CHAPTER 20

Eleanor laid face down on her bed, thinking about everything and nothing in particular. Her mind wandered to different places at the same time, leaving her emotionally exhausted. 

Marriage.

The word echoed in her mind. Ah, the woman had better be joking. 

It was the last thing she wanted to do, especially if it was coming from her stepmother. She couldn't trust the woman's intentions. 

Maybe the marriage would be a good escape from her stepmother and son? She sat up on the bed, shook her head in disbelief and quickly discarded that thought. She promised never to let her mind wander down that path again. 

She knew a few ladies who married old men, and unfortunately, not one of them had something good to say about their marriage.

At least, if the woman was going to give her away, she should do it in a more respectable way! She willed herself to look for a solution… There would definitely be a way out. 

A knock at her door distracted her. "Come in," She barked at the person on the other side of the door. She held her breath, half expecting it to be her stepmother, but luckily for her, it was Gloria. She let out a huge sigh of relief.

Gloria was one of the few persons that made her stay in the manor tolerable. The lady was not just a servant to Eleanor but also a friend with whom she could share some of her worries. She considered the woman as her elder sister sometimes.

"Gloria, where on earth have been all day?" Madeline asked as she patted her bed. 

"Ah, I went with Mrs Dorothy to the market. It was such a painful journey! That woman should consider making a living out of haggling prices with sellers.

Eleanor chuckled in understanding. The assistant cook could be a pain in the arse sometimes, "You had an adventurous day then," Eleanor teased. 

Gloria playfully rolled her eyes. "An obnoxious one, if I may add." She perked up, eyes shining with excitement. "My lady, I have super good news for you," Gloria greeted as she entered the room with a blinding smile that faltered as she took in Eleanor's worried face.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Gloria asked, her smile replaced with a frown as she took a seat beside her young mistress. 

Eleanor bit the inside of her cheeks, contemplating whether she should share the information with Gloria or not. She decided it was of no use sharing the piece of information with Gloria, maybe Lady Jane will have a rethink about the marriage proposal. 

"Everything is all right." Eleanor waved her hand dismissively. She mustered a cheerful smile to change the topic. "What good news do you have for me?" 

Gloria couldn't help but admire the growing resemblance between the young girl and her Elder brother. They are both blessed with graceful, aristocratic beauty that could easily turn necks. 

Instead of replying, Gloria stood from the bed and walked towards the door. Gloria's frown was once again replaced with a cheerful smile, "If you could take a guess, what would it be, my Lady?"

Eleanor stared at her companion, curiosity blazing in her eyes. She playfully tapped her chin with her index finger. "You got another suitor?" She asked.

Gloria chuckled with an eye roll. "Why would that make me excited?" She asked, head tilted to the side.

"You are a beautiful woman, Gloria. It won't be surprising if more than half of the townsmen are begging for your hand in marriage."

Gloria's brows momentarily pulled together. "It's not that easy, especially when you have a child." Her smile brightened again. "That was a good guess, My Lady, but my news is way better than that. Take another guess."

"Okay, you found a treasure box on your way to work?" Eleanor clamped her lips together to suppress her laughter at her poor guessing skill. 

Gloria couldn't help but laugh. "A treasure box? Nice try, My Lady."

Grinning, Eleanor threw her hands up in surrender. "That was a poor attempt, I know. Tell me already."

Gloria stood and walked to the door. She bolted the door and walked back to the bed. She fished out a piece of paper from the inside of her blouse. "Here." She handed the letter to Eleanor with her perfect white teeth on display. 

"Okay…" Eleanor drawled, unsure of what to expect in the paper. Just as she was about to unfold, she paused. Her eyes, a mix of worry and curiosity, darted between the paper and Gloria. "Did you get a new job?" She asked, 

Gloria chuckled, "Why don't you find out yourself?"

With her heart thumping in her chest, Eleanor slowly unfolded the paper and read its content. 

Gloria's eyes gleamed as she watched Eleanor's eyes take in every word. She was half expecting the girl to jump in excitement, but the more the silence stretched, the more worried she became. She couldn't read, but she was smart enough to know the letter contained a few words that could be read in a few seconds. Had Ryder added more words?

Eleanor felt light-headed. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her. She stared at the bottom part of the letter, which said, 'Your one and only brother, Ryder.' She finally managed to tear her eyes away from the paper. Looking at Gloria, she asked, "Who gave this to you?" 

