Chapter 30 - Please Forgive Me

Eloise’s POV



“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Nora asked.



“Yeah. We were children when the marriage contract was first written and agreed to between our parents. My father had a gold bracelet made for Adam as a token of our future union.”



“He had to have kept it this entire time…”



“Then he could’ve been the only one the curse came from. But why? Why would he do something like that? Why would he get someone else to try and frame me for a crime against Mrs. Leonard?”



Just as my thoughts began to wander, a knock came at my door. Nora opened it for me and saw one of Mrs. Leonard’s servants at the door.



The servant bowed at us. “Lady Eloise, Mrs. Leonard has requested your presence at the dining hall.”



My gut began to twist into knots. “Did she say why?” I asked.



They nodded. “Yes, my Lady. Mrs. Leonard says that she has something prepared for you–tea and desserts. She wants to apologize for what happened the other day.”



Nora and I looked at each other questioningly.



I had my doubts that Mrs. Leonard actually wanted to apologize, but then again, she hadn’t done one nice thing for me since I got married to Xavier. Maybe she got a change of heart after I freed her of her curse.



I nodded my head. “Okay… Well, lead the way.”



I followed the servant as Nora trailed close behind. When we reached the dining hall, they left us alone to go summon Mrs. Leonard.



However, I didn’t like the atmosphere one bit. The place was dimly lit and there was no one else around aside from Nora and me.



The sound of heels clicking against marble caught our attention as we looked up and saw Mrs. Leonard had walked towards us.



“Eloise. I’m so glad you’re here.” Belinda’s tone was more enthusiastic than what seemed normal.



“Good afternoon, Mrs. Leonard.” I bowed. “You wanted to see me?”



“Yes, yes. I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day. You did a great service of finding the true culprit behind my curse and you even got rid of it, too. I treated you terribly and I wanted to make it up to you.”



A smile began to form on my lips. “Of course. I was just doing what I needed to do. After all, you’re important to Xavier, so you’re important to–”



“Yes, yes.” Belinda interrupted. “I understand. Did my servant tell you?”



“Um… yes. They said that there was tea and desserts prepared for me–”



Belinda’s laugh interrupted me. “Oh, honey. Not for you. By you!”



“I’m sorry, what do you–”



“Eloise, now you know I’m no cook or baker. Tea and desserts sound wonderful but you’re here to make them!” The smile on her lips felt sinister.



“But the servant said–”



“Oh, come now. They just misheard me. You’re here to prepare tea and desserts for me and some of the noblewomen. They’ll be coming by to celebrate my freedom from the wretched curse that was placed on me.” Belinda stated with an arrogant tone.



“But Mrs. Leonard… my hand is still so sore from having absorbed the curse from your body. I need more time to rest.” I tried to reason with her.



“Please,” Belinda scoffed. “Your hand no longer has burn marks! You’ll be fine. Unless you want me to tell Xavier that refused to help your mother-in-law.” A smirk spread across her lips.



I sighed. I really didn’t want any more trouble from Xavier. Even though I had proved my innocence and that Mrs. Leonard was wrong with her accusations, I knew that he was still going to take her side no matter what.



If I chose not to help her, it would just enrage him even more.



I nodded my head at Nora who began to walk up to me.



Belinda stepped in her way. “And just where do you think you’re going?”



Nora avoided her eyes. “I-I’m going to help Lady Eloise with preparing the goods for your party.”



Belinda scoffed and pushed her shoulder. “No, you won’t. I asked for Eloise’s help. Not yours. I don’t trust you around the food I’ll be eating.”



“But ma’am,” Nora pleaded. “Lady Eloise is still in pain. She can’t do it all by herself!”



“Oh, but she can and she will. Unless you want to spend a night in the shed outside, I suggest you go back to your room while I’m still being kind.”



Nora gave me an unapologetic look before she hurried away and out of the dining hall.



Belinda looked at me and pointed to the kitchen. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go already!”



I spent the whole afternoon baking various types of sweets and brewing enough tea for around 20 or so noblewomen and Mrs. Leonard. My hand cramped up every time I tried to mix the ingredients, but she didn’t care.



Even while I was making the tea and accidentally burned the same hand on the hot kettle, she didn’t care. It was also my first time operating an oven, too. She didn’t care when I burned my hands on the baking racks either.



While I was cutting the fruit, I accidentally slipped the knife and cut my finger. She told me to wash my hands and wrap some bandages around them then go back to work.



No matter how hurt I was on the job, she didn’t allow anyone to help me. I was the only one in the kitchen and she worked me to the bone.



She yelled and berated me the entire time and forced me to restart on certain recipes because they weren’t perfect. I wanted to protest and yell back but I really didn’t want to upset Xavier even more.



“Ugh, I guess these will have to do. They’re not perfect but at least you got them done.” Belinda sneered.



“May I go now, please?” My body was absolutely exhausted. She didn’t even allow me to take breaks to eat or drink anything. At this point, I just wanted to go back to bed.



