The door slammed shut and Serena stormed into her mansion, one of her servants rushing towards her with worry in her eyes.
"Where are they?" Serena asks angrily, not bothering to allow the servant to take off her hat nor her coat.
"They're in your study-" The servant begins but Serena doesn't give her the chance to finish and heads up the staircase to her study.
"Don't you know this is trespassing?" She states angrily upon arriving, walking straight towards her desk and ignoring the three policemen as well as her father. "I knew you where a bloody man child Luther and I didn't think you could be any worse than that but I must say, I'm impressed at your tenacity of proving me wrong."
She shrugged off her coat and places it over her chair. She takes a seat whilst removing her hat, pacing herself and calming down her nerves. Her father is reveling in anger, she couldn't fight him with fire, she needed to fight him with water.
"Your language is as indecent as always." Luther scrunched his face, making himself comfortable in one of Serena's couches. She squints her eyes at him, the thought of strangling him to death giving her a rush of endorphins.
She clasps her hands in front of her and looks at the officers.
"Can I please be enlightened to the reason of you barging into my home and threatening my servants for my whereabouts? I received a letter from my head maid moments ago informing me of these ludicrous acts." She asks professionally, hoping to go about this in a docile manner. It makes no sense acting up and getting arrested.
"Ms. Gregory, you are aware that you are in possession of property, resources and accumulated wealth of the late Lord Matthew Gregory. Yes?" One of the officers asks, retrieving a paper and starting to read off of it.
Serena digs her fingers into her hand and nods her head. "Yes I am aware."
"You are also aware that you have no lineage or rights to his assets as it states that you both were not married, therefore, these assets where not given as a dowry."
"I wouldn't exactly say that."
The policeman raises an eyebrow, looking up from the paper.
"Then how would you say it is?" Serena leans back into her chair.
"It was given to me by will and by his verbal command. You can ask the servants of the household." She stated, knowing where this was going.
"Well, even if you were capable of providing the evidence to prove your claim." The police officer states mockingly, not believing that a man would leave anything to a woman. "You must also be aware that owning land, property and assets isn't capable of a woman."
"Isn't capable of a woman?" Serena asks, raising her tone. "And who decides that?"
"The law."
"Where in the law?"
"Ms. Gregory or should I say Lady Johnson..." Serena's eyes turn dark with rage, glaring at the police officer.
"Please be aware that we aren't in court, and you aren't being arrested. We are just here to give you a warning." He gestures to another officer who places a paper on her desk.
"If you are able to provide the will written by Lord Matthew, then we are obliged to consider following his wishes. However, due to fact that you cannot own this wealth, you must marry in the allotted time, so we no longer have any misunderstandings in the future."
Serena picks up the letter, quickly scheming over the information.
"3 months?" She asked, disgusted and appalled at what she was reading.
"Yes Ms. John-"
"My name is Ms. Gregory." The police officer gives her a strange look but does not correct himself.
"If this time runs out and you do not provide the proof of Matthew's will and you have not married by the allotted time then we have no choice but to arrest you on the premise of soliciting, theft and fraud. The court will decide your punishment."
Serena was silent, staring at the official document, her mind unable to process all that was happening at the moment.
"We should take our leave." The officers nod their heads at Luther and depart, leaving Luther with Serena.
"You must have been waiting for this moment. I can see that smug look on your face." Serena stated through gritted teeth, placing the letter down and staring daggers into Luther's skull.
"Don't tell me you actually thought you would get away with this forever? I've been waiting for the moment you set foot on England to put you where you belong..." He stands up, walking towards her desk. He places his hands on the table and leans down. "Behind bars or maybe, hanging from a rope."
It took anything within her not to lunge at him but she stayed rooted in her chair. She doesn't respond, her eyes tells him all he needs to know and that causes him to smirk.
"Ms. Johnson... It sounds better don't you think? I found it crass how you went about illegally changing your last name. Regardless of your denial, you are still my daughter."
She couldn't help but respond to that. "Your daughter?"
She holds up her gloved hand. "A father doesn't do this to their daughter or have you forgotten your dirty deeds? I'm sure you've already populated the earth with so much filth you probably don't keep up.
"Watch your mouth young lady!" He shouts and she challenges him.
"Or what? You have no basis to discipline me. You're not my father Luther Johnson and you never will be." She spits and he pulls back, tired of her already.
"I'll see you in court Ms. Gregory." He walks out of the room, pride in his every step. She couldn't understand how a man was so proud at the thought of ruining his daughter but as she stated before, she wasn't his daughter. It was best to believe a stranger was doing this to her.
