Page 109 of When Hearts Surrender

Agnes lets out a sigh before facing me again. “I know you think we’re all superstitious about the curse. But you weren’t here when she died. You didn’t see how it tore the house apart. And now, Sir Maxwell seems to be smitten with you. But if you want him to be happy, I think you should keep your distance.”

My mouth drops open and I stand up, anger bursting through me. How dare she talk about my relationship with Maxwell like we are friends or something?

“Agnes, that is way out of line and I’m not going to—”

“Sometimes, the truth is the hardest to hear. But someone has to say it.” She spins around and walks toward the door before pausing at the threshold.

Her throat works as she turns toward me, her dark eyes piercing. “I apologize for overstepping, but I can’t stand by and watch history repeat itself.”

She closes the door with a soft click.

I grit my teeth, fury singeing my insides.How dare she?I won’t put up with this behavior. I’m going to talk to Maxwell and we’ll start searching for a new housekeeper.

Knock. Knock.

My gaze whips toward the door. It had better not be her coming back in here. I won’t let her walk all over me, even if she grovels.

“Yes?” I grit out.

Melody traipses in, her smile slipping off her face as she takes in my expression. “What’s wrong, Belle? You look like you want to murder someone.”

Blowing out a breath, I reply, “It’s Agnes. She drives me absolutely crazy. Do I have a sign on my forehead that says, ‘walk all over me’?”

Melody snorts and sits on my bed. Even though we are still in a boss/employee capacity, she’s become a good friend, and I’m glad I have someone who understands the family as well as she does to talk to.

She shakes her head. “It’s not you. It’s totally her. Mom and I were afraid she’d be like that with you when Sir Maxwell announced he was getting married.”

“What? Why? I’ve never even met her before.”

“You know how her husband has those gambling debts?”

I nod.

Melody sighs. “Well, Mom told me back when Ms. Julianna passed away, she left behind a nice fortune and a will. She was very kind and left everyone who worked here a nice chunk of change, but of course, most of her fortune was split between Sir Linus and their children.”

Silas barks and scampers to my feet and the hairs on my forearms rise. I don’t like where this is going.

She continues, “Well, Ms. Julianna understood what it meant to be the wife of the eldest Anderson son and she wanted to show her support to Sir Maxwell’s wife in the event she wasn’t here. As a small token of appreciation, she left a portion of her fortune to his wife. I think there were some time stipulations…I’m sure Sir Maxwell has forgotten about it since he’s a billionaire and all that, but you can ask him.”

“Okay…but what does this have anything to do with Agnes and how she treats me?”

“Well, Mom told me Agnes was drunk one night, which was very unusual for her. It was because her husband had put them in debt again. She told Mom if Sir Maxwell didn’t have a wife, the portion of Ms. Julianna’s fortune that would’ve gone to his wife would go to her instead because Ms. Julianna knew about her husband’s gambling habits.”

I fist my hands. “What the heck?” Reeling from this information, my eyes see red. “So you’re telling me Agnes wants me to leave Maxwell so she’ll get money?”

Melody shrugs. “I don’t know about that. But I’m thinking that’s why she’s cold toward you.”

I fume as I put the finishing touches on my makeup.Calm down, Belle. Calm down. Anger won’t solve the problem.

But anger feels so damn good right now.

“Anyway,” Melody stands up, “I wouldn’t care too much about Agnes. As long as you and Sir Maxwell are happy, what can she do anyway? She should just leave her bastard of a husband instead.”

I stay silent, still unable to calm the anger churning inside me.Game on, Agnes. Game. On.

I see Melody waving in the mirror’s reflection. Her lips curve up in an unsure smile. “Belle? Did I say too much?”

“No, thanks for telling me. Things make so much more sense now.”

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