Sarah couldn't help but return her father's conspiratorial grin as she absorbed the underlying challenges apparent in his words. Evaluating prospective suitors was practically baked into the Whitmore DNA at this point - even eccentric enigmas like Victor Mallory were hardly exempt from such inevitabilities.
Sarah felt a twinge of...something disquieting ripple through her. Some hairline fracture in her customarily impervious certainty that she brusquely attempted to ignore.
The very notion of assessing Victor Mallory's qualifications as a prospective husband - for Emily should have been an entirely clinical calculation. A merciless analysis of traits, assets, and compatibility metrics through which to enhance their family's hallowed ascendancy.
