"I am not satisfied with a few months of imprisonment and having to pay the court. It simply isn’t enough for his crimes to be that he is a thief," Eloise said, seeking more punishment for Clive.

"I agree, but it is a start. Would you rather he walk around without any punishments?" Damien asked.

"No," Eloise replied in a soft tone. "I know it is better than nothing, but he deserves a longer punishment. One that will label him a murderer and not just a thief. I truly hope my father haunts him."

"I might be able to find a man who looks like your father and employ him to follow Clive around the town," Damien offered.

Eloise chuckled. "I must be losing my mind because I was almost tempted to let you do it. For now, I will go ahead with proving he changed the will. I know my father wouldn’t leave me without means to survive. Agatha would surely take the money meant for me to place with Iris’s dowry."

Damien held the door leading out of the courthouse for Eloise. "Has she always disliked you?"

"She was easier to be around when I lived out of town, but since I returned, I could not deny that she didn’t like me. Agatha disliked it when there was attention on me, even though I said I didn’t want to get married. I tried to ignore it for Iris’s sake," said Eloise.

"She views you as competition for her daughter, and rightfully so," Damien said, now understanding the Wilkins family dynamic.

"I spent recent years in the countryside while Iris lived all her life in town. Iris is far more suitable for any man here. I only gathered attention because no one knew me well," Eloise explained.

"You did not think you gathered attention because you are beautiful? There is a good reason why she didn’t like you returning now to steal the attention from her daughter. You are both beautiful," Damien said, complimenting Iris. "But you stand out a bit more, and there is a mystery to you."

"Mystery? Nothing about me is a mystery," Eloise replied, finding her life to be an open book.

"As you said, no one knew you well, so they wanted to get close to the new, beautiful lady in town. Agatha isn’t the first lady to get angry that attention has been taken away from her daughter, and she won’t be the last."

"I know. I had hoped that since we are family, it would be different. I truly did not have any interest in getting married this season. Clive kept forcing it upon me, and Agatha did not like it. He will come to object to us getting married," Eloise said, knowing it wouldn’t be long.

"My uncle is somewhat of a cowardly man, but when pushed by Agatha, he will be bold. I am not trying to shift the blame for his actions upon her," Eloise said as it sounded so in her ears. "That is simply how they are together. He will speak of being my guardian."

"So, we must be one step ahead by getting married now. Since we do not have the proof we need as yet, the court will side with him. He will try to take you back to his home and find you another husband before we can get married. We should get married today," Damien suggested.

Damien noticed Eloise’s hesitation. "You don’t need to worry about my name being attached to gossip. We shall remind them that we were childhood friends, and say that from the moment I saw you back in town, I fell in love with you."

"You want it to be a love story about childhood friends? It could help against the rumours that I am pregnant, but to be honest, I don’t care about that now. Knowing that there is not much the court can do against my uncle, I must ignore the gossip and marry you quickly," Eloise agreed.

Eloise looked around the busy street. "I believe there is a church nearby. We should go now."

"Wait," Damien held Eloise’s hand to stop her. "It might be an abrupt wedding, but it can still be done right. You can have someone like Millie at your side and a wedding dress. I will take you back to her home and return for you in an hour. You should both be ready by then," said Damien.

"Thank you. I do not know why, but to have it feel real is more comforting. I owe you quite a lot already," Eloise said and started to think of how to repay Damien.

"You have paid me with all the entertainment. You should have returned to town sooner."

Eloise smiled and refrained from confessing that she wished her father hadn’t decided to return to town. They could still be living together in the countryside, away from Clive’s greediness.

Eloise entered the carriage and leaned against the wall as she thought of what she was to do after the wedding. Damien was going to find out if Clive had changed the will, so there was nothing for her to do now but be patient.

"Damien, will you invite your siblings to see us get married?" Eloise asked, realising he had not spoken of someone from his side.

"Why? They would be noisy and ask far too many questions. We would not be able to get married by the end of the day," Damien replied, uninterested in the chatter.

"I think you should welcome them so there are no regrets. You don’t want to look back on this day and regret that your siblings were not present. Even if they have many questions, I will not be angry. I envy that you have three siblings," said Eloise.

Damien had others who understood his feelings. Others who wouldn’t think he was lacking warmth because he lost his mother. Eloise would have loved to have at least one sibling.

"You say that because you don’t have them in your ear every day, coming up with new ways to spend your money or to bother you. I will enjoy you singing a different tune when you meet them," Damien said, certain that Eloise was going to eat her words. "Remember, you asked for their presence." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Eloise shook her head. "I assure you that I won’t. Just as I have been around you in the past, I was once close to your brother, Quinn. The younger two would not remember me, but having the two oldest on my side will be helpful."