Chapter XXIX.

Tamara's gaze returned to Theodore before looking down at what he was offering her. It was a folder filled with pages.

"Mr Theodore..." Tamara began. "W-what is all of this?".

"It's my gift to you, Ms Tamara..." Theodore spoke out, pausing at his words as they left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. The reason for such was that he 'gifted' Tamara the work he deemed as invaluable, trash.

'A gift shouldn't be like that...' he thought to himself.

Tamara kept her gaze on the folder for a second more before her eyes met with Theodore's. "Thank you," she started. "I very much appreciate it.". With that, she took hold of the stack of papers, feeling a sensation of excitement with the first point of contact.

Behind them, initially, Elisabeth had her eyes on Theodore before she interchanged her glances between both him and Tamara.

As if he felt her gaze burn through him, he turned only to see Elisabeth drop her gaze to the ground. Then, feeling as though it was her cue to leave, she stood up and walked out the door.

There, a metre or two distance from her, she saw one of Tamara's sisters - Eileen.

Eileen was the first one to send her a greeting in a form of a curtsey, to which Elisabeth responded with a mere smile. Turning around, she stared into nothingness.

Back inside the room, With Theodore sitting on Tamara's bed, he scooted a bit closer to her.

"What is this, Mr Theodore?" she inquired again, now that they were alone.

"They... they are some notes I took when I was writing some of my work. Some of the scenes that didn't make it to the final draft. I have no interest in reusing these, so I wanted to throw them away. But then I remembered you, Ms Tamara..." He explained.

Against her will, Tamara felt her cheeks slowly grow warmer. She tried not to let such a change seem visible. "T-thank you, Mr Theodore. This is a very thoughtful gift.".

"It feels wrong to call it a gift really..." Theodore began. "I call that my trash...".

"One man's loss is another man's treasure," Tamara spoke out as she kept her gaze on the pile of pages before extracting a random sheet from the stack.

Theodore couldn't help but chuckle at her words. "Feel free to use any scene if you like. I know you told me you like to write. I'd also consider it a plus since you enjoy my work.".

From the page, Tamara averted her gaze back to Theodore before letting a small smile grow on her lips.

Out in the hall, Eileen stayed stood by the window, her gaze darted toward Elisabeth who still had her gaze out into nothingness. "What are they conversing about?".

Eileen's question shook Elisabeth out of her trance. Turning around toward her voice, she uttered, "E-excuse me?".

"What are they talking about so you had to step out of the room?" Eileen rephrased her question.

"I-... I don't know..." Elisabeth started. "I walked out on my own accord. I don't know why... I saw Theodore give Ms Tamara a pile of pages. A gift for her, or whatever he said it was.".

"A pile of pages, you say?" Eileen inquired, furrowing her brows ever so slightly. "Must be some of his author notes.". By the time she finished speaking, she was next to Elisabeth, her body turned toward the wooden frame of Tamara's door.

It took a second for Eileen's words to sink within Elisabeth, but when they did, Elisabeth widened her eyes ever so slightly. "Author notes?".

"Yes..." Eileen began, furrowing her brows once more before turning around and looking at Elisabeth. "Mr Theodore is an author. Did he fail to mention such a thing to you?".

At that moment, Elisabeth couldn't find any words to respond with. But when she did, she said, "... It seems so...".

Turning her head back around, Eileen tried to listen to what was being said in the room.

"Can you hear anything?" Elisabeth whispered to Eileen.

"I am trying to..." Eileen responded.

Back inside Tamara's room, Tamara kept her gaze on Theodore. She had a question on her mind.

Debating whether she should ask him the question or not, she decided to ask. "Is there a reason why you write under an alias, Mr Theodore?".

Theodore kept his gaze on Tamara. Parting his lips for a moment, he took in a deep breath. "Ms Tamara, you see..." he started. "It's because of my family... if my mother or father found out, they wouldn't approve of it. But then again, what's there for me to care about what my family thinks of me? I guess, it's also to keep my made-up persona and own life separate. To give me that bit more privacy.".

Tamara nodded her head to his words. "I understand, Mr Theodore.".

Outside the door, Eileen furrowed her brows trying to make sense of what was said, but in turn, barely hearing anything.

