Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Your husband’s interests do not represent your interests…
After the banquet incident, Chalvey remained calm for several days.
To be honest, Isabel enjoyed fighting and winning, but she had no interest in farces like pulling hair.
But Louisa obviously didn't think so. The brief defeat further stimulated her competitive spirit.
After resting for several days and with her face still not fully recovered, Louisa dressed up formally, wearing a tall lace hat, and declared war on Isabel again.
At that time, Isabel was writing a letter in her bedroom. There was a knock on the door. When she opened it, she saw Louisa, who looked like a fighting cock.
"Listen, Audrey Norman! You're not going to let go of the shame you've caused me!" Louisa raged, not even pretending. "Just wait and see, you still have a long time to go at Charvis!"
"Okay, Miss Louisa." Isabel lazily rested her chin on her hand, leaned back against the desk, and looked at the jeweled hatpin on her head. "Remember to cross it off the shopping list next time."
"You!" Louisa was furious and anxious when she thought about how her perfect plan was broken so quickly. "How dare you humiliate me?!"
Isabel almost laughed out loud.
She put down the pen she was writing to Audrey, stood up and said, "No, I just think you're a little..."
Crossing out some of the more intellectually offensive words, Isabelle said, "Cute."
Louisa was stunned for a moment, then became even more angry: "You still say you didn't humiliate me?! Audrey... do you know who I am? I'm Howard..."
"You are the only daughter of the Howard Marquisate. You come from a wealthy family and have been pampered since childhood. You will marry into the Duke's family when you grow up." Isabel interrupted her and shrugged. "Of course I know this, Louisa."
Isabel paused, then slowly walked up to her and looked her over carefully. "Well, I diluted your fan. The redness and swelling on your face will be gone tomorrow."
"Stop pretending, Miss Norman!" Louisa shook off Isabel's hand, her eyes darkening. "You should know what happened to the four fiancées before you, right? Edmund and Heinrich, you and I, we're in a life-and-death relationship!"
Louisa put away her confused expression and returned to her original appearance when they first met.
Isabel was really fooled by her clever appearance at first, but now...
She smiled and stared into Louisa's brown eyes. "You're half right. Edmund and Heinrich are indeed at odds with each other, but... you and I are not."
Louisa looked at him mockingly: “The interests of husband and wife have always been the same, don’t talk nonsense.”
Isabel didn't refute, but pulled her into the room and made her sit in front of the dressing mirror.
"An eye-for-an-eye approach is enough to deal with you alone. But do you know why I'm going to the extra mile to punish Edmund?"
Isabel lifted Louisa's hat, exposing her swollen cheeks to the sun.
Louisa subconsciously dodged when exposed to the glaring light, but for some reason she did not avoid Isabel's hand.
"Hmph, I guess you're killing two birds with one stone, and it shows off your intelligence," Louisa snorted.
Isabel dabbed some medicinal oil on her face and said calmly, "That's certainly one of the reasons, but my wisdom doesn't need to be demonstrated in such a childish struggle."
She paused, "Louisa, have you ever thought that as the daughter of the Marquis, you were supposed to marry Heinrich, but fell in love with Edmund on the eve of your wedding. Is this really fate?"
Louisa was stunned.
The stories of the nobles were usually not secrets. These days, she had also heard that Isabel had sent her maid to inquire around, so she was not surprised.
Four years ago, the Howard and Spencer families were engaged. Louisa was supposed to become a duchess, but she unexpectedly met Edmund at a society ball and secretly got married. On the eve of their elopement, the scandal was discovered by her father, the Howard family. To save the family's reputation, he had to negotiate with the Duke's family to replace the groom with his younger brother Edmund.
The elopement scandal was quite outrageous for the times, and Louisa never allowed anyone to mention it.
"Miss Norman, if you want to sow discord, I can only tell you that it's a waste of effort." Louisa suddenly pushed her hand away, her eyes cold. "Edmund and I love each other very much."
