The Resilient Lady Collins

Chapter 71: Ruffling feathers (5)

Luke sat back down. "You could have at least put the bottle back where you found it."

"It’s too soon for you to be drinking. The queen has guests so gather yourself before you do something stupid," said Scarlet, leaving the bottle where she had moved it.

"You’re not welcome back here," Luke warned Alana.

Once he had gotten Alana out of the palace that was it. There would be no coming back for her. Alana got to enjoy plenty of years being a princess and now it was over.

"I will gladly stay away from a fool like you," Alana said, pitying her brother rather than being upset with him. He didn’t have a good reason to hate her. It was not her fault that their father remarried.

"We have plenty of packing to do. I can hardly wait to get out of the palace," Scarlet said, leading the way out of the room. She saw today how the palace was far from how it was when she was a child. She had good reason to not visit it from now on.

Dawson peeped inside the room when Scarlet walked out to check if the king was still alive. She didn’t have a gun but he had witnessed how good she was at throwing something the night she had brought up divorcing Jack and Jack did not want to leave the estate.

"Thank you, Scarlet. I promise not to leech off of you for long. There is money that I get every week and not even Luke could stop it. I will find somewhere after staying with you for a while and then go from there," Alana decided.

"You’ve spent your entire life in the palace, Alana. You are not ready to be alone in this town. You can stay for as long as you need. The estate is large enough that I might not see you other than when we sit to eat," Scarlet said, reassuring Alana.

The good side of a large estate was how easy it was to not see guests for many hours. Alana could sleep on the left side of the estate and it would be like they lived in different houses.

"Dawson, prepare yourself to help the princess carry out her things. We are leaving as soon as she is finished packing," said Scarlet.

"Understood."

"Is he a new face?" Alana asked, speaking of Dawson. "There used to be another guard in the past."

"Dawson has been working for me for a few years now. It is only recently that he is by my side to guard me when I leave the estate," Scarlet answered.

It had a lot with Jack thinking she shouldn’t have Dawson around her and once accused that she might have liked Dawson. She kept Dawson employed on the estate because she didn’t see the need to fire him because of Jack’s jealousy.

If she fired everyone who made Jack jealous, Scarlet might not have anyone working for her. Strangely, that included women.

"I see. Before we go in, I must warn you that my room is quite simple. I only spent the money given to me on things that I desperately needed. I’m a little embarrassed," Alana said, wishing that she would go to her room alone.

"I will not judge what you have," said Scarlet, but then she realised something. "Or is it Dawson that you do not want around? Dawson, stay outside until she is finished packing," she ordered after Alana nodded her head.

After a short walk, the three ended up in front of Alana’s bedroom, and Dawson stayed outside while the two went in.

"I have a few trunks to put what is important to me inside of them."

Scarlet looked around the room which didn’t seem to change over the years. The colour of the wall looked dull as though the room had not seen new paint in years. There was nothing much in the room other than the usual furniture you would find in all the rooms in the palace.

If Scarlet didn’t know any better, she would think that this was some room that everyone had labelled haunted and no one came here.

"Take what is dear to you. I will buy you what you need," Scarlet offered as a princess shouldn’t have anything in this state. "I’m sorry that I didn’t come sooner to get you out of this."

"Don’t. You were dealing with Jack and you are busy with the businesses you run. Besides, no one would believe me that the king doesn’t treat me well. He puts on a good act when he has guests. I fear that even though he is letting us leave, his days of trying to pick at me are not over," said Alana.

Luke hated her too much to let her go and be happy with Scarlet. Then Madilyn would be upset that the marriage was not taking place.

"Let him try," Scarlet replied, hoping Luke would come to her gates to give her a reason to attack. The second he stepped on her land, she had good reason to attack even if it was the king. "He is still childish. When will men stop being a nuisance?"

"If we move to a town with only women?" Alana joked. "I won’t allow Luke’s behaviour to make me hate other men. There will be someone for me in this town or maybe outside of it. I have never left Lockwood so maybe that is why I have not fallen in love yet."

"I have travelled and there are bastards all around," Scarlet answered, annoyed by the memory of those men.

"But now you are this man Ian so you can say that there are good men in Lockwood."

"I suppose," Scarlet replied.

"It’s a little sad that what I cherish is only fitting in one trunk. I don’t want to keep you long so this will do. Everything else in here is a little old and needs to be thrown out," Alana said whilst dragging a now-heavy trunk to the door. "It might have been halfway packed since I was planning an escape if I was to be engaged."

"How were you planning to run away when you are struggling to push the trunk? They would have caught you by the time you stepped out your door. Let us be quick so I do not need to see the queen," Scarlet said, bending down to help Alana lift the trunk.

Had Scarlet known she was going to help someone move, she wouldn’t have chosen the heels she wore now.

"You know that Madilyn has moments of being jealous of you and now you show wearing that necklace. A fight was bound to happen. I am a little upset that it wasn’t the queen you put in her place instead of Holly. She may not be kind to you for helping me," Alana said as she had overheard Madilyn’s whining in the past. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Queen Madilyn didn’t have a problem with Alana. It was just that having something bond with Luke in the past that she joined in treating Alana poorly.

"Then so be it," Scarlet replied, not the slightest concerned about her relationship with Madilyn ending. This was a time when she saw the peace that came with getting certain people out of her life.

Should Madilyn be childish like Luke, Scarlet did not need to accept the queen’s invitations.

"You can take this from here," Scarlet said to Dawson after they made it to the door.

"Glady," Dawson answered, easily picking up the trunk.

Alana stared in wonder at his strength. It was quite heavy in her opinion so she had to thank him along with offering money later.