She threw the letter unto her desk and at first, she just sat there, staring into space thinking about nothing in particular until she broke.
She screamed, thrashing her desk of the papers and clutter in one fresh swoop. Something made of glass drops to the floor and breaks but she doesn't care. She trashes her study, breaking objects and kicking chairs, grabbing anything within reach.
Once the adrenaline runs out, she's only met with pain, her gloved hand numb and trembling. She collapses against one of the walls, running her hand through her hair as she winces due to the pain. She reaches into her back pocket for the pills, swallowing one of them dry and leaning her head against the wall.
She feels nostalgic staring up at the ceiling and a wise, masculine voice whispers in the back of her mind.
'You can let go of that horrible past you're harboring because from now on, you're not Ms. Johnson. You're Ms. Gregory and I'm sure that you will accomplish greatness.'
The tears streaming down her face stung as she pulled her knees up to her chest and just sobbed. It had been so long since she last cried; felt so vulnerable and bare. Her mother was dying, her sister was going to be wed off to a stranger and everything she's worked for was going to be swept away from underneath her.
What could she possibly do? Everything around her was falling apart and still, she had to act strong. She needed to act strong because just the slightest sign of weakness and those around her would believe that it was true.
A woman couldn't be in business.
A woman couldn't do it.
A woman was too soft.
A woman was too fragile.
She would be attacked quicker than lightning until nothing was left.
She choked on her sobs, wiping away her tears in frustration. She took a deep breath, standing up and looking outside of the window. The view was beautiful, especially the sun which was a contrast to how glooming she felt. She suddenly thought of Anna and wondered what she was doing at the moment. Piano lessons? Literature or Mathematics? Would she be out by the river reading at this time?
A gasp pulled her away from her thoughts and she turned to look at the head maid. "My word! Ms. Gregory, are you alright?"
She looked at the wreckage that was the room, stepping over clutter until she was beside Serena. Serena sniffled, nodding her head as she stared back out of the window. This is what she signed up for, she didn't have time to be crying.
"Send a letter to Henry Wilson. Tell him that the war has begun."
✧༺♥༻∞
It was at this moment that Anna realized that her mother had a strange liking to Louise Beckler. She sat on the couch in their living area where they met guests, feeling uncomfortable and wary. She wished Serena was still here but unfortunately, she was notified by Dorothy that she had left in a hurry after receiving some news. She wondered what news that could be.
Louise arrived with a bouquet of flowers which Anna accepted gracefully. Her mother was watching the exchange and Anna did not like the glint of happiness in her eyes, not at all.
"Thank you for accepting my request to visit." She gave him a sheepish smile.
Her mother had accepted his request, not like she had any choice in the matter. She was grateful he continued speaking but all she could think of was an awkward reply. She didn't want to be here, and it was showing on her face. After experiencing what real attraction was, she didn't know if she was able to continue faking interest in these suitors any longer.
"Should we go for a walk?" He holds out a hand and she doesn't even glance of her mother for confirmation. She just couldn't do this. An excuse, she needed an excuse.
"Ahhh..." Anna cries out, holding her head and falling but Louise catches her before she does. This could have been interpreted as her trying to seduce him but really, she was faking illness to get away from being alone with him.
"Are you alright?" He asks and she nods her head, struggling to stand back up with his assistance. "I just felt lightheaded. I haven't been feeling well."
Martha walks up to the pair, taking Anna from Louise. "I'm sorry Louise but we must cut our little visit short. Anna doesn't seem to be well. Maybe you can come tomorrow?"
Louise glances at Anna and nods his head. "Not at all a problem."
He bows and states his goodbyes whilst Martha assists Anna to one of the chairs. Martha calls over one of the servants and tells her to go fetch the doctor. She turns her attention back to Anna, removing a stray hair away from her face.
"Do you like Mr. Becklar?" Anna asks her mother suddenly. Martha gives her a smile which causes her stomach to sink.
"He does appear charming. Don't you think? He looks like a wonderful suit for you Anna. How do you feel? He isn't the one?" Martha frowned, her mood changing like the weather. "We can't keep doing th-"
"I found someone I like..." Anna stated quickly to soothe her mother before she exploded. "And I want to marry them"
Martha's eyes widen, shocked at this revelation.
"Really? Who?" Anna thinks about it, pondering on what she's going to say. She needed more time and...
"Edward Beckham."
Author's note
The comments I received really motivated me to write these two chapters, I hope you enjoy. It's actually 4:04 am right now and I have to work out at 6:00 am, I must be a masochist when it comes to my sleep schedule. Anyways, see you next chapter!