“Sure. Fine. Whatever. I’ll have a servant pick up some treats from the central market before it gets too late. Now get out of my sight.” Belinda waved me away.



I had no energy to argue with her, despite the fact that she had forced me to bake goods for the whole day even though she could’ve just bought them from the market.



I dragged myself back to my room and opened the door to see Nora sitting at the desk. Before I allowed her to get a word in, I sluggishly walked past her and flopped onto the bed.



Nora sat beside me and took my hands in hers. “Go ahead and sleep, Lady Eloise. I’ll be careful while I take care of your hands. I can’t believe Mrs. Leonard put you through that…”



I sat up and fought the urge to sleep. “I’m gonna stay up for a little while longer so I can at least greet Lord Xavier when he comes home from work.”



Nora nodded her head and began to tend to my injuries as we sat in silence.



Xavier’s POV



When I finally returned to the castle, it was already night. I was expecting Eloise to be asleep by now because honestly, after what happened, I wasn’t expecting her to wait for me anymore.



But when I opened the door, I saw Eloise awake and sitting up on the bed. Usually, when I came into the room, she would smile and greet me, and ask me how my day was.



Today, however, I was only met with silence. She even kept her head down and avoided my gaze.



After I had taken a shower and gotten comfortable, I came out of the bathroom to see Eloise rubbing at her hands.



I turned off the lights and allowed the moonlight to light up the room. Then I climbed into bed next to her. I wanted to take her hands into mine but I was afraid she would simply turn me away.



So, I kept my distance for a little bit. “Are your hands okay, Eloise?” I asked tenderly.



“They are. Thank you for your concern, my Lord. Nora bandaged them before you got here, so I’ll be okay.” She answered me calmly, though there was no smile on her face.



There was a moment of silence between us.



“Eloise…”



“If there’s nothing wrong, I would like to go to bed, my Lord.”



I sighed. “There’s nothing wrong, Eloise. Goodnight.”



Despite laying in the same bed as Eloise, it still felt like I was alone in the room. I kept looking over at her to make sure she was still there. For the first time, I felt lonely and hurt.



I gave us distance today because I thought that’s what we needed to help get over what happened but I didn’t expect her to have already distanced herself like that. It made me feel so uncomfortable. I already missed her warmth.



Does a part of her miss me, too?



I thought about the words my mother said to me about doubting her character because of the family she came from.



And Belinda was right. I didn’t trust the Wisdoms after they failed to seek the justice they were created to do. But was it really fair of me to carry on the grudges of past Wisdom generations onto Eloise? She was only 7 when the events happened anyway.



I took a deep breath and sat up on the bed. “Eloise, I’m sorry. Truly sorry. I allowed my anger and hurt to blind me and because of that, I alienated you and branded you as a liar. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, I’ll do it.”



I watched as Eloise breathed in and out, though she never turned herself towards me to give me an answer.



“Eloise? Can you hear me?” I asked her softly.



I leaned my head close to her and heard light snoring.



She’s asleep?



While Eloise was able to sleep soundly, I couldn’t. At all. I tossed and turned, changed positions, took deep breaths, and nothing helped. All I could think about was how I had wronged my wife.



Because I was feeling so down-spirited, I decided to get out of bed and go outside for a little bit. I just need some space to breathe.



When I exited the room, I unexpectedly bumped into Eloise’s maid, Nora.



“Apologies, my Lord.” She bowed before walking off.



I nodded my head and hesitated for a while before I stopped her again.



“Nora… Is Eloise okay?”



“My Lord…” Nora paused.



“You can tell me,” I spoke in a calm voice.



She nodded her head. “Mrs. Leonard called for Lady Eloise earlier this afternoon. Supposedly, she was inviting her to a tea party as compensation for having treated her so poorly But when Lady Eloise arrived… none of the treats nor the tea was prepared. So, Mrs. Leonard forced Eloise to make all of the desserts and goods all afternoon. And I wasn’t allowed to help my Lady…”



“So is that why her hands are bandaged?”



Nora nodded. “Yes, my Lord. She could hardly lift her arms because they were so sore and her hands were raw after working with all of the materials and the oven.”



“I see. Thank you, Nora. Please, don’t let me keep you. Go and rest.”



She nodded once more before walking away to leave me alone with my thoughts.



I felt guiltier than before. Belinda took out her frustrations on Eloise because of our earlier fight.



I took a few deep breaths before returning to the room. I need to make this right.



When I got back into bed, Eloise had suddenly woken up in pain. I gently began working my fingers along her tense arms as I looked into her eyes.



She still avoided my gaze.



“Eloise. I’m sorry. I truly am. I neglected you because of my duties, I wronged you for not believing in you, and now you’re hurt because of me.”



She remained quiet.



“I’ll make it up to you, I promise. And please, don’t hesitate to tell me when I wrong you in the future. Although, I hope I’ll never do that again. I hope you can forgive me, Eloise.”



After I finished massaging her arms, I laid down next to her. Though she didn’t say anything, she moved herself into my arms once more.



I felt a wave of relief wash over my heart and hugged her tightly.