125 Membunuh Jajar (3)
"Jangan serong, Heather. Ibumu sudah banyak mengeluarkan uang untuk guru pribadimu, seharusnya kamu sudah belajar sesuatu. Duduk dengan benar."
Heather bergeser di kursinya untuk mematuhi permintaan Priscilla. Ia tidak pernah melalui ini bersama ibunya sendiri. 'Kenapa dia memanggilku?' ia bertanya-tanya. Hari ini sempat tenang hingga Priscilla mengirimkan surat memintanya hadir.
Priscilla duduk di balkon rumahnya sambil memandang pemandangan. "Kota White memang membosankan tapi pasti punya pemandangan yang jauh lebih baik daripada Lockwood. Ugh, kepalaku sakit sepanjang malam," ia menekukankan keningnya ke dalam telapuknya.
"Haruskah kubawa obat untukmu?" tanya Heather.
"Tidak, sudah kubawa sendiri. Mungkin ini hal mental saja. Sepanjang malam kudapikirkan situasi Edgar. Bagaimana aku bisa membuat sang gadis itu pergi? Edgar hanya mempertahankannya untuk menggangguiku, namun semakin lama ia tinggal semakin lama ia bisa menggunakan nama keluarga kita. Kenapa tidak pernah menyenangkan keadaan menurut seleraaku?" Priscilla menghela napas. Tubuhnya terasa ingin minum sesuatu untuk menenangkan cemasanya.
"Ratu sepertinya telah jatuh cinta padanya. Banyak orang yang mengamat-mengamati cara mereka berbicara karena pengaruh Edgar. Secepatnya, mereka akan mengundangnya ke pesta pribadi dan berpura-pura seperti teman dekat hanya ingin mendekat dengan Edgar."
Priscilla menerolin matahari. "Jangan pernah sebutkan ratu di hadapanku. Wanita itu bukanlah apa yang kuduga. Ia menyerang pernikanku di hadapan sang gadis itu. Aku sudah melupakannya sepenuhnya dari buku catatanku."
'Bagaimanapun juga, ia adalah ratu,' pikir Heather. Siapa pun yang bisa berteman dengan ratu wanita ini pasti harus bodoh untuk mendapatkan rasa tidak sukahati ratu. Priscilla mungkin adalah ratu sosial tapi Hazel adalah ratu sesungguhnya, dan semua orang ingin menjadi teman dekatnya.
"Raja dan Edgar dekat. Hubungan itu akan terserang bila kamu dan ratu tidak akat," usul Heather berusaha membuat Priscilla lebih terbuka.
.....
"Satu-satunya wanita yang pernah kudorong untuk bersikap baik adalah menyusul ibu mertuaku. Persahabatan Edgar dan Tobias tidak akan terganggu oleh rasa tidak sukaiku terhadap ratu. Mereka sudah melewati hal-hal yang jauh lebih serius. Sekarang ceritakan—bagaimana rencanamu untuk mengalihkan perhatian Edgar dari wanita itu kepadamu?" tanya Priscilla.
Heather merasa tidak nyaman ditanyai. Ia tidak ingin mencoba mendayo seorang istri yang sudah mempunyai suami. Meski Alessandra bukanlah wanita yang ia bayangkan untuk Edgar, Heather tak pernah ingin menyakiti wanita lain dengan afiliasi. Dari apa yang ia dengar ibunya bercerita dengan teman-temannya, Priscilla seharusnya tidak memaksa siapa pun untuk terlibat dalam suatu afiliasi.
"Yaudah,\" Heather menggaruk punggung tangannya.
"Berhenti itu. Kebiasaanya buruk. Aku sudah mengatakan ibumu agar mengirimmu ke sekolah yang sama dengan Edgar. Putraanku adalah keesokan dan kegagalan ini akan memperbaiki kebiasaangan burukmu. Aku akan bicara dengan ibumu. Sekarang lanjutkan. Cerita."
"Kamu tidak ada di meja untuk mendengar tapi sepertinya Edgar tidak suka padaku. Aku pikir—\", Heather berhenti sejenkai untuk tarik napas dalam-dalam. Ia berusaha mengumpulkan semangkuah untuk memberi tahu Priscilla bahwa ia ingin pindah dari Edgar dan mencari pasangan lain. "A-"
"Priscilla!" suara Edmund bergemuruh menggemurui rumah hampir setinggi dinding.
"Kenapa kamu berteriak? Apakah kamu ingin para pelayan mengira ada pemakan hati di rumah kita? Apa yang kudapatkan untuk mengganggu edmund Collins yang hebat ini? Heather, lihat tidak kamu mengapa aku selalu sakit kepala? Para lelaki dalam hidupku adalah gila," Priscilla menghela napas lalu menoleh kepada suaminya yang marah.
'Sakit kepalaku mengeluhkan orang lain yang menyebabkan sakitnya,' pikir Heather.
Edmund secara perlahan menghitung sampai sepuluh sebelum bertanya, "Apa yang terjadi pada gadis yang kamu kirim untuk mendampingi Edgar? Jujur padaku."
"Spesifik ya Edmund. Ada lebih dari satu."
