Your rise in ecstasy from watching him suffer- admittedly- came off as quite sadistic... not that you regret it. In fact, you desired to drown in the satisfaction of the feeling longer, so you played the scene out in your head once more. Starting with Dio's arrival.
The boy had appeared out of thin air, and damn well made sure that his entrance would be anything but discreet. Just as you were politely excusing yourself to leave, the bastard snuck up from behind and took everyone at the tea party (including you) by surprise.
As hard as it was to refrain from slapping him, you had to remain composed in front of these high-class girls. You could only whisper a quick word of annoyance before brushing past him to get to your carriage. You didn't know how he reacted to your cold shoulder, and now you never will, for as soon as you turned your back the other girls jumped to make their move. That's when the delightful chaos ensued.
"Fancy seeing you here, Dio!"
"Oh my, it's so nice to talk to you again!"
"Do you remember me from Elizabeth's party?"
Hearing the bubbly uproar, you immediately turned around- in time to catch the golden moment of Dio's eyes widening from almost being tackled by his fangirls. Arms wheeling, stepping back and his face covered in shock! Oh, it was such a glorious sight! How satisfying it felt after what he pulled on you in the library!
Yet, the very best part of it all? He couldn't pin any of this on you!! It's not like any of the girls would rat you out, for who in their right mind would willingly admit that they were trying to act like his 'type' in hopes of (essentially) seducing him?
What a pity it was that the scene only lasted a mere second! His calm composure returned as quickly as he had lost it and he immediately began responding to each comment thrown at him. You couldn't hear what he said, but the squeals that the girls made were more than enough to roll your eyes at.
You turned around to continue walking to your carriage and left him to fend for himself, seeing that he could obviously handle it.
Even if you didn't have a mirror, you could still feel the way your lips tugged up to form a big smile. One so wide and genuine! Confidence bloomed in your chest and it showed in your stride- walking as though each step you took rocked the earth to its core. For the first time since that day two months ago, you've finally got the jump on him, not the other way around! At last you've proven that you could hold some power over him- that you weren't just his tool. No, you were an equally dangerous ally as he was to you. Now he'll learn to respect you!
Only once you reached the spot where your carriage should've been with its loyal coachman did your confidence become like the carriage: gone.
Zit-zat nothing.
Then, to no one's shock, who was the owner of the carriage parked right in front of where yours should've been? None other than the Joestar's. The very same carriage you rode in after Elizabeth's social party with Jonathan and Dio.
That sneaky son of a, er, mother...
Great. The pleasure of finally attaining a small act of revenge washed away all at once. You couldn't feel satisfied now, how could you? In the end he still got what he wanted. Dio must've planned it all out so that you'd have to ride in his carriage to get to your destination on time. Your victory was so insignificant in the grand schemes of his plans- simply a minor inconvenience to him. Blasted!
You ignored the coachman, climbed inside, and patiently waited while looking out the window.
Now, as you were finishing up your thoughts on the events that had just occurred, you could see that at last the bastard Dio was approaching the carriage along with a crowd of girls. The scene looked no different than a mother duck and her little ducklings trailing behind.
Your brows furrowed at the sight, and as he closed the carriage door behind him, you didn't give him a moment to settle in before speaking up.
"I won't let you mess this up for me Dio," the words tumbled from your lips. The courage it took to say those words didn't seem to matter to him, as he paid no mind to them while sliding into the carriage.
"Hah! What in the world was served at that tea party? They're all acting as if they've never seen a boy before!" He attempted to joke while glossing over your words.
You stayed tight-lipped and observed his movements.
He took the seat opposite of yours, and as per usual, maintained his strict posture. However, this time you noticed him slightly slacking while putting his full weight against the seat. It was the only sign he'd ever show of being worn out by the girls' bombardment.
But then again, you really couldn't care less if he felt tired.
To get a proper response you spoke again, "I know you heard me, Dio. Don't pretend that my words were spoken too softly for you to hear."
He only sighed at first, as if annoyed by the fact that you weren't joining in his sham idle chatter. Though, as his body began to shift, it became obvious that your words had carried over the desired effect. He finally gave up his friendly little act, crossed one leg over the other, and leaned forward to try and appear more intimidating.
"Of course I heard you, but I ignored it. How could I not with your utter rudeness? Not even a proper 'hello', though I kindly come all this way to Elizabeth's manor just to pick you up-"
"-likely bribing my carriage driver to send him on his way home, right? Just in time for you to generously offer your carriage, forcing me to ride with you-!"
"-only so that we could talk. We need to speak of our plans. After all, it's been a while hasn't it?"
He wasn't even trying to hide it... 'been a while?' Two weeks ago when you two met alone, he tried to threaten you into obedience- as if you weren't loyally obeying his every command already! Furthermore, Jonathan got thrown in the middle of the situation last time, and that's something that you didn't want to happen again. This was between you and Dio. No one else needed to get caught in-between.
"Say what you have to, then," you mumbled bitterly. "When you're done, there are things I have to discuss with you."
