She promised to allow Andrew to tattoo her and Andrew promised not to touch her for six months. Now that the six months are almost up, she can’t help but shrink with fear.
At Peter’s house, a maid knocks on Leilani’s door.
“Lady Leilani, dinner is ready for you,” the maid announces, “The master asked me to invite you to have dinner with him.”
“No, I’m not hungry,” Leilani says, rolling over in her bed.
She doesn’t want to eat anything; she feels too sick with worry. Her mother died young, and Gabrielle was the only member of the Peter household who cared about her. She would do anything to protect her little sister, but Waylen allowed her to be taken in front of everyone. Leilani would rather Andrew take her instead. She knows she could escape, and she worries that Gabrielle is too timid to resist or run away.
After a while, the maid knocks on the door again.
“Mrs. Bamford, you haven’t eaten anything all day,” she wheedles, “Mr. Bamford had already sent people to find Gabrielle. Please calm down.”
“I said I don’t want to eat anything,” Leilani hisses.
Hearing Waylen’s name only makes her angrier.
After a while, they send for Anthony Peters in the hopes that he can persuade Leilani. This is the first time that anyone in the household has taken Leilani’s threats seriously. Anthony rushes to her room and tries every possible method to persuade her to eat.
“All the people are waiting for you,” he says, trying to make her feel guilty, “The food is getting colder by the minute, and they’re all hungry.”
“I have said that I don’t want to eat,” Leilani says, “Why do I have to have dinner if I don’t want to?”
“Please eat something. You haven’t eaten anything all day,” Anthony continues, knocking on the door as he speaks, “What if your refusal to eat makes you ill? Leilani, please eat something.”
“I haven’t lived at home for several years,” she said dryly, “And you all managed to enjoy your dinner just fine without me.”
“Leilani, don’t put me in such a difficult situation,” Anthony complains, “If you get ill, I don’t know how I’ll explain it to Mr. Bamford.”
Hearing the Bamford name makes Leilani even angrier.
“Is Gabrielle not your daughter? Is Waylen Bamford not the man who had her taken from you?” Leilani yells through the door, “You should be worried about her, not about some dinner or the opinion of the man who took your daughter from you.”
“Mr. Clifford said that he needs a special nurse and Gabrielle is majoring in nursing,” Anthony says, “It’s not some big scandal. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“There are many people who are majoring in nursing in the city,” Leilani responds, “Why does he have to pick her? Why not tell him to choose someone else?”
“Mr. Bamford has sent people to find her,” Anthony says, “It will be alright.”
Leilani refuses to respond, but Anthony continues to mumble outside the door. The sound of his voice makes her feel anxious and angry. She doesn’t want to listen to him anymore. When she opens the door anxiously, she finds that Anthony smiles warmly and servilely at her.
In the past, he always treated her poorly. He was especially awful to her about dinners—if she came to the table even a minute late, she would find that all of her silverware had been removed. The servants were forbidden to bring her food until everyone else was finished eating, and even then, she was forced to eat with her hands.
She goes downstairs and finds everyone waiting expectantly. Maids stand on both sides of Katherine, Janetta, and Vanessa—they have been instructed not to feed the ladies of the house before Leilani appears. Janetta has just returned from her forced swim in the estuary. Fortunately, she didn’t come across crocodiles, but she is still hungry and cold. While waiting for Leilani, the women have been forced to hungrily stare at the steaming dishes on the table.
Anthony clears his throat and Katherine and Vanessa stand up and nod at Leilani. Janetta continues to sit, sulking because of her swim and the sudden poor treatment. Anthony shoots her a meaningful glance and she reluctantly gets to her feet.
The maid leads Leilani to the seat at the head of the table. The place was originally prepared for Waylen Bamford, but Anthony has decided to honor her. The maid pulls the chair out for Leilani and places the cloth napkin on her lap before ladling her a portion of delicious soup.
Katherine, Vanessa, and Janetta sit down after Leilani. Leilani finds the sudden change in behavior almost humorous. In the old days, they usually yelled at her, and just yesterday afternoon they wanted to trap her, but now, they all show her respect.
“Leilani, we made a mistake and gave you little care in the past, and I’m sorry for making you unhappy yesterday afternoon,” Anthony says, “Your sisters have accepted the blame, and Janetta has accepted her punishment and her mother’s. I hope you will forgive them because, after all, we are family,”
Janetta throws her spoon on the soup plate heavily.
“Really?” Leilani asks with a slight frown, “I’m afraid that someone here thinks I’m not one of the family.”
Anthony understands Leilani’s meaning and stares reproachfully at Janetta. She snarls like a cat whose tail has just been trampled.
“Does nothing please you, Leilani?” Janetta hisses.
“I’m surprised you can still talk about your exertions swimming,” Leilani responds.
“You little—!” Janetta spits, “I bet you want to hit me, don’t you?”
Janetta wants to stand up, but Katherine grabs her forearm and firmly holds it against the table.
“Janetta, you seem confused,” Leilani says, “It seems like you’re still trying to fight against me. If you don’t act this way, I won’t be forced to respond. Honestly, right now you should be thanking your guardian angel that you didn’t come across any crocodiles.”
“Why do you pretend that everything’s all right?” Janetta asks, “I know the divorce agreement will take effect soon. Until then, I’ll just wait for you to be thrown from the Bamfords’ house. You may think you’re untouchable now, but just you wait.”
“Whatever becomes of me, I’ll still be better off than you,” Leilani says with a cold smile.
“Enough, Janetta!” Anthony says warningly.
Janetta has never been able to control her temper, and it’s gotten her into many conflicts over the years. Anthony knows the situation all too well. He also knows that things aren’t quite what they seem. As soon as Gabrielle was taken away, Leilani insisted that her husband retrieve her.
Much to Anthony’s surprise, Waylen complied. There is no doubt in Anthony’s mind that Leilani is incredibly important to Waylen Bamford. If Mr. Bamford didn’t seem so in love with Leilani, Anthony wouldn’t bother trying to curry favor with his least favorite daughter.
“You mustn’t talk about that anymore,” Anthony chides, “We’re not qualified to talk about that, and Mr. Bamford has told us that it’s all gossip anyway.”
Leilani still doesn’t have an appetite—all of the gourmet food looks as appealing as rubbish. She stands up suddenly and drops her napkin on the table.
“You go on,” she says, “I’m full.”
“Leilani, please,” Anthony begs.
“I just hope that Gabriele can come back quickly,” Leilani says, “Then I can go back to the Bamford’s house.”
“What about Mr. Bamford?” Anthony asks fearfully.
If Waylen finds out that Leilani hasn’t eaten, he may bring his wrath down on the whole of Peters’ family.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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