"Because the foolish girl could not read." he spat the words with rage filling them. As if he wanted to burn Polly alive for her incompetence. Of course, a simple cleaning maid would not have been taught to read and write. That foolish Lenhart had dismissed all the literate staff. He had intentionally chosen the servants who had no knowledge when it comes to books.
But…" his eyes filled with treacherous light as he looked at her. The hatred and pleasure in them was mixed so badly that it made her skin crawl. "He had let the assassins stay. I can kill him whenever I want." he chuckled softly when her eyes widened with shock and disbelief.
"Oh darling, tell me.. Do you want to see his head flying off to the sky and fall on the ground? I can do that to get those damn papers if you want." she flinched when he barked at her.
Her hands itched to hit him. How she wanted to slap him hard or worse hold his head and push it on the tree until he bled.
But even though her hands held that kind of power, her condition did not. She could not take the risk.
"Just the papers and you will leave all of us alone?" she asked again, inhaling a large breath and the smirk on his face rose. He looked amused at how she wanted him to leave.
"Is that the way to talk to your husband, darling?" He gave her an admonishing look. "But yes, I will leave. I have saved plenty in another place. I can have a better life there until the court will fall. I do not care what you do after I leave." his hands moved from the rein to her hands. He touched her palms.
This woman was so beautiful and so free willed that he could not stop himself from getting her. He was so happy when they got married. Finally, he would change his perverse ways and settle in life with a girl of his dreams.
But then… he found out that she spoiled already. She was no virgin. And who knows if it was one lover or she had… his eyes hardened and so as his grip on her hands.
She felt the pain and pushed him away with all the strength she had until his eyes narrowed at her face.
"You are doing that or you are not? One task and you will get your freedom?" he tilted his head. "If I leave, he will never find proof against me. In the end, he had to leave this estate and you and your family off the hook. You can start a new life then for all I care!" He let her hands go and then took out his handkerchief. He cleaned his hands thoroughly as if they had been dirtied by her touch.
Then he looked at her again, asking her to finally reply. Her shoulders stiffened but she squared them. She was not going to show him her fear.
She braced herself as if they were going to have a physical fight.
"I will do it. But if you cheated me anyhow, I will confess everything to Lenhart. Even if I die, I will not let you go unscathed." she warned only to make him laugh like a maniac. But when the smile faded, his face was hard and cold.
"Ha! So the mouse had learned to show her teeth too." he shook his head. "I do not care what you do once I will be free. Do you think I will jeopardize my life and freedom just to teach you a lesson? Ha! You overestimate your presence way too much." she nodded and he gave her the details of the place where she needed to look.
"It would be hard to miss them. There is a black seal with a snake mark on each of them. My name would be in the signature part in each document and of course, your brother's too. All you need to do is steal those papers and bring them here. You can do that right?" her heart thumped but for now, she had to assure him that she would. Only then he would let go of her. Once she was far away, she went to Lenhart and told him everything. There was no way that she would trust this snake for anything.
"Yes, I will do that." she replied after a long pause. But he did not seem to mind her silence. "But it will take at least three days. I can not just return and start looking for parchments. It would arouse his suspicion." this much time Len would need to arrange an ambush.
Once he would return to take the parchments back, she would make sure that he would be captured and then he would spend all his life behind the bars and she… ha! He would regret hurting her family.
"Take a week then. I will return on the twenty -fifth. But remember Elara, one mistake and you would regret it all your life.'' He gave her one last warning before taking his steps back and disappearing into the shadows.
Elara sat there on her horse. She didn't even dare to blink. Not because she was scared but she is trying to find the way he had entered in the estate without Lenhart's knowledge. If she could use that way to run away too if the time comes!
Her heart stirred when she noticed there was a big hole in the wall where bushes had covered it like a small curtain.
She only let go of the breath she was holding when he had left the estate. Her heart thundering under her chest.
"How in the world would I convince Lenhart that Philip is the conspirator of everything!"