The Resilient Lady Collins

Chapter 65: Strangers (1)

"You’ve been staring at the door since you came out here. Are you expecting a special lady to come to you today?" Owen teased Ian.

Ian ignored Owen and continued to look around at the customers they had today. It was busier in the day than normal and he knew it had something to do with his relationship being spread around.

Many were curious about the returned son regardless of whether they knew about the drama from years ago. Most just wanted to see who Scarlet was with now.

"We may need to hire a few more people. If the day is like this, imagine how it will be at night. Are you listening to me, Ian? Why do I bother with you?" Owen shook his head.

"Did you look into the records about that man?" Ian asked, speaking of Robert.

"I did and I was right about him coming here before. He mostly talked about which women were looking to get married. He doesn’t have any interest in women his age. He needed a good check that his time had passed. Oh," Owen remembered that he had failed to move the body from the pond. "I need to visit you later."

"Do not. Do you not have a home?" Ian questioned, suspicious of Owen’s constant need to come to his home. "There are places you can go."

"Of course, I have a- Wait! If I was without a home, you wouldn’t let me stay with you?" Owen queried, not believing Ian could be so heartless.

"I would give you the money to get a carriage there," Ian answered.

"That doesn’t make you kind," Owen muttered. "I should find work elsewhere. Did you buy something?"

Ian watched as a man in a familiar uniform entered the front doors with a box in his hands. "He is a Kingsley guard."

Ian remembered that Layla wanted anyone to be able to tell her servant and guards apart from others so she had uniforms made. He thought she was obsessed with having her home like the palace.

The Kingsley guard was fast to pick Ian out from the crowd thanks to his similar features to Hank. "A gift from the young master, Victor Kingsley."

With his job done, the guard turned around to return to the carriage waiting for him.

Owen was surprised that it came from Kingsley since he didn’t know Ian had a good relationship with one of them.

Ian opened the box only to be confused by what was called a gift.

"Are those ashes?" Owen questioned though he knew that it was from the faint burnt smell. "Your brother must hate you." freёwebnovel.com

Ian found it odd since he knew the opposite. He could never shake Victor from trying to act like family. From what he saw at the garden party, Victor still wanted to be close.

Ian placed his right hand in the box to Owen’s horror, as there could be something deadly inside, and searched around for something among the ash but there was nothing. "This wasn’t his doing," Ian concluded.

Victor wasn’t so daring to send something like this to anyone. Victor would need to be drunk out of his mind to do this, but Ian couldn’t see that happening still as the Kingsleys must always have someone watching over the precious sick heir.

"Then your father?" Owen wondered out loud.

Owen thought of Hank’s visit here and how this might be a warning that he was going to set the place on fire.

"You are getting closer. It’s his wife," Ian revealed.

Layla was the one without any fear to do this. She would always be the one to enjoy if Ian believed that the gift came from Victor. Layla controlled every servant on the estate so there was no way she would miss Victor sending someone outside to deliver a gift.

"His wife? Is she so bored that she would send you ashes? What is it that she burned?" Owen asked, pulling the box to his side to get a better look at the ashes.

"Something that belonged to me. There was nothing I left behind there to care if she burned it. When you are done inspecting it, toss it out somewhere. Anywhere but here."

"What if it isn’t something that belongs to you but your mother or the woman Noelle?" Owen proposed as Mrs. Kingsley might know this would get to Ian more.

Ian considered the possibility of it belonging to either woman. He took the box from Owen again to search it though he knew that it was impossible to make out what was burned. It could have been anything but the possibilities of it being something belonging to Noelle angered him.

"Remember that uniform well. Don’t accept anything more from them. You’ve got to be fucking joking," Ian cursed, annoyed by the sight of Monica walking inside. "Didn’t I tell you to inform the men at the doors that she is not to be let inside? Must I do everything?"

Now was not the time for her to piss him off.

"I did inform them. I know that you are upset but you are not blind. They are taking her out," said Owen.

Still, Monica was causing a scene by being loud with the guards. Owen expected it since he knew Monica would never believe that Ian would do this to her. She was aware yet still unaware that Ian’s patience with her had run out and she had come to Ian at a bad time.

"I’ll help them before-"

"No," Ian stopped Owen. "Send her to my office."

Owen believed her heard wrong at first. He expected to hear Ian agree for him to throw out Monica as not only was she not welcome here but she was being loud before the customers. What concerned him was how calm Ian was after he looked ready to kill Mrs Kingsley a moment ago.

Owen tried to make another effort to be the one to get Monica to leave. "I will get her to stop talking and leave."

"Send her to my office. That is final," Ian said and then left Owen’s side so it couldn’t be argued about anymore.

Owen thought of disobeying what Ian asked of him but then Monica would never give up if she didn’t hear what Ian had to say now. Owen reluctantly left behind the bar to go to Monica who was about to be picked up against her will to be taken outside.

"Leave her. I will take care of this," Owen informed the guards.

"Get your hands off me!" Monica yelled, continuing to hit the guard on his chest until he let her go. "What took you so long and where did Ian go?"

Owen sighed. He wanted to feel bad for Monica but she had Ian’s anger coming her way for a while now. "He wants to speak to you alone in his office. You can still think for yourself to walk out the doors and leave him." freewёbnoνel.com

"Don’t tell me what to do," Monica answered.

She was here for Ian and she was not going to leave until she spoke to him. Monica knew what Ian told her father but that didn’t matter. She needed answers about what was happening between Scarlet and Ian so she decided to go to Ian.