Chapter 210: Shocking secrets [1]
Agatha’s smile fell to a frown. "You have come here about Eloise? Why?"
Why would anyone be searching for Eloise here when this was no longer her home?
"I have never met your daughter. I wanted to see the face of the woman who has troubled Eloise. Not only trying to spoil her name, but you also stood by your husband when he murdered her father. As women, we must draw a line where we support our husbands," Viola said, disgusted by the woman Agatha was.
Agatha scoffed, her fingers raking through her hair to push it from her face. "Now she sends her noble peers to trouble me. Is it not enough that I have left her alone? She marries a Hawthorne, and suddenly she can send a countess to my home."
Eloise was on a high horse, just as Agatha thought, but no one listened to what she had to say. The little innocent Eloise had changed.
"What nonsense are you spouting now? I knew Eloise before she married Lord Hawthorne. Her father worked for me in the countryside, and I kept her by my side. I see her as my granddaughter. If only I had pressed for her to remain with me, she would never have endured this misery," Viola said, her eyes sweeping the shabby room with disdain.
"I don’t believe you," Agatha said, certain Eloise had never been close to a countess. "She never once spoke of knowing a countess. She knew our troubles and never spoke of such things."
Eloise could have helped with the debts and her father’s illness had she spoken of a countess.
"Precisely why I love her. Why would she burden me with your troubles? Even if she had, I would only have helped her. You must have treated her cruelly, believing all she had was her ill father. You never imagined that I stood behind her," Viola said, yearning to strike Agatha.
"Despite all your wrongdoing, she managed to marry well. That must gnaw at you day after day," Viola added with satisfaction. "She is the wife of a lord, while you rot here in this state."
"Get out!" Agatha shouted, pointing at the door. "You have overstayed your welcome. You are no longer a guest in my home. I don’t care that you are a noblewoman. I will send for the guards to drag you out."
"You will want to hear what I have to say. From the moment I returned, I asked about you. I know all about your debts and disgrace. At my age, I try not to let pettiness slip, but when you trouble someone I love, I am forced to let my old ways show," Viola said, stepping further into the home.
"I spoke to the men to whom you and your husband owed money. I settled that debt, and imagine my surprise when I learned one of them held the deed to this house as a promise your husband could pay the debt," Viola said, her gaze lingering on the paint peeling from the walls.
"You lie. They would have mentioned it when they came for the money," Agatha said, refusing to be deceived.
"Not everyone is so heartless as to strip a mother and daughter of their home. They wanted their money, nothing more. If I were you, I would have killed my husband for giving away the deed," Viola said, turning to face Agatha. "But he is imprisoned, so what can you do?"
"My husband would never be so foolish as to give away the deed," Agatha insisted, clinging to her belief that Clive was wiser.
Viola chuckled, amused by Agatha’s stubbornness. "You are still foolish to believe him that he is wise. There was never any hope for Eloise in this house. I have already taken steps to transfer it to my name. Your husband left it blank for a name to be written should he fail to repay his debts."
"You have no part in this!" Agatha cried, storming towards Viola.
Countess or not, Agatha had reason to silence her.
Viola raised her hand and struck Agatha across the face. Before Agatha could react, Viola struck her again, her rings catching the light as they cut against Agatha’s skin.
Viola’s amusement gave way to fury as she thought of what Eloise had endured under Agatha’s roof.
Agatha snapped out of her shock and retaliated, grabbing a fistful of Viola’s hair and yanking until strands tore free.
The cries of the women as they fought drew the attention of Viola’s coachman, who rushed in and parted them.
"Do not restrain me, Harry!" Viola shouted, struggling against him. "There will not be a day that passes that you have peace in this town. Do not think running will save you. I want you gone from this house by nightfall."
"Move, you brute," Viola snapped, shoving Harry aside. "You tried to strip Eloise of all her father built. Let us see how you fare when you lose your home."
"This is my home!" Agatha screamed, frustrated that a new problem had arisen. "If you want it, you will have to pry it from my cold hands."
"Do not make promises I will hold you to. I will return with men from the court by evening. Leave by then, unless you wish to lose the last shred of your dignity," Viola warned.
Agatha’s chest heaved as she tried to think of a way to fight back. "You, another woman, would take this home from me? The home where I raised my children? Eloise has found herself a wealthy man with an estate. There is no need for revenge. She has her ending."
Viola straightened her gown, smoothing the newly formed wrinkles. "Indeed, she has her ending, but your husband stole someone who should still be here, and you stood by him. I have no doubt you mistreated her. If I let you off, you will only find ways to ruin her new life."
Viola stepped closer, stopping just short of striking distance. "You misjudged her. You thought she would be alone with her father, ill, and then gone. She may not care to fight you, but I will drag you down to hell with your husband."
Agatha gripped her dress, twisting the fabric in helpless rage. "Get out of my house. If you want me out, bring the court. Even then, you will never take this home."
She would sooner set it ablaze than see another woman live in it.
"Ready the carriage," Viola commanded Harry. "I will be back this evening for my new property. It would be kind of you to dust it for its rightful owner," she added, mocking the state of the house.
