A Scandal By Any Other Name-Chapter 198 - Hundred And Ninety Eight

Cole’s voice stopped her before she could take a single step away from the table.

"Delaney, do not worry," Cole said. His voice was firm and completely supportive of his niece.

He glared at his wife, absolutely furious that Eunice was trying to ruin his careful plans to appease Lord Hawksley. If Delaney was not at least a bit presentable to uphold Hawksley’s image, he might withhold the final payment.

"Wear whatever you want," Cole instructed Delaney clearly. "You will not wear Anne’s old rags. You will wear the new dresses. It is fine."

He waved his hand toward her empty chair.

"Do not mind your aunt," Cole ordered. "Sit down and finish your dinner."

Delaney hid her victorious smile. She slowly sat back down in her chair.

Eunice sparked like a lit match.

The humiliation was entirely too much for her to bear. Her husband had publicly sided with the miserable orphan. He had dismissed her opinions entirely again. He had told the girl to ignore her.

Eunice slammed her hands flat onto the table and stood up violently. Her chair screeched loudly against the wooden floorboards.

She spoke back rudely to her husband in anger.

"How dare you?" Eunice shrieked, her voice echoing off the dark walls. Her face turned a blotchy, ugly purple. "You humiliate me in my own dining room? You let this little rat spend my daughter’s inheritance on silk dresses, and you tell her to ignore me?"

Cole stood up from his chair. His patience was completely gone.

"I told you to keep your mouth shut, Eunice!" Cole roared back.

"I will not be quiet!" Eunice screamed, pointing a finger at his face. "You are a fool, Cole! You are letting her manipulate you! She is laughing at us!"

Cole did not argue with her anymore. He walked quickly around the edge of the long dining table.

Before Eunice could say another word, Cole slapped her again.

The sound was sharp and brutal. It was much harder than the slap on the front steps.

Eunice gasped, a ragged, choking sound. She fell back heavily into her chair, holding her face. A thin line of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth where her teeth had cut her lip. She looked up at her husband in complete and utter terror.

Cole stood over her, breathing heavily. He was completely out of control.

"Guards!" Cole shouted toward the hallway.

Two male servants immediately rushed into the dining room. They stopped just inside the door, their eyes wide with fear as they looked at the violent scene.

Cole pointed a shaking finger at his weeping wife.

"Take her upstairs," Cole ordered the servants. His voice was cold and entirely ruthless. "Lock her in her room. Do not let her out until she is ready to behave herself and speak to me with respect."

The servants hesitated for a brief second.

They had never been ordered to lay hands on the mistress of the house before. But Cole’s furious glare promised severe punishment if they disobeyed.

The two servants stepped forward. They grabbed Eunice by her upper arms and pulled her roughly out of her chair.

Eunice struggled immediately. She kicked her feet and twisted her body.

"Let me go!" Eunice screamed at the servants. She turned her tear-streaked face toward her husband. "Cole! You cannot do this to me! I am your wife!"

Cole turned his back on her. He walked back to his chair at the head of the table.

The servants dragged her out of the dining room. Eunice screamed as they dragged her. Her shrill voice echoed down the long hallway and up the grand staircase. She cursed her husband, and she cursed Delaney.

Delaney sat perfectly still. She listened to the fading sound of her aunt’s screams. She heard the heavy thud of a bedroom door closing on the floor above, followed by the loud, distinct click of a metal lock turning.

The dining room was suddenly very quiet again.

Cole sat down heavily in his chair. He rubbed his face with both hands, looking completely exhausted and deeply stressed. His appetite for his roasted dinner was completely vanished under his rage. He could not eat a single bite.

He reached out for his small porcelain teapot. It was a special herbal calming tea the cook prepared for him every evening to soothe his nerves.

He poured the hot, dark liquid into his cup and drank his herbal calming tea. He took a long, deep swallow, closing his eyes as the warm liquid coated his dry throat.

"Why can’t she just control herself for just six days?" Cole asked himself in anger, muttering the words into his empty teacup. "Just six days until the wedding. Is that too much to ask?"

He set the empty cup down on the saucer.

Delaney looked at the sugar cup on the table. She reached out with her small, delicate hands and carefully picked up the sugar tongs.

Delaney spoke, her voice light and perfectly pleasant, acting as if the violent scene had never even happened.

"Thank you, Uncle," Delaney said smoothly, showing her gratitude for his protection. She held a small white lump of sugar in the tongs. "Would you like more sugar for your second cup?"

Cole, distracted and tired, spoke, his voice slightly slurred. "One lump will do."

Delaney smiled. It was a very sweet, very gentle smile.

She reached over and put the lump of sugar into his empty teacup. She watched as he poured the last of the herbal tea from the pot over the sugar. He drank it down without a single complaint.

Delaney turned back to her own place setting. She picked up her own teacup. She brought the rim of the delicate china cup to her lips. She drank her tea slowly.

Behind the rim of her cup, her smile widened into a true, satisfied grin.

Her aunt was locked away in a bedroom, completely powerless. Her uncle would soon be entirely unconscious. The house was exactly where she wanted it.

Delaney set her teacup down gently on its saucer.

Now, Aunt Eunice would have a taste of exactly what it feels like to be locked up like a prisoner in her own home.