"Did you come out tonight with a list of people you want to kill? Does Alessandra know that you’re going to be visiting her family, and am I supposed to turn a blind eye to what you’re doing? I am not the king to cover for you anymore," Tobias said.
"You weren’t to be here, and you can stay in the carriage. I don’t need any help," Edgar said, closing the door behind him.
Still, the door was opened by Tobias.
"You know better than to expect that I stay inside. I have to be near to stop you from harming Alessandra’s family. If you have to come here in secret, then Alessandra might not be happy to hear you killed them," Tobias said, trying to be the voice of reason.
"I’m not here to kill them. I’m here to reason with them," Edgar said as he walked to the door.
Tobias thought it over. That didn’t sound too different from killing them.
Reed knocked on the door and listened to the sounds coming from inside.
The door soon opened, and Lewis’s eyes widened at the sight of the former king and the duke.
"Duke Collins. What an unexpected visit," Lewis said, looking over his shoulder. "Unless there was an arrangement I wasn’t told of."
"There’s always an arrangement you aren’t told of. Can I come in, or should we speak here?" Edgar asked, looking down at the puny man.
Lewis cleared his throat. "You should come inside. The neighbours are a bit nosy. I can make you a cup of tea or whatever you might prefer."
"No, thank you. I am careful with who I drink from," Edgar replied.
Tobias smiled as he entered the home. "I didn’t bring the royal taster with me, so I will have to decline."
Lewis was stumped on what to say to the two men. He didn’t have anything in his home to harm either man, nor was he looking to be on the run.
Lewis moved to close the door, but a man he had seen before placed his hand on the door.
"I will stand guard," Reed said, blocking Lewis from closing the door.
Lewis nodded his head as he stepped away. "I won’t get in your way," he said. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Lewis left the front door and walked to the dining room, where Edgar and Tobias already sat.
"It is only my wife and I at home. She’s getting dressed at the moment, so I apologise for the wait," said Lewis.
"I can wait. This also gives me the chance to speak to you without interruptions. Are you also after the mines?" Edgar asked, his fingers tapping on the table.
"How could I be after mines that don’t belong to me? I’m a simple man, Duke Collins. I had humble beginnings and seek nothing more. I apologise on my children’s behalf for what they have been doing," Lewis said, almost drawn to get on his knees.
Lewis didn’t like what had become of his family. Luke travelled out of town to see the Cromwells, only to be turned away. Since Melody criticised how the family had been behaving, she didn’t speak to her siblings and kept herself busy with work.
"Your children are grown. I don’t want you to apologise on their behalf. If you love them, stop them from picking a fight they cannot win. There is a good reason the court doesn’t want to hear about the mines. They belong to my wife," said Edgar.
Lewis looked down in shame. "I didn’t want to believe it at first, but this town has a way of changing people. Before we came here, my children had a quiet life. Now they want a life I cannot afford to give them. They see what the duchess has and want it."
"I’m sorry about the mines. I should have taught my son better. Melanie and I did the best we could, but he wants more. I will speak with my son again," Lewis promised.
This wasn’t enough for Edgar.
"You’ve had plenty of time to speak to him, and yet he still goes to court. I am not fond of anyone troubling my wