Mr Davies appeared in the doorway of her bedroom, his expression carefully neutral in a way that immediately set her on edge.
"My lady, you have a visitor."
Eleanor looked up from the list of puddings and roasted meats. "A visitor? I wasn't expecting anyone."
"No, my lady." Davies' voice was flat. "Miss Rose Beaumont is in the entrance hall. She is requesting to speak with you. Urgently."
Eleanor felt her stomach plummet.
Rose. Here. At Willowbrook Manor.
"Shall I tell her you are not receiving?" Davies asked, though something in his expression suggested he already knew the answer.
"No." Eleanor stood, her hands trembling as she smoothed her skirts. "No, I'll see her. In the entrance hall. And Davies, ask your wife to attend as well. I want witnesses to whatever is about to be said."
If Davies was surprised by the request, he didn't show it. He simply nodded and withdrew.
Eleanor followed him through the corridors, her heart hammering against her ribs. She had seen Rose after her childbirth to ensure her and the babe’s wellbeing. Even then, she had not mentioned her role in destroying her marriage. Had not looked the least bit apologetic.
The entrance hall was bright with winter sunlight streaming through the tall windows. Rose stood in the centre of the marble floor, her dark cloak shabby but clean, her figure fuller than Eleanor remembered.
She was still pretty. That much hadn't changed. Dark hair, quick eyes, a face that suggested innocence even as Eleanor now knew better.
"Lady Madeley." Rose curtsied a perfect servant's curtsy that somehow felt mocking. "Thank you for seeing me."
"Rose." Eleanor kept her voice cool, distant. Mrs Williams had appeared and stood near her husband, their presence a silent witness. "What brings you to Willowbrook Manor?"
"I haven't received my monthly payment." Rose's tone was apologetic, concerned. "The bank said no funds were deposited this month. I thought perhaps there had been some mistake, or perhaps the solicitors had misplaced the paperwork, so I came to inquire."
"Therewas no mistake." Eleanor's voice was steady despite the rage building in her chest. "I discontinued the payments."
Rose's expression flickered surprise then calculation. "But my lady, the child needs—"
"How could you?" The words burst from Eleanor before she could stop them. "How could you betray me like that? I trusted you, Rose. For eight years, I trusted you. You were my friend. My dearest friend. And you—" Her voice cracked. "You courted my betrothed. You lied to him about me. You destroyed my marriage before it even began."
Rose's face went pale. "I don't know what you're talking about—"
"Do not lie to me. Not anymore." Eleanor moved closer, her voice dropping to something cold and dangerous. "I know everything. About your courtship with my husband. About the lies you told him—that I threatened you, that I had a lover, that I drove you away. All lies, Rose. Every word."
For a long moment, Rose said nothing. Then something in her expression shifted; the mask of innocence cracking, revealing the venom beneath.
"So, he told you." Rose's voice was different now. Harder. "I wondered if he would. If he'd finally admit what we were to each other."
"What you were?" Eleanor's laugh was bitter. "You were nothing. A fantasy."
"I was the woman he loved!" Rose's composure shattered completely. "Not you. Never you. You with your title and your estate and your precious respectability. Do you have any idea what it's like? To be born with nothing? To serve women less beautiful, less clever, less deserving than yourself simply because they had the good fortune to be born into the right family?"
"So that justifies betrayal?" Eleanor's voice rose despite her efforts to remain calm. "Justifies lying to both of us? Justifies destroying—"
"You had everything!" Rose's face was flushed now, her hands clenched into fists. "Everything handed to you simply because of your birth. And you didn't even appreciate it. Didn't even see what you had. While I scrubbed floors and dressed hair and smiled politely."
"I worked for everything I have," Eleanor said, her voice shaking. "I saved my family's estate when I was twelve years old. I held everything together while my father drank himself into oblivion. Nothing was handed to me, Rose. I earned it."
"By being born into the right family—"
"By refusing to lie and cheat and manipulate to get what I wanted." Eleanor's eyes burned. "Your misfortune has nothing to do with your birth, Rose. It has everything to do with your character. You're poor because you're cruel. Because you betray the people who trust you. Because you destroy what you cannot have."
Rose's face contorted with rage. "At least I didn't get stuck with him. Your precious husband. Your viscount. He was too impotent to bed me."