"Of course, I'm sure you love him and would never question that," Isabel said nonchalantly. "But your husband's interests are not yours, Louisa."
The two ladies' faces were reflected in the mirror, and Isabel saw confusion in Louisa's eyes.
"Edmund has nothing, yet he wants to fight for the title. You used the power and wealth of the Marquisate to help him a lot, doing dirty things and killing people. In the end, what will you get? Become a Duchess? But..." Isabel leaned close to her face, looked directly at the person in the mirror, and suddenly smiled. "Have you forgotten? If it weren't for Edmund and you, you would have been a Duchess. Why bother fighting?"
"Now, Louisa, think carefully. Is this relationship destined by fate, or is it the product of someone's ulterior motive?" Isabel whispered. "Is what he seeks what you want? Is it worth it for a virtuous daughter of a marquis to risk her life for him, with her hands choked with sin?"
Isabel's cold and slow voice poured into Louisa's mind like a spell.
Her body stiffened, and the doubts and anxieties buried in her memory burst out like a river released from a sluice gate.
“That’s enough!” Louisa yelled, her lips trembling and her breath coming in short gasps. “Stop talking!”
“Bang, bang, bang!”
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Louisa's maid asked anxiously, "Mrs. Louisa, are you okay? What happened? Do you need me to come in?"
Realizing she had lost her composure, Louisa took a deep breath, straightened her appearance, and stood up. "No need, I'll be right out."
Isabel did not stop her and continued to sit down and write the unfinished letter.
The moment the door opened, the conversation just now seemed to disappear completely, just an illusion of Louisa. But she knew that those words, like proverbs, were engraved in her heart.
Louisa paused and suddenly turned back: "Ms. Norman, I admit that you are very smart, but intelligence is useless in Chalvey."
"Do you think I, the daughter of a marquis, can make four fiancées disappear?" She lowered her voice and stared at Isabel's back. "Audrey, I've never been your only opponent."
The footsteps gradually faded away, and sunlight poured in from the windowsill and shone into the house.
Isabel's eyes paused slightly, and the tip of the pen unconsciously slipped out a mark of ink.
Louisa probably won't be back in action in the short term, but her words seem to overlap with Heinrich's advice from a few days ago - there are still many eyes and crises lurking in the dark in Chalvez.
After the initial confrontation and probing, she agreed with what Louisa said - the wisdom and scheming of the daughter of the Howard Marquisate were not enough to support her in assassinating four noble ladies without being suspected.
You know, those fiancées were at least from earl's families.
How could their families not pursue the matter when four daughters died of illness one after another? Were the bodies autopsied? Were there any suspicious points?
…
A series of inferences filled Isabel's mind.
But you have to eat one bite at a time and solve problems one by one.
Isabel and Heinrich's wedding was set for two weeks later, on August 5th. This was the date appointed by the Queen, and the ceremony would take place in the Royal Church of Ceylon, with the Pope personally officiating.
This regulation exceeded the standards of the Duke's House and was considered a special approval from the Queen. The Spencer family took it very seriously. Old Lady Violet was busy buying her wedding dress and jewelry, so she pushed all subsequent social activities to Isabel, euphemistically calling it "practice."
Next week, Isabel will be attending a banquet hosted by the Duke of the Royal Family as a representative of the Charlevis family. This will be her first social outing, and it will surely be another battle without the smoke of war.
But at the moment, she was not in a hurry to worry about these things.
Isabel sealed the letter silently and wrote on the envelope: To Miss Isabel Norman, Kent.
I haven't seen Otti for a long time. I wonder how he is doing? He must be able to eat and sleep well.
Isabel looked at the sunlight outside the window, the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
The white dove that had been resting on the treetop suddenly flew into the sky, as if helping her express her thoughts.
The author has something to say:
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In the next chapter, we move to Kent!
Audrey: QVQ Long time no see everyone! I can eat and sleep well, and I gained three pounds!
Hermann: =.=Well, I testify.
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