Melanie pulled Barbara to sit with her on the edge of the bed. "We have to win your brother's sympathy. Now that I think about it, he has been blinded by those lowly people. We won't be able to shift their position openly."

"Then what should we do? I don't want to pretend to be nice to them. That's not my style."

Melanie patted the back of Barbara's hand. "Just ignore them. If you can't do anything good, just be neutral. Don't bother or mention anything about them."

Barbara frowned. "That's ...