Free Web NovelChapter 225: Apologies (4)
"I cannot come to see you tonight. I have to make up for lost time by coming to see you now. I don’t want there to be any work I must do while we are away from Lockwood. I need to look at the dress shop and the art shop after I go back to the hotel. My grandmother wants to look at the orphanage here," said Scarlet.
It was a miracle she had time to sit here to witness Ian speaking to his mother.
"This is what I get for loving a woman who is so busy. Try not to overwork yourself. You have all those workers for a reason. I have no choice but to wait two days to see you. I am owed a kiss for every hour that I do not get to see you."
Scarlet moved her hand from his hold. "Why must you always try to turn it so you gain something? You are not owed anything since you will also be busy. It is time for me to leave. Will you walk me out?"
Ian held her hand again. "You don’t have to ask. She should be gone by now."
Ian helped Scarlet up and straightened out her dress so no one would get the wrong idea about the two of them being alone.
Scarlet held Ian’s hand since he was behaving now. He needed to enjoy it while he could now since they would be away from each other for almost two days.
When they returned to the bar, Scarlet was the first one to notice all the newspapers present. The morning paper should have been bought already since it was well after noon. The last time there was a quick second print, it was when news of her divorce started to spread in the evening and the news wanted to get it printed right away.
Scarlet hoped it was not something about her. She guessed that it was from the way Victor looked at her. "What is it now?"
"I don’t know if it will be something you enjoy. It has been announced that Joseph Humphrey is dead. He was once your father-in-law, right?" Victor asked, handing the paper over to Scarlet.
Scarlet couldn’t believe that Joseph was dead. Dorothy had always hinted that she would not spend the later years of her life still putting up with him but the time for it to happen came as a surprise. "He died in another one of his homes. A woman was taken in as the culprit."
’Was it not her doing?’ Scarlet wondered. She couldn’t see Dorothy letting someone else have the satisfaction of getting rid of Joseph.
Joseph’s affairs weren’t a secret. At least not to Scarlet since Dorothy had mentioned many times how Jack liked to act like his father.
It was known in the Humphrey family that Joseph wasn’t the most faithful man but they had managed to not let it get out to the town. Dorothy did what she needed to not be embarrassed by Joseph before the town.
"He was but we were not close. My only concern is his wife. I need to see her. Goodbye," Scarlet kissed Ian goodbye, taking the paper with her to read more about Joseph’s death.
Ian rested his hands in his pockets, watching as Scarlet rushed to get back to her busy life. "Owen, are you still following that ex of hers?"
Owen nodded his head. "We are but he’s moving a little strangely. He’s searching for something and I don’t think he has any idea what he is searching for. Why? Want us to take him now?"
"No. Keep watching him. News like this would have him looking to be comforted and I would like for him to not go to my woman for it. If he tries to get close to Scarlet then take him. I don’t want to meddle without reason and have Scarlet worry about her relationship with his mother," said Ian.
"You’ll be going home tonight alone, Victor."
’Why? Is it because you are going back to the estate? I want to come with you. I am ready to let my mother know about the poison. Rue needs me to find out what was used fast and I still have a lot that I want to say. If I don’t come with you now, I might miss the chance to finally have them listen to me. Please," Victor begged, starting to go down on his knees.
"Victor, please. It is not you that I want to see on their knees before me," Ian said, reaching for a bottle to pour himself a drink.
Victor was disgusted by what Ian said. "Ian, I like having a relationship where I am unaware of what you and Scarlet do."
"I was speaking about your parents on their knees begging for their lives. For someone so pure, you have quite the dirty mind," Ian said, enjoying the nervous wreck that Victor quickly became. freewebnoveℓ.com
Victor couldn’t believe his mind had gone there first. "That was wrong of me. I don’t know what I was thinking."
Owen couldn’t believe Victor was so quick to believe Ian. Anyone with a good pair of ears knew what Ian meant but he had so easily turned it around to fool Victor. "Victor, your brother is the one with the dirty mind and mouth. He meant exactly what you heard. Why don’t you forget about him and become my younger brother? I am a lot nicer than Ian is."
Victor started to consider it since Owen had been treating him well. "I should do that since all my brother does is try to make me panic."
"You wanted an older brother and you got it. The two of you can get out of here and go somewhere else if you don’t like how you are treated. And stop drinking from the expensive bottles for free," Ian said after picking up one that was almost empty.
"As tempting as that sounds, we cannot leave you alone. All you would have is Scarlet and you don’t realise it now but that is not enough for you. You’re stuck with us forever."
Owen’s words only made Ian fear the future. He had been only putting up with Owen in recent years and now he had to add Victor to it. His trip with Scarlet needed to come faster. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"If you want to come along, be ready to go there tonight. Owen, start preparing the story for the town guards to hear. Our only problem is getting the servants to not speak of us entering the estate," said Ian.
Should one of the servants notice them and tell the town guards, they would have to leave Lockwood for good. Something Scarlet could not do.
"Leave that to me," Victor suggested. He knew just who would be willing to get the servants away from his parents for the night.
