her ankles.
"Yes, well," Rose said, smiling yet shifting her weight, "I'm glad to hear that you approve of the idea, Arthur."
"Of course! Of course! Just send us the invitations as soon as they are prepared."
"We have no intention of inviting you," Griffin said.
The group went silent, Catriona's own heart pounding in her ears even though she wasn't the one at the receiving end of his words.
"Whatever do you mean?" Griffin's father asked.
Griffin looked three feet taller as he spoke. "I meant just that. I won't allow that twice."
Rose pressed her lips together, but she made no gestures at his words.
Catriona's eyes wandered behind them to a group of men that had just walked through the door. Their suits were noticeably expensive and well worn. She recognized one above the others - the man who had given her an impossible offer at the restaurant.
She gasped.
Griffin followed her gaze, pausing before swinging his eyes back to Patrick, rage flashing across them.
"I'll kill you," Griffin growled. "In my own house..."
He trailed off, commanding Rose to stand behind him while his gaze met Catriona's. She could think of nothing to say to him, and he paused as if he were about to speak... but instead turned back to face the men coming to greet him.
The men stopped to take a glass of wine from the catering tray, one of them raising a glass to Patrick as they met eyes. Patrick waved in response, his cool demeanor inappropriate among the tension in everyone else's faces.
The men approached. Catriona instinctively took a step back.
"Michael, James," Patrick said in an energetic greeting. "Glad to see you could make it."
The men shook hands and greeted one another, James's eyes meeting Catriona's for a brief moment, his eyebrow arching in recognition before turning back to Griffin.
"Good to see you again," James said to Griffin, "Why, it seems that even at a party you have that same serious expression."
James said it with a laugh, but no one laughed along with him. Those who knew Griffin well enough knew that expression was not something to be taken lightly.
James took a sip of the wine in his hand. "Tell me, is this your label? It's quite flavorful. I expected something dull considering its maker... but I find myself pleasantly surprised."
"This is a private party, gentlemen," Griffin said coldly.
"We were invited," the other man named Michael replied.
"Of course!" Patrick cut in, trying to dissolve the tension. "They are my guests for the evening."
"Stay out of this," Griffin warned Patrick.
"Listen," James said, taking another sip, "I've been talking with my coworkers, and we're quite interested in this label of yours. It seems that you have the market out here on this coast, and we're interested in buying,"
"I'm not interested in selling."
"Times like this are hard, friend. The government is trying to take away your business. We're trying to help you. You'd refuse the opportunity?"
"I won't have these kinds of dealings. The government may try to take my vineyard, but I'm not so foolish as to hand it over to those with no respect for the law."
Patrick cleared his throat in warning.
"And who said we weren't respectful gentlemen of the law?" James asked, stepping forward and looking Griffin dead in the eyes. "You're making a mistake in think--"
"I have made no mistake other than allowing my crooked cousin and his money schemes into my household. In doing so, I've found rats in my own living room."
The man's eyebrow twitched, but Griffin did not take the threat. Griffin stepped forward, coming eye level with the unwanted guest.
"I told you once before," Griffin said, almost too low for Catriona to even hear, "This relationship is neutralized. I don't want to see your face in my house again."
James's eyebrow twitched again as he smiled. "You really like to appeal to my bad side, don't you? First with her," he said, pointing to Catriona, "and now with this? You're a little too hard-headed for your own good."
Griffin didn't answer. He only stared.
"Patrick," James said, still staring at Griffin, "is this how you do business with us?"
Patrick stuck his hands in his pant pockets and sighed with a shake of his head. "I only offer the opportunity. I can't go beyond that, I'm afraid."
"Typical of you to make offers that fall through."
A couple of the men behind James stepped forward.
"Whoa, now, gentlemen," Patrick said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Let's talk about this over lunch tomorrow. This is hardly the place for such serious business."
James thought for a moment, then gave a thoughtful nod as his eyes scanned the room.
"Yes, I suppose this isn't the place for heavy business ventures," he said. "This is a night of pleasure, isn't it?" His eyes met Catriona's before he scanned her from head to toe. "So what do you say, Miss? how do you feel about a little pleasure?"
Griffin's hand was around his throat in a second. The men behind James stepped forward once more to intervene, but James threw up a hand to stop them. He grinned.
"You've made the first shot, my friend," he said. "I'll make sure to send the last."
He used a free hand to pluck Griffin's hand from his throat, then calmly straightened his suit and tie. He motioned for his men to follow as he walked out the door.
Griffin turned back to Patrick, leaning in hard with a sneer.
"You," he said. "Out."
He then turned to his father and his wife.
"You two as well. This is no place for either of you on my property."
"Now, wait just a second, Nat," Griffin's father said.
"Don't call me that."
"This house is an heirloom of our family. All the family should be welcome --"
"Heirloom? You mean this dastardly property you decided you wanted to sell the day you ran off and married her?" Griffin spat back, pointing at Samantha. "Our family meant nothing to you! You've made that quite clear for the last ten years. So don't act like you're meant to be welcome here. You abandoned Mother when she was sick, you seduced your son's fiancee, and you tried to sell your own grandmother's real estate.
And you -" he said, turning towards Patrick, "you're no better. You risk your neck and the family's lives with your gambling, and wait for one of us to pick up the pieces. You and him should be father and son, not me. Poisoned apples, you both are."
The crowd around Griffin had gone silent, the outrage visible now in every corner of the room.
"Get out of my house!" Griffin yelled. "I won't stand either one of you in my sight any longer."
Noticing the onlooking crowd, he stopped. He huffed, then with a growl, stomped out of the room, head high and shoulders plowing through the crowd that had stopped to listen.
"Well," Patrick said flatly, "it seems the party is coming to a close earlier than I thought."