Behind her, Elisabeth inquired again, "What did they say?".

"I'm still trying to listen...". But before she could get back to listening, the two women heard footsteps behind them.

"What are you two doing here?..." Ms Hope asked, whispering her words. But then, she raised a brow at Eileen. "You weren't eavesdropping on your sister, were you?".

Letting out a gentle sigh, Eileen glanced at Elisabeth. "Ms Hope, it's a long story...".

"Okay..." she let her voice trail off. Looking Eileen up and down, she proceeded to walk on.

"Your family?" Tamara inquired. "But... to have such a talented writer in their family they-" but before Tamara could have finished her sentence, both Ms Hope and Diana entered Tamara's room.

"I hope we aren't intruding on any conversation," Ms Hope spoke out as she let down Tamara's cup of tea on her night drawer.

"No, no..." Tamara spoke out, keeping her gaze on Theodore before she looked Ms Hope's and Diana's way. "Thank you very much, Ms Hope.".

"My, oh my, you should never thank someone for medicine," Ms Hope spoke out, a slight smile forming on her lips. With that, she glanced at both Tamara and Theodore before taking a step back. "Again, my apologies for any intrusion caused...".

"No need to apologise," Theodore began. "I-I was just telling Ms Tamara how we're about to leave. I wouldn't like to add to any more of Ms Tamara's discomfort.". With him speaking, he stood up on his feet.

To such words, Tamara furrowed her brows ever so slightly.

"But you can stay downstairs, for at least as long as lunch?" Ms Hope asked.

"I'm afraid I must decline, I have a tight schedule today. Not to mention that I have a trip coming up and I've yet to prepare for it, so I better get going. But I sincerely thank you, on behalf of my company for your kind invite," Theodore spoke out, changing his looks between Ms Hope and Tamara. "I wish you a speedy recovery, Ms Tamara. Thank you for your utmost hospitality.".

"Hospitality? My Child, you haven't even had a drink... but let me escort you out," Ms Hope spoke out.

Beginning his way toward the door, he noticed that Elisabeth entered the room and stayed put. She didn't budge. "I'll be out in a moment, Theodore...".

With a nod of his head, he looked at Tamara one more time, sending her a small smile before exiting alongside Diana.

And before Diana left, she sent Tamara a wave.

With Ms Hope also out of the room, it left the two women - Tamara and Elisabeth - all alone.

Elisabeth moved and sat where Theodore was sitting only moments ago.

Before uttering a word, she took in a deep breath. "How are you doing, Ms Tamara?".

Slightly thrown off guard at the sudden question of concern, she didn't allow herself to dwell on it for too long. "I'm better, Ms Elisabeth. Thank you..." Tamara responded.

Nodding her head, Elisabeth's gaze went down to the stack of pages that were all in front of Tamara. A second of silence passed. "I only asked because I feel at fault that you've fallen ill. We spent quite a bit of time out in the cold a few nights ago...".

Following Elisabeth's words, the silence returned for a few seconds. But it was also Elisabeth who broke it. "You're a foolish girl, you know that?".

Once again, although for a totally different reason, her words caught Tamara off guard. "E-excuse me?".

Outside the door, Eileen remained in her place, right by the wooden frame. Just as she escorted both Theodore and Diana, Ms Hope returned upstairs and - seeing Eileen - approached her. "Ms Eileen... again?...".

"Ms Hope..." Eileen's words trailed off, they carried something that let Ms Hope know that something wasn't quite right. So, she joined Eileen.

"You heard me, Ms Tamara..." Elisabeth spoke up again. The lump in her throat slowly began to return from the other night. "Accepting a gift from the man I told you to stay away from...".

"What was I supposed to do, Ms Elisabeth? Give him back the gift he intended for me?" Tamara inquired, she couldn't help but let out a snicker at the logic of Elisabeth's words.

"What you're supposed to do is steer clear from him... Cease all contact with him...".

Tamara gently scoffed at Elisabeth's words. "Why are you so adamant that I lose contact with Mr Theodore?".

Elisabeth furrowed her brows. "Because I told you so... because I am due to be his wife, Ms Tamara. He is my man. And because I must protect him at all costs from wretched women like yourself.".