"Siapa yang baru saja turun dari kereta kami? Penjaga kota baru saja datang memberi tahu kita tentang kematiannya, dan mereka memiliki pertanyaan bagi kita berdua. Kuduga agar mereka datang nanti untuk kita ngobrol. Cerita yang sebenarnya, Priscilla. No bullsh*t," uji Edmund.
"Bagaimana aku mungkin tahu kapan dia turun dari kereta? Apakah kamu menyangkal bahwa akan kubicarakan dengan gadis yang sudah tidak berguna lagi? Ini disayangkan tapi tidak ada hubungannya dengan kami. Kirim mereka penjaga kecil lain kali mereka datang dan jangan ganggu aku lagi. Oh—\
125 To kill the butler (3)
“Don’t slouch, Heather. Your mother has spent too much money on tutors for you to not have learned anything. Sit up.”
Heather shifted in her seat to do as Priscilla wanted. She did not have to go through this with her own mother. ‘Why did she call for me?’ she wondered. The day had been peaceful until Priscilla sent a letter requesting her presence.
Priscilla sat on the balcony of her home looking out at the view. “White town might be boring but it certainly had better views than Lockwood. Ugh, my head has been aching all night,” she placed her forehead in the palm of her hand
“Should I bring medicine for you?” Heather asked.
“No, I’ve already taken something for it. It might just be a mental thing. I’ve been thinking about Edgar’s situation all night long. How can I possibly get rid of that girl? Edgar is only keeping her around to annoy me but the longer she stays the longer she gets to carry our last name. Why can’t things go my way?” Priscilla sighed. Her body tingled for a bit of alcohol to calm her nerves.
“The queen seems to have taken a liking to her. A lot of people are watching how they speak about her because of Edgar. It won’t be long before they start inviting her to private parties and acting like her friend because they want to get close to Edgar.”
Priscilla rolled her eyes at the mention of the queen. “Do not mention the queen around me. That woman is not like what I expected. She attacked my marriage next to that girl. I have completely written off the queen from my book.”
‘But she is the queen,’ Heather thought. Anyone would have to be a fool to get on the queen’s bad side. Priscilla might be a social queen but Hazel was an actual queen and everyone wanted to be the queen’s friend.
“The king and Edgar are close. It would put a strain on their relationship if you and the queen are in a bad place,” Heather tried to make Priscilla more open-minded.
.....
“The only woman I will ever pretend to be nice to is my mother-in-law. Edgar and Tobias’s friendship will not be affected by my dislike for the queen. They’ve survived much more. Now tell me, how do you plan to shift Edgar’s attention from that woman to you?” Priscilla asked.
Heather felt uncomfortable due to the question. She did not want to try seducing a married man. Although Alessandra was not what she imagined for Edgar to be with, Heather could never hurt another woman with an affair. From what she heard her mother whispering about with her other friends, Priscilla should not be forcing anyone to take part in an affair.
“Well,” Heather rubbed the back of her hand.
“Stop that. It’s an awful habit. I told your mother to send you to the same school as Edgar. My son was a lost cause but they would have fixed these bad habits you have. I’ll speak to your mother. Now go on. Talk.”
“You weren’t there at the table to hear it but Edgar seems to dislike me. I think,” Heather paused to take a deep breath. She tried to muster up the courage to tell Priscilla that she wanted to move on from Edgar and look to marry someone else. “I-”
“Priscilla!” Edmund’s voice thundered throughout the house almost loud enough to shake the walls.
“Why are you yelling? Do you want the servants to think there is a madman loose in our home? What have I done to upset the wonderful Edmund Collins? Heather, do you see why I have a headache? The men in my life are crazy,” Priscilla sighed then glanced at her fuming husband.
‘My headache is complaining about other people being her headache,” Heather thought.
Edmund counted to ten quietly before asking, “What happened to that girl you had watching Edgar? Be honest with me?”
“Be specific Edmund. There was more than one.”
“The one that recently got off of our carriage. The town guards just came to alert us of her death and they have questions for both of us. I told them to return later so that you and I can have a little chat. Tell me the truth, Priscilla. No bullshit,” said Edmund.
“How on earth am I supposed to know when she got out of the carriage? Do you honestly think I would waste my precious time meeting with a girl who was of no use to me any longer? It’s unfortunate that she has died but it has nothing to do with us. Send those little guards away next time they visit and don’t bother me with this. Oh,” Priscilla suddenly realized something. “How on earth did they think to ask us about her?”
“Edgar-”
“What?” Priscilla screeched causing Heather to place her hands over her ears while Edmund sighed. “My son, my own flesh and blood informed them of that? And yet you wonder why I am always upset with him. I don’t know what kind of a man I’ve raised.”
“You didn’t raise him, Priscilla. Neither did I. We handed him off to nannies and then Alfred came along. We have a lot to thank him for. Sometimes I feel like we are meant to pay him for his work alongside Edgar. I must have a talk with him. If I find out you had anything to do with her death, I swear I will ship you back to White town forever. Excuse me, Heather,” Edmund said then walked away from the balcony.
“I’m honestly sick and tired of hearing about that damn butler raising the son I bore. I spent countless hours getting involved in Edgar’s life but all the credit goes to a butler,” Priscilla balled up her fists. When was younger she was certain Alfred got in his ear and turned him against her. “That butler doesn’t deserve any credit.”
‘I can’t bear it anymore. I’ll get rid of him,’ Priscilla concluded.
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!