Chapter 222: Failed plan [2]
Teressa now thought of how Damien had reacted to the news. She anticipated that the heat would be placed on Quinn, since he was the one who most needed to act right towards Eloise.
"I didn’t tell anyone else for Lord Hawthorne to be angry with me. I only told his wife, who had the right to know. You are the one who needed to act right and not come after me," Teressa said, casting the blame onto Quinn.
Quinn struck his fist against the wall beside Teressa. "I didn’t go after you. The kiss was a mistake, and since then, I have avoided you. You waited until I was drunk to get into my bed. Now you have presented it to Eloise as though I went after you because you look like her."
"I might not have told the story as it went, but still, I said some important parts. You are a Hawthorne. If you truly wanted me away from you, you could have had me banned from these places. I didn’t know why you were avoiding me until I saw her," Teressa confessed, her voice trembling as reality set in.
"Which means I never asked you to be like her. I never entertained you, yet you would present it as though we had an arrangement between us."
"That is not how I presented it to her. I merely spoke of how you entertained me, and after we lay together, that you cast me aside. I spoke of how you courted me because of similarities. That is all. I didn’t mean to create such a mess," Teressa promised.
All Teressa wanted was for Eloise to grow angry with Quinn, if only a little, as revenge.
"Nonsense," Kyle spoke up, not believing a word Teressa said. "You expected there would be more than just a conflict. You thought he would be cast aside because of what he did. This isn’t going the way you planned, and you just might go missing because of it."
Teressa’s eyes widened, the mention of her going missing sending a chill down her spine. "It is not as though I went to anyone in the town. Even my peers don’t know of it. Why would I share this with anyone?"
Her peers would laugh if she admitted she had missed the chance to become Quinn’s mistress because she was too rash. "I won’t speak a word of this to anyone. I will speak the truth to Lady Hawthorne if you need me to."
"I cannot trust you," Quinn said, far beyond the point of apologies.
"You cannot kill me over this," Teressa said, backing away from the two men until her back struck the wall. "I will scream and get the attention of everyone present. Then the entire town will know what happened between us."
"I can apologise to Lady Hawthorne and make this all go away. If you kill me without letting me apologise, then this will linger at the back of her mind. It will never go away, since she hasn’t had the chance to hear the truth," Teressa said, trying to reason with the pair.
"Kill you? I would rather not get my hands dirty over this, but your life as you know it is over. You need to come with us so we can speak in private. I suggest you do not think of running or yelling. We have guards with us, and don’t underestimate who the people here shall side with," Kyle advised Teressa.
Teressa looked beyond Kyle and Quinn at the men who shared a similar status to the brothers. The men would only care if their women were involved, and the ladies, some of whom knew Teressa, would not dare speak up to lose favour with the men present.
Teressa bit her lip and lowered her head. "Please don’t kill me," she whispered, clutching a handful of her dress. "I’m sorry that I approached Lady Hawthorne and didn’t speak the truth. I was angry with you because you were my means of a comforting life. I apologise for what I did. Please spare me."
"I know I’m not innocent in the matter, but I don’t forgive you. I don’t forgive myself for the role I played in this, so how can I forgive you? There is much we have to speak of in private. I promise that no harm will come to you, but you can’t go free now," Quinn said, needing to keep her close.
Teressa didn’t want to leave without informing anyone, but her hands were tied. She hoped that if she was being taken to Eloise, Eloise would be kind enough to let her walk free without consequence.
As Teressa walked with Quinn and Kyle, Damien arrived at Eloise’s father’s home. He stepped down from the carriage and approached the door, needing to see that Eloise was well before helping to remove her belongings.
A sweet aroma of food drifted through the air as he neared the entrance, and at first, Damien thought it was coming from Millie’s home nearby.
He knocked, then tried the door. It pushed open easily since it wasn’t locked.
"Eloise?" Damien called, his voice carrying through the home.
"Damien?" Eloise answered, appearing from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron. "I was starting dinner for you. Well, for all of us."
Damien hesitated, unsure whether to comment on Eloise’s cooking or to ask about the guests first.
"It is only Millie, Aiden, and the other guards who have joined us. I sent the coachman for food, so I have plenty to feed everyone. I did promise you that I would prepare a meal," Eloise said, hoping that Damien would enjoy the surprise.
"I have a request," Eloise added, straightening Damien’s coat with gentle care.
"What is it?" Damien replied, feeling every bit the husband returning home from a long day.
"When you see Millie, you mustn’t comment on the bruise under her eye. Her son came by and troubled her. I sent him away long ago, and he hasn’t come back since then. We’ve been keeping ourselves busy with the cooking," Eloise explained softly.
"I don’t need any help, and dinner is not yet done. You can either have a tour around the home or go outside with Aiden. He has been cutting firewood for us," Eloise said, gesturing towards the yard.
Damien raised his brow. "You trust him with an axe? I don’t."
"Yes, he has been doing well. If we are to be warm tonight, we shall need the wood. I heard him laughing, so it must be going well. Nothing is broken," Eloise said, glancing towards the door that led to the yard.
"Are you well now, Eloise?" Damien asked, his concern fixed on her.
Eloise turned to him, her expression calm. "I am quite well now. All I needed was some time here. I apologise for the scare that I gave you."
