Mr. and Mrs. Croft were startled by the sudden, unfamiliar voice. Only then did they notice a girl, not much older than the two children, standing beside them.
"Who are you? We're talking to our own grandchildren. What right does an outsider like you have to butt in?"
The moment Mrs. Croft spoke, Sean Donovan shot back loudly, "She's our cousin from our uncle's family! She's not an outsider!"
"Cousin?" The old couple looked Arabella Donovan up and down, as if trying to figure out which of Sean's uncles was her father.
"So what if she's a cousin? A distant one, at that. How can some cousin be closer than their own grandparents? Our family's business is none of your concern. It's not your place, as a junior from another branch of the family, to tell us what to do."