"If you must. Though really, I only have one question to ask you. It's my sole reason for coming here today," he lied. "Have you been doing what I asked you to do for our plan?"
While he said the words aloud, he couldn't help but think about his actual reason for coming to pick up (Y/n). He needed to see for himself if she was still squished under his thumb. As of late the girl's been struggling too much, and it's been happening ever since he tried to scare her into subordination. Normally he couldn't care less about how far he pushed someone, but from what Jonathan had taught him recently, if he pushed the wrong person too far they could end up 'exploding' with rage and completely ruin the plan. Though unlikely, it was still nevertheless crucial that he checked up on Y/n and made sure that she wasn't trying to ruin the 'good-student' reputation that he built for himself here. His presence should be threatening enough to put her back in her place. That was all.
You looked him dead in the eye and said, "Funnily enough, before you came here and pulled the rug from under my feet, I was actually planning to send you a nice little letter detailing all about how I got dirt on Elizabeth and managed to make her owe me a big favor."
The boy raised a brow, intrigued, but you ignored him and went on, "However, now I'm in no such mood to be telling stories! Frankly, all I want to do right now is stop the carriage and walk all the way to the Hendrickson's house on foot!"
"Tch, quit being so over dramatic woman, before I stop the carriage myself and make you do just that!"
To invalidate his comment you began speaking more calmly, "Over dramatic? I'd have to disagree, for it seems to me that I am acting perfectly reasonable for someone who almost got embarrassed in front of the very people you instructed me to befriend."
"Then feel free to explain how merely doing a favor for a friend of mine by picking her up in my carriage could lead to such an embarrassment?"
Your hand slammed against the seat next to you. "It's actually quite simple, Dio! Have you not been paying attention to the rumors flying around about us secretly courting each other? I barely managed to convince those girls that we were just good friends, when no less than 10 minutes later you show up like a knight in shining armor to take me away! But that wasn't the problem. Nooo, the problem was that I was so close to telling them about my job as a babysitter for the Hendrickson's. If I made that mistake they all would've known how I was going to be spending the night alone with little Helen. All alone! With you escorting me there, it only would've only taken a little bit of imagination to spin up a story that could've devastated both of our reputations!"
"There you go being overdramatic again! Relax yourself, for I've not only heard those rumors, but am perfectly capable of controlling them just fine without your involvement. Even then, it's been nothing more than stupid playground gossip. What, never been in the limelight before? Ha, you should be more concerned with executing our plan than some momentary gossip! It seems that I need to remind you that I instructed you to ruin Jonathan's reputation, not just make idle chit-chat with those girls."
"I'm only taking the necessary precautions, because if those rumors were to reach my parents' ears you can say goodbye to having a partner in this little plan of yours," And I can kiss goodbye to seeing the sun for the next 10 years!
You continued, "If I had known that you were about to show up, I might've just spread fake rumors about Jonathan like you wanted. But even then, in order to establish myself among those girls, the first thing I had to do was put those rumors to rest. Only then could I feed them made-up nonsense. Think about it Dio, it would've been a horrible impression if in the very first private social outing that I'm invited to, the only thing I do is gossip about someone I'm supposed to be friends with. A lady should gossip sparingly and only once they've established their rank, or otherwise be labeled as an untrustworthy hossip. So, I simply took the initiative and built up your reputation instead. That makes things look good for the both of us. Girls are harder to convince than boys, that's for sure. Especially Elizabeth. She's a manipulative witch, but now that she's in the palm of my hand, she's not a problem anymore-"
For no longer than a second there was a chuckle, but it was enough to make you go quiet. Pulled back to reality and actually facing him, Dio had an amused smirk plastered on his face that he didn't even try to hide.
"You buried it well under this mask of a smart yet simple girl, but now I can't help but laugh at finally seeing the potential that I saw since that day of the dinner finally being used! It's because of that ability of yours to deduce and react quickly to situations that I've allowed you to make it this far, for I don't need you in my plans for them to work, but rather I am allowing you to be part of them,"
He paused and thought for a moment, "...fine then, I'll find some way to let you know of my plans in advance so that you're aware of them in the future, and I won't critique your strategy of winning over the minds of the high-society girls of this town. Just continue what you're doing as long as you manage to fulfill what I asked of you in the end."
He's giving you... praise? Sort of? It's impossible to get a read on him, he's too good at switching between masks quickly. The only certain thing about Dio is that his ego will never deflate.
Still, it feels kinda good knowing that in his eyes, you've done good. Even if they might've just been his lies to get on your good side, no one has ever complimented you for your smarts before,not even when you won that chess game a while back.
"A... alright then. That's the end of that. Now we need to talk about- wait, how did you know where I was in the first place? I never told you about Elizabeth's tea party?"
As quickly as he had changed to praising you, he switched to the snidest look he's given you yet. He hardly moved his lips from his smirk to say, "Originally I stopped by your house to talk, but since you obviously weren't there, I was planning to just leave my calling card. That's when your mother invited me in. I must say, she's a very generous woman for information."
