Inside the estate, Eloise gave herself a tour. She familiarised herself with the surroundings so she wouldn’t get lost anymore. She had once known the estate like the back of her hand, but after years away, she forgot where the rooms were.

Eloise stopped before a portrait of the Hawthornes. They were all together in their finest clothing.

Eloise leaned forward to get a better look at the date. "A year before the accident," she read out loud.

Eloise stood up straight. She thought it was unfortunate that so many good people were taken from this world so soon, and it was out of their control.

"How has he managed to care for them all?" Eloise wondered, thinking of the responsibility placed on Damien’s shoulders.

The Hawthornes were surrounded by servants, but there was a responsibility Damien had which could not be replaced by anyone. He had to step into the shoes of a parental role to his younger siblings, and now, Eloise wondered if anyone ever wondered if he was well.

Eloise looked away from the portrait after hearing someone approaching. She was happy to see it was Quinn, but one glance was enough to reveal he was not happy to see her.

Still, Eloise greeted him.

"Good day, Quinn."

Quinn walked by Eloise, but stopped before he got more than three steps away. "I left the comfort of my home to please my brother, so you wouldn’t be troubled by me ignoring you. You were ignored and ran to my brother to complain about me."

Eloise frowned, certain Quinn misunderstood. "I didn’t run to Damien to complain. I wanted to know what I had done to upset you, and he offered to help me. I didn’t know that was the reason you were not here this morning. Truly."

"But you did not question-"

"Because I didn’t know that was the reason," Eloise spoke over Quinn.

Eloise took a deep breath to calm herself. "I know that time has passed, so I should not expect a friendship, but I had hoped that because of our past, it would be easier for us to bond. Can you tell me why you act as you do now? Is it because my status doesn’t match your brother’s?"

"I don’t want to have this talk with you," Quinn said, clenching his fist to restrain himself.

"Well, that shall make gatherings very awkward, considering I now live here, and I don’t want to make you feel as though you must leave. That was never my intention for speaking to Damien, and if he made you feel that way, I will correct it with him," Eloise promised. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Quinn turned around to face Eloise. "Why Damien? Out of all the gentlemen in town, why did you have to marry him? You didn’t show any interest in him when you were younger."

"I was a child then. We were all children," Eloise reminded Quinn. "Marriage was only on my mind then as a game. I did not show interest in anyone when I was younger. Since I didn’t have my feelings sorted out then, was I never to marry?"

"Did you marry Damien because you love him, or because you think it would benefit you now? I spent the morning having a drink and heard about how your cousin was in love with him. Then you came to marry him," said Quinn.

"There is far more to the story," Eloise replied.

"Is there? Whatever the reason, this doesn’t seem fitting for the young girl I remembered. Tell me, if it had been me that you stumbled upon, would you have married me? Did you just fall for the one you found first?"

"I did not. What do my feelings for Damien have to do with you? I’m not going to hurt him. We both know Damien is not someone who can be easily fooled by anyone, so do not stand here and act as though it is the reason for your behaviour," Eloise argued.

"Whether you like it or not, I will be living here. I thought we could rekindle our friendship because we were close. You would follow me around wherever I went, but now, you seem rather angry with me. I am not here to hurt or use anyone," Eloise said, but she knew what she said wouldn’t be taken seriously.

Eloise tapped her hand against her side, using it to calm herself. "I am growing tired of making an effort to get to know all of you and having to explain myself. Yes, I married someone well above my status, and my cousin once loved him. There, does that satisfy you?"

"No," Quinn answered.

"Well, it is quite unfortunate because I am not going to try any longer. This issue is one-sided, and I have more important matters to take care of. I don’t care if I am not the girl you remembered from the past. Some of us grew up," said Eloise.

"I was being kind for the sake of your brother, and to hopefully rekindle the friendship we had, but if this is the person you are now, I won’t bother myself. You don’t need to go elsewhere, so you can avoid me. This has always been your home, so I will stay out of your way," Eloise promised.

"That will only make Damien angry with me," Quinn pointed out.

"That is not my issue. I was trying to reconnect with you, but you act this way, though you cannot give me a proper reason. Whatever troubles you face with Damien from now on is not my fault. I shall correct the misunderstanding from the wedding, and what follows now is between you two," Eloise said.

Quinn relaxed his hand. He felt guilty since Eloise didn’t know the reason behind his anger.

"Why did you marry Damien?" Quinn asked, seeking an honest answer.

"Because I wanted to. I was fortunate to reunite with a friend who was comforting and felt safe. To answer what you asked earlier, if I had seen you before I saw Damien, you wouldn’t have been a consideration," Eloise said, lucky she met with the right brother.

"Why not?" Quinn asked, bothered that he wasn’t a choice. He once thought they were far closer than Eloise was with Damien.

"I don’t need to answer you. To ensure your comfort, I will carry on with my tour of the estate. Excuse me," Eloise said, turning her back to Quinn before walking away.

Now, she was starting at zero with all three siblings, but Eloise decided not to let it burden her anymore. She didn’t have the time for it, and it would only add to the matters Damein would have to help her with.

"He won’t love you as you want him to," Quinn’s sentence stopped Eloise.