"Who else? Ryder, of course!" Gloria chimed, eyes still gleaming with excitement. 

"How…?" Eleanor drawled, eyes returning to the paper. "Ryder gave this to you?"

"Yes, he is in town!" Gloria whisper-yelled excitedly, grabbing Eleanor's hand.

Eleanor blinked twice at the information. "Since when?"

"Two days ago," Gloria replied.

Eleanor's brows drew together in a deep frown. "Why isn't he coming to see me?" She asked, 

"Oh, he would have loved that, but you know that wouldn't be a great idea." Gloria's smile vanished when she saw the tears brewing in Eleanor's eyes.

It would have been different if they were tears of joy; the girl simply looked like someone had slapped her. "What's wrong?"

Heart thumping painfully in her chest, Eleanor wiped furiously at her tears. "After many years of abandoning me, is this all I get?" She asked, waving the piece of paper in the air. "A piece of scantily written letter." She tore the letter into two, startling her companion.

"My lady!" Gloria yelled in shock, 

"A piece of letter won't soothe the ache in my chest, Gloria."

"Oh, my lady, I think there is a misunderstanding somewhere." Gloria began. "He wants to see you, he really does. If he comes here, you know it will cause nothing but fight."

"Then he shouldn't bother. He should remain where he is, in the shadow. He is better off there." She spat words with a second thought.

"Lady Eleanor, how can you say that about your brother, who has done nothing but worry about you?" Gloria clutched her chest, feeling the impact of Eleanor's words as if it were she the young girl was talking to.

Her heart clenched when she tried to imagine how Ryder would feel when he learned how his sister felt about him. Oh, poor thing. 

Gloria shook her head to organise her thoughts. "Don't you want to know how he is faring?"

Eleanor shook her head against her heart. Oh, she wanted to know how he was faring, but the anger and hatred she had harboured for years clouded her senses. "If he could write a letter, then I am sure he is doing very great." 

Gloria shook her head in half disappointment and confusion. She never expected such a reaction from sweet Eleanor. She felt it in her gut that something was wrong somewhere, but she couldn't place her hands on it. "My lady, the least you could do is honor his invitation and hear his part of the story."

Eleanor chuckled humourlessly as she aggressively crumpled the paper in her palm. "Oh, I already know his part of the story, no need to hear it again." 

"My lady," Gloria began to protest but was cut off,

"Gloria, I would appreciate it if you dropped the topic. Is this the great news you had for me? It's rather bad news. I was already having a bad day, now it has gotten worse."

Gloria's mouth opened and closed in a wordless protest. It was supposed to be good news! She let out an audible sigh. Oh, she had imagined a lot of things: her delivering the news to Eleanor, the two of them escaping the manor, the two siblings reuniting in tears and happiness and living happily ever after. 

She didn't know which one bothered her more. Was it Eleanor's attitude or the thought of delivering the bad news to Ryder? 

Eleanor turned her back to Gloria. "I would like to be left alone." 

"Yes, my lady. Please, before you lock your heart and throw away the key, give this some thought."

"It's easier for you to say because you were not the one thrown into the wolves' den."

Gloria's brows drew together in thought. She knew the wolves Eleanor was talking about. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She wouldn't be surprised if Lady Jane had a hand in what was happening. The woman was not to be underestimated.

Gloria's eyes softened. "I know it hasn't been easy dealing with these wolves, but you survived it all, and that is all that matters. Your brother meant well, Lady Eleanor."

Eleanor nodded, "Sure, I am sure he does." Her sarcastic reply didn't go unnoticed by Gloria. 

"We both know Ryder would never do anything to hurt you." 

That's the problem, he had hurt her in more ways than she wanted to imagine. She remained quiet; Gloria would never understand her pain and plight. 

"Please, don't let those wolves get into your head." Gloria's words hung in the air as she turned on heel and walked out of the room. 

Now alone in the room, Eleanor slumped into her bed as her body shook uncontrollably, her emotions catching up to her. She curled herself on the bed and wept silently. She couldn't help but think of herself as unfortunate. 

After a few minutes of catching her breath, she noticed she was still clutching onto the piece of paper. Her mind screamed at her to toss the paper into the waste basket in the corner of her room, but the other part held onto it for some reason. She bit the corner of her bottom lip in contemplation, and at the end, she tossed the paper into the waste basket. She told herself it was of no use holding onto false hope.