Anne in the corner stamped her foot in anger and stoked the fire. "Esther, you shameless woman, how could you accuse me of your own misconduct. When did I spend the night outside and be lavish in spending money? It's obviously you who concealed your past from James and disgusted him. How dare you say that I seduced him? You're so bad and deserve a good beating!"
This was the first time that James had seen an adult being beaten up. And that adult was even a woman. He started to take pity on her, but what Anne said stopped him from thinking this. At the thought of how she had deceived him and married his uncle for revenge, he wished that Betty could hit her a few more times.
The more stubborn Esther was, the angrier Betty became. She did not believe that she could not bring this young girl to heel.
She hit Esther several times and then glared at her, shouting, "Esther! Do you admit your mistake? Do you want to apologize now?"