"Oh, of course she did! But how dare-"
As the carriage came to a sudden halt, so too did your train of thought.
"We've arrived, young master!" The driver bellowed.
Rather than waste time and energy in another argument, you swiftly stood up and prepared to leave. You paused mid-step, though, after connecting some dots together.
"Tsk! There's something I need to know before I go," you asked in complete seriousness. "As I said before, I don't want to be caught off-guard, so tell me now if you're planning to drive yourself home after I leave or something else?"
"Ah, you're perceptive when you want to be, (Y/n). Mhhh, I think I'll stay over for just an hour or two. I mean, we're both mature young adults, aren't we? We can be trusted to not act foolishly when left unsupervised." He said with confidence and a bit of a mischievous glint in his eye.
"If we're caught, both of us will be in major trouble, and it'll be the biggest scandal that this town has seen in a while. But.... you'd risk that, wouldn't you? The reason why I could never imagine, but either way I don't think I have a choice in the matter."
"No, not unless you want me to remind you that you still owe me deeds to certain lands you promised as part of our bet."
At that, you only sighed. "Fine then, wait here until I come get you at least. I'm warning you though, Helen can be quite a handful at times."
Without giving Dio another glance, you grabbed your suitcase and cautiously opened the carriage door. When there was just enough room to slip out, you stepped outside and swiftly closed the door, making sure that no one could spot Dio inside.
Waiting for you at the manor's doors were two individuals. The frail old maid that you've grown to detest, and your favorite, adorable little Helen. As soon as you got close to the pair, Helen ran towards you while grabbing fistfuls of your gown, hiding her face in the fabric. It was really immature for her age, already 9, yet it was to be expected with the way her parents spoiled her.
"Thank the Lord that you've finally arrived. For a moment I thought that you wouldn't show! My, it's so hard to have confidence in the youth with how irresponsible they are these days!" The maid announced without even greeting you. She was so lucky that Helen's parents and youself were more relaxed, for any other noble would've been offended by this major intolerance.
"Haha... yes, I understand. But you should know by now that you needn't worry about me. I've already babysat Helen at least six times now, and never once was I late, was I? Now ma'am, are you the last one here?"
"Yes yes, you already know the drill. When the Lord and Lady of the house decide to take a trip which cannot include Helen, they call you and most of the house's staff are given the rest of the day off whether they like it or not. I'm always the last one, the most loyal of the staff by far, to make sure that you arrive before leaving Helen alone. Gosh, it's such a shame that she only likes you besides her parents. She's so painfully stubborn to anyone else. I mean, I was the one changing her diapers when she was but a babe after all! But no one seems to know how to respect their elders these days-"
"I agree with you, ma'am, that the kids in this generation don't know how to repay the love their elders gave them," you said, interrupting her rambling before she started with her stories.
You had to learn the hard way how she can talk nonstop for hours if uninterrupted. "However, now that I'm here, you can go enjoy your day off. Is there anything else I should know before you leave?"
"Well! She's already bathed, so you only need to change her into her nightgown. The maids will arrive at dawn and the cooks soon after that. Oh, and if you ever feel hungry there are snacks in the pantry, but don't forget that Helen must not eat ANYTHING 30 minutes before being put to bed, or anything with sugar if I'm not present to supervise her intake! Nothing too difficult, correct?"
"Yes and thank you ma'am, I promise to take good care of her."
"Oh, I'm praying to the Lord that you will. But this is the first time that you're going to be completely alone with her- and for so long, maybe I should stay a little while-"
"Please, you haven't gotten a thing to worry about, I have everything covered. It's such a pleasure to be able to have this responsibility of babysitting Helen. It's an experience that will prepare me for motherhood, a privilege which most woman do not have, especially with all the advice which you have kindly bestowed about me such as which temperature the food has to be at, exactly how to entertain the child, and everything else. I'm extremely grateful for all that you've taught me ma'am." You flattered and lied to her face.
"Oh alright love," she said. Then, instead of formally dismissing herself to you, she turned to the young girl by your side. "Goodbye now Helen!"
She puckered her lips and made an effort to give Helen a wet goodbye smooch on the forehead, but the girl only sideways shuffled around your skirt to hide behind your dress. Her face deadpanned the entire time. Extremely stubborn, the old lady persisted. So started a little a game of them moving around you in a circle, the maid chasing after the girl while the girl used you as a shield.
Although you really wanted to laugh at the stupidity of it all, you found yourself unable to. Dio's presence in the carriage plagued your mind the whole time.
~
The old maid looked at (Y/n) and Helen one last time before departing into her carriage. Her thoughts were so full of worrying about the child she had taken care of since birth that the woman became oblivious to everything else. She hadn't even noticed the different family crest on the carriage that brought over (Y/n), or the other carriage hiding underneath leaves nearby. Maybe if she had been paying closer attention, she could've stopped the fire...
~°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°~