The rest of the day passed quickly, and before the children knew it Mrs Sowerbery was calling them for dinner. The girls had let Dickon out of his heels to walk down the stairs, but as soon as he reached the bottom of the staircase the heels were back on. On the way to dinner, Colin was suddenly pulled aside. Mr Craven took one look at his son and said, 'Take it off. Now.' Colin knew better than to argue so reluctantly fetched a pear of sweatpants and a hoodie, wiped of his makeup, and came back to his father. Mr Craven nodded in approval then bent down and hissed in his son's ear, 'Get them out.'
'Charlene? Why are you out of your dress?' Mary asked, confused why Colin had ditched his outfit. Colin just looked at her and mouthed 'My father.' Mary didn't say anything in response as she knew what type of man Mr Craven was. But Robin did not.
'How dare you! We had a deal! You can't break the deal just because of your father!' Robin cried, throwing down her napkin, 'Where is he? You know I don't care where he is, I'm going to find him and tell him what an old miser he is.' Robin made to leave, but Mary grabbed her firmly and sat her back down.
'You don't know Mr Craven.' she said, staring into her eyes. Robin gave in, but ate the rest of her meal in a stormy silence.
After dinner, Colin pulled Robin aside and told her exactly who her father was and what he was like. 'Robin, you do not know my father. My father is Archibald Craven, CEO of one of the worlds biggest companies. Yes, we are rich. Yes, we live in a manor. Yes, we have staff. But the riches went to my father's head. They drained out his personality. He has no humour, no sympathy, no kindness. He is like a void, empty. And he is secretive. He has many, many secrets - about other people. That's why nobody says anything against him. He can dig up anything that will ruin your or your loved ones reputation. He is not a dictator, but he is very close to one. He doesn't have any empathy, he doesn't show his feelings, not even to me, his own son. He is not ashamed of me yet he is not proud of me. He does not like to spend time with me because I remind him of my mother. Before she died, he was a different person; loving, caring. Now he's just...' Colin trailed off for a few seconds before continuing. 'Just don't argue with him Robin. Because he will destroy you. Not just you though. Your entire family. Any secrets you have, they're not safe. Be careful around him. Goodnight Robin.'
Although Robin had heard Colin's speech, she hadn't listened. She was determined to bring down Archibald Craven, no matter what it took. And she would not stop until his reputation was like the dirt beneath her feet.
