“What did you say? Are you sending me away?”
As soon as Evie heard Emily, she was dumbfounded. Then she quickly got up and glared at Emily indignantly. “How dare you?”
The old madam also wanted to say something. After all, Evie had been with her for so many years, and she had grown attached to her. However, she had behaved so strangely that day, and she was so rude toward Emily that the old madam was unhappy with her. Evie thought that Emily did not have any power in the Jackson family.
She looked at the old lady with a sullen face. “Old Madam, I get along very well with Miss WendyWendy, and she even likes me very much. If I were to be driven away from here, shouldn’t Miss Wendy be the one to make that decision?”
The old lady did not dare to say anything else the moment she mentioned Wendy’s name. Except for Hunter, the old madam would give Wendy everything that she would ever want.
Just as the old madam was about to plead on Evie’s behalf, Emily coldly said, “Who is Wendy in the Jackson’s household? Do I need her permission to dismiss a maid?”
“She is the old madam… the old madam’s favorite person!”
Evie was not afraid of Emily as she knew that Wendy would support her.
“Emily…” The old madam took Emily’s hand and looked at her as if she wanted to say something.
Emily gave her a sharp look and said, “Grandmother, you have to listen to me. This maid had behaved so strangely with you. You shouldn’t keep her around.”
“Emily…”
“Grandmother. You must listen to me this time!” Emily raised her voice slightly.
The old madam looked at her, and suddenly she was reminded of Talia. That was how Talia would look when she was unhappy. The similar serious expression on Emily’s face was uncanny. The old madam said nothing further. It seemed like she had submitted to Emily’s persuasion.
Evie anxiously said, “Old Madam, I am Miss Wendy’s favorite servant. You can’t send me away because she’d be heartbroken.”
The old madam moved her fingers, but Emily squeezed her hand in reassurance.
“You two,” Emily looked at the two bodyguards pointedly and said, “Watch her as she packs her things, then keep your eyes on her as she gets her pay from the housekeeper. After that, send her away from the mansion. She is never allowed to return here.”
“You…”
“Yes!” It seemed like the old madam had accepted Emily’s request, and the bodyguards would not dare to defy the young madam’s order anyway. She was the eldest young master’s fiancée, and she had a status in the family.
They escorted Evie to the maid’s room, and she continued to yell along the way. “Old Madam! Old Madam!”
“Old Madam, Miss Wendy will be unhappy if you treat me like this! She will be angry! Old Madam!”
“Old Madam…” When Evie realized that the old madam would not save her, she shouted, “Miss Wendy! Miss Wendy, save me! The old madam is kicking me out, Miss Wendy…”
Unfortunately, Wendy had already returned to the WongRiver Pavilion when she left the garden, so she did not hear Evie’s shrieks for help! After they left, the old madam and Emily were the only ones left in the garden. Emily crouched in front of the wheelchair and looked up at the old lady. Neither of them mentioned the unpleasant event that had happened previously.
“How are you lately? Has Hunter been treating you well?” The old madam took Emily’s hand in her own, and her heart was inexplicably heavy.
When Wendy was injured the other day, the old madam had been so anxious about her that she had spoken so harshly with Emily. She was busy tending to Wendy that she had left Emily by herself in the garden too. She was anxious, and so she did not manage to think straight. The old lady’s heart ached when she thought about how it must have seemed to Emily.
Had she felt wronged and disappointed when the old madam left her behind?
“I know that it was not you…”
“The matter has passed, Grandmother. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
The old madam sighed and squeezed Emily’s hand tighter. “Emily, why don’t you push my wheelchair so that we can take a walk.”
“Alright.”
The two of them enjoyed the peaceful scenery as they walked under the shades of the trees.
Neither of them said anything as they did not know what to say to each other. Wendy’s existence had created an invisible barrier between those two people. They had a lot to say to one another, but neither of them knew how to broach the subject. So they kept quiet and kept each other company in silence.
After about ten minutes into the walk, Emily asked, “Grandmother, shall I take you back to your room?”
Since she had dismissed Evie, there was no doubt that the butler would arrange a new replacement maid for the old madam. She would need time to adapt to that new servant in her life. The butler might even have sent someone to the old madam’s room while they were in the garden. Perhaps it was time for them to return to the house.
“Emily, would you still come and visit me?”
The old madam did not know the reason for the uneasiness that she had felt in her heart. She felt as if Emily would not visit her again. Emily kept her head low as her eyes darkened. She thought that she should visit the old madam less if there was nothing wrong with her health. It would be good for her if she kept such a close distance to the old madam.
She remembered how Wendy and the mastermind had dealt with the people close to her in her previous life. Things had not ended well for any of them. However, she also could not bear to leave the old madam when she detected the sadness in her eyes and tone of voice.
“I… shall come to see you from time to time,” she finally promised her.
The old madam nodded, and the expression on her face immediately brightened.
The old madam looked at Emily and asked, “Emily, how are things with you and Hunter?”
“Very well.” Emily answered without any hesitation.
The old madam did not doubt her, and she smiled when she heard her answer. “Hunter is a good person. The two of you should treat each other well, no matter what happens.”
“Hmm.”
Emily sent the old madam back to her room. As she had expected, the old butler had sent a few new maids for the madam to choose. He did not know that Emily had dismissed the previous maid, but he had no intention to ask about it either. There were at least a hundred servants in the Jackson household, so one person less would not make any difference to the butler at all.
Emily said her goodbye to the old madam and left her room immediately after that. While she was on her way out, she saw Liam in the courtyard as if he was waiting for someone. She was not interested in dealing with anyone who had any connection to the Eldest Young Master Jackson, so she avoided that route and took an alternative way towards the gate. Liam did not expect that she would do that to avoid him.
He was dumbstruck for a few moments before he started to chase after Emily. “Young Madam! Please wait for a moment.”
Emily pursed her lips and adjusted her mood before she turned to face him with a smile. “Liam, what can I do for you?”
Liam had always treated her well. Even though he was part of Eldest Young Mater Jackson’s entourage, she had no reason to be mean toward him. Her arguments had been with Hunter, so there was no reason to project hostility onto other people.
Even Liam was surprised that Emily was still quite friendly with him. He thought that she would treat him unkindly because of the argument she had with the eldest young master a few days ago.
“Nothing. I just wanted to tell Young Madam that the eldest young master is still at the WongRiver Pavilion. Would you like to have a cup of tea with him?”
“No, I don’t like tea.” Emily had refused the offer immediately.
“Then, what about some coffee…”
“I don’t have the habit of drinking coffee either.”
Emily did not know why he would pester her when Eldest Young Master Jackson had ordered her to get lost just days ago.
“I still have things to do. I’ll head off now!”