A Scandal By Any Other Name-Chapter 197 - Hundred And Ninety Seven

The air in the dinning room was incredibly thick with tension. The only sounds were the loud ticking of the grand clock in the corner and the sharp clinking of silverware against fine china.

Delaney sat quietly on one side of the long table. It had been so long she sat at the table since her parents death. Her posture was perfectly straight, her hands moving gracefully as she cut her roasted meat. She looked exactly like a proper, obedient young lady.

At the head of the table sat Cole Kingsley. His face was pale, and dark circles rested heavily beneath his eyes. He looked like a man who was carrying a massive, crushing weight on his shoulders. He pushed his food around his plate, his appetite ruined by his own greed and the constant fear of Lord Hawksley.

Opposite Delaney sat Aunt Eunice.

Eunice had a faint red mark on her cheek from where Cole had slapped her yesterday evening. She wore a high-necked, stiff dress. She gripped her silver fork so tightly that her knuckles were entirely white. She glared at Delaney with a look of pure, unhidden hatred. She hated sitting at the same table as the girl she viewed as a servant.

Cole let out a heavy sigh and put his fork down. He reached for his linen napkin and wiped his mouth. He looked at his niece.

Cole asked Delaney, his voice breaking the heavy silence. "I heard you hired a footman today. Is there any reason for that?"

His eyes narrowed slightly. He was a paranoid man. He wanted to know exactly why a girl with no money and no power suddenly felt the need to bring a strange, strong young man into his house.

Delaney did not panic. She had expected this question. She placed her knife and fork neatly on her plate and looked at him with a calm, polite expression.

Delaney replied, her voice soft and entirely reasonable. "No particular reason, Uncle. I simply realized that I have many errands to run in town before the wedding. I did not want to disturb your servants with my own personal needs. They are busy managing your estate."

She took a slow sip of her water before continuing.

"So, I got one," Delaney explained smoothly. "It is just till I get married. Once the ceremony is over, I will send him off. Lord Hawksley has a very large staff and a lot of servants at his own estate, so there will not be any use for him anymore."

Cole watched her face carefully. He looked for any sign of deception. But Delaney’s story made perfect sense. It was the vain, practical action of a young bride preparing for a wealthy marriage. It also stroked Cole’s ego to hear that she did not want to burden his household staff.

Cole nodded his head slowly. The suspicion faded from his eyes.

"It is alright," Cole said, picking up his fork again. "As long as you pay his wages from your own purse, I do not mind."

Across the table, Eunice could not hold her tongue any longer. The silence was burning her from the inside out. The thought of Delaney spending money made her completely furious.

Eunice slammed her silver fork down onto the table. The loud clatter made Cole flinch.

Eunice spat, her voice dripping with venom. "I heard you went to town this afternoon. How much of my husband’s money did you spend?"

She leaned forward, her eyes flashing with cruel spite.

"Those dresses you bought at the modiste are so expensive," Eunice continued, her tone loud and scolding. "You have absolutely no right to spend our gold on such foolish things. Tomorrow morning, I will go with you into town to return some of them."

Delaney looked at her aunt. Your gold? She scoffed at the absurdity in her mind. She did not show any anger.

Eunice lifted her chin, offering a completely insulting alternative. "After your cousin Anne’s marriage last year, there were some of her old dresses left behind in the trunks. They still look good. You can wear them. They are more than good enough for you."

Delaney smirked. It was a very small, dark movement of her lips.

She thought to herself, looking at the bitter woman across the table. "Even after three years, she still has not changed."

It was exactly what Eunice had done when Delaney was a teenager. When Delaney’s own fine clothes had grown too small, Eunice had refused to buy her new ones. Instead, she had forced Delaney to wear the faded, out of season hand-me-downs of her cousin Anne. Eunice was always ready to give her the scraps, always trying to remind Delaney that she was nothing but a poor, unwanted burden.

But those days were over.

Delaney turned her face away from Eunice. She looked directly at her uncle. She knew exactly how to manipulate Cole Kingsley. She knew that he cared deeply about what other wealthy men thought of him.

"Uncle," Delaney spoke softly, her voice carrying a tone of deep, innocent concern. "Your wife thinks I am not worthy of wearing an expensive dress."

She paused, letting the words hang in the air.

"She is trying to say I am not fit to marry Lord Hawksley," Delaney continued, weaving her trap with careful, precise words. "Lord Hawksley is a rich and important man in London society. If I do not start wearing fine clothes now, what will people say about our family when I enter his house as his wife?"

Cole stopped eating. He stared at Delaney. He began to understand her point.

Delaney lowered her eyes, looking very worried. "They will say the poor girl does not dress well. They will say she looks like a beggar. And they will say she does not represent the Lord well. The Ton will gossip, Uncle. They will wonder why Baron Kingsley sent his niece to the altar looking like a common maid."

Cole’s face tightened. He hated gossip. He hated the idea of Hawksley looking down on him.

Delaney paused again, letting out a soft, dramatic sigh.

"I am doing this for you, Uncle," Delaney lied flawlessly. "I want to look like a proper lady so I can bring honor to your name. I do not want people pointing fingers at you and calling you cheap."

She looked back up at him, her hazel eyes completely wide and submissive.

"But," Delaney said, her voice dropping into a sad, defeated whisper. "If it worries Aunt Eunice so much... I will return them tomorrow. I will wear Anne’s old, faded dresses."

To finish her performance, Delaney stood up slowly from her chair. She acted as though she was too upset to finish her meal. She turned to leave the dining room.

As she turned, her hand brushed against the table. She deliberately knocked the small silver sugar cup.

The silver cup tipped over. Small white lumps of sugar spilled across the dark polished wood of the table.

"I am sorry," Delaney said quickly, keeping her head bowed.

She had set the bait perfectly. Now, she just had to wait for the trap to snap shut on her aunt.