By the time she finished her sentence, Elisabeth pursed her lips as a spiteful frown formed on her face. But also, at the same time, she felt an odd sense of guilt. Her words served venom, even for herself too.

"Wretched women like me?..." Tamara questioned Elisabeth's words. "Is that how you see me, as a wretched woman??".

Elisabeth opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, but instead, nothing came out. The lump that grew in her throat didn't allow her to.

Outside the door, both Eileen and Ms Hope were in dismay. "I knew she... I knew she was ill-minded..." Eileen whispered under her breath. "And we welcomed her with open arms... with kindness, but she... she...".

"Took it all for granted..." Ms Hope finished Eileen's sentence.

Tamara tried to keep her eyes on Elisabeth, but she felt a sort of pain radiate in her chest the more she looked her way.

"Since the day I met you, Ms Elisabeth... you've done nothing but look down upon me and now you've offended me. Not only me but my sisters too. My family.". Such words caused tears to well in Tamara's eyes. She offended her family, only then did she truly allow her thoughts to sink in. She offended her family. "And now, you must leave... I've no more to discuss with you. And from this day forth, I never wish to see you again...".

Elisabeth reacted differently to how she imagined. She felt her heart drop to the ground and broke into a million fragments at Tamara's words. "Do-do... do you realise who you're speaking to like that, Ms Tamara?...".

"I believe Miss asked for you to leave... at once" Ms Hope spoke out from Tamara's door, her tone solemn. Unwelcoming.

Elisabeth was already on her feet. She exchanged glances between Tamara and Ms Hope before letting out a slight huff and beginning her way to the door.

But just before she left her room, she stopped before looking at Tamara for the final time. "Theodore is not the man you think he is, Ms Tamara...".

Keeping her gaze on Tamara for a second more, she left.

And to switch her out, there came Eileen. Immediately, she sat on the bed and hugged Tamara.

There was a period of muteness shared between the sisters as Tamara dwelled on her thoughts. It was she who broke the silence.

"Am I really what she says, Eileen?" Tamara asked.

Freezing at such a question, Eileen parted from their sisterly embrace. "Did you really just ask me that, Tamara?".

"Just answer my question...".

"No... no, not at all, Tamara...". Eileen paused as she pulled her sister in for another hug. "You're not, my dear sister...".

By the front door, Ms Hope rather ushered Elisabeth out of the house, closing the door instantly behind her. There, she found herself astounded by what she just witnessed. How she was treated.

Ironing her outfit down, her gaze was met by the carriage that only waited on her. Entering it, she quickly sat herself down.

"What was the hold-up for?" Diana inquired.

"It... it was nothing..." she responded. "We better get going...".

And with that, the carriage began its way back to the Oxford household.

---

That evening, Elisabeth stumbled upon Victoria in the study room. Entering the room and approaching her, she saw a page set in front of her. Victoria was scribing something.

Hearing footsteps, Victoria stopped before turning her head ever so slightly. "Elisabeth? Is that you??".

"Yes...".

From there, silence lay between the two women but it only lasted a few seconds.

"Are you here because you wanted to tell me something?..." Victoria inquired.

"Not quite, I was only looking for you...".

"Oh, how flattering..." Victoria responded, keeping her voice flat, allowing for her sarcasm to resurface.

"But..." Elisabeth began. "I think I might have done something...".

"Go on..." Victoria's interest seemed to have been piqued.

"I talked with Ms Tamara today and I made it known that I don't want her near Theodore...".

"Only that?..." Victoria inquired. "Something like that should have been done a long time ago...".

From there, she let out a gentle sigh. Victoria then proceeded to fold up the page that contained her writing.

"What's that, Victoria?".

"A letter...". Then, she dripped a few drops of liquid candle wax and within seconds, when she placed a stamp on it, it turned back into a solid. "I need you to do me a favour, Elisabeth...".

And with that, Victoria handed her the letter.

Elisabeth merely had the time to examine the letter and to whom it was when Victoria's voice gained her attention again.

"And I want you to get packed.".

"Get packed?". Elisabeth couldn't help but let her confusion be heard.

"I've decided. I'm sending you back to Veursau. We're going back to Veursau.".