“Lady Margaret, your birth disqualifies you from being Lady Edmund. Even if my son erred, surely Norland Keep has servants posted at every courtyard. Why did no one hear your cries?”
い
Chapter 3
“Was it really Lord Edmund who walked into the wrong room, or did you, Lady Margaret, plan this all along?”
The servants of Norland Keep knelt and spoke out. “My lady, when Lord Edmund entered the guest quarters, we moved to attend him, but Lady Margaret paid us each ten gold coins to leave and prepare sobering draughts instead. She forbade us from staying near. We never expected her to do something like
this.”
The servants‘ words left the room in stunned silence, and the guests quickly understood. Murmurs spread.
“Just as we thought. Bastard daughter with a cunning mind.”
“What lady of standing doesn’t keep maids by her side? Only she was alone. Premeditated, no doubt.”
I turned away in disgust. In my past life, Margaret had begged her way into my mercy, feigned suicide, and ultimately entered the household–paving the way for their plot to kill me.
“Father, Mother, I will not proceed with this marriage. Take me home.”
Father’s voice was firm. “A daughter of Richard Stafford does not endure such insults. This union is dissolved.” He turned to leave with Mother and me. Margaret lunged after us. “Father! Will you abandon me? Am I not also your child? Is Eleanor the only daughter of House Stafford?”
Father scoffed. “I tried to arrange good marriages for you. You rejected them all, choosing Lord Edmund instead. Now that you have him, are you satisfied? From this day on, you are no longer my daughter.”
The grand wedding was reduced to a spectacle of shame. My dowry, which had just been delivered to Norland Keep, was sent back by my father’s orders, and Edmund’s drunken affair with the bastard daughter became the talk of the entire city.
When we returned to our home, Lady Joan rushed up to me. “Lord Stafford, where is Margaret? Has she stayed at Norland Keep?”
Seeing me in my wedding gown, she quickly added, “What about the marriage?”
Father coldly responded, “What do you think we should do?”
Aunt smiled slyly. “Now that things are settled, why not let Margaret marry Edmund instead? The dowry can be sent later, and a few extra gifts from the Defender’s Keep will do. Margaret is delicate. Any man would fall for her. Lord Edmund must have fancied her long ago and seized this chance. My Lord, why not bless their union? She is your flesh and blood too.”
Mother’s face went pale with fury. She shouted, “No wonder Margaret acts so shamelessly–she learned from you!”
“Guards! Confine Lady Joan to the private chapel. No food or water.until she has copied the book of prayers and repented her sins.”
The servants seized Lady Joan, ignoring her shrieks as they locked her away.
Mother wiped away her tears and looked at me. “What are we going to do, sweetheart?”
I comforted her. “Mother, now we know Lord Edmund was never a good match. Isn’t it better to find out before marriage than after? You should be glad for me.”
