“You’re mad,” Uncle Earn said dismissively. “Daniel, I did not come here to be lectured by your wife.”

“The door is right behind you,” Papa said pleasantly

I peeked around Mama’s skirt in time to see Uncle Earn’s jaw drop. “What? You don’t mean ...”

“I mean that Sara hasn’t said a thing that the two of us haven’t discussed and come to an agreement on already. If I hear one more word about Eff or Lan from you, or Janna, or any one of your precious children, I’ll put a curse on your house myself, brother or no.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Try me,” Papa said grimly. “And if you ever attempt to set the law on my family again for nothing but a poisonous whim, you had better be prepared to defend your actions in court, for I’ll have you hauled in front of a judge faster than a cat can hiss. I think that’s put clearly enough even for you, Earn.”

Uncle Earn just stood there, staring, for a long, long moment. Then he stiffened, glared all around, and stalked out, letting the sitting room door slam behind him.

Lan and I looked at each other, and then up at Mama. Mama looked over at Papa, and Papa said, “You stay here, Sara, while I see that things have been shut up properly after him.”

Mama took me and Lan by the hand and walked us over to the straight-backed chair with the carved arms, and then took both of us in her lap at once. My head was still swimming with the surprise of it all. Not that Cousin Marna would make up tales about stealing my ribbon, nor that Uncle Earn would call a policeman to arrest me—those weren’t exactly surprising. But the way the policeman winked at me! And the way Mama and Papa tore into Uncle Earn! I’d never thought such things possible. I still wasn’t sure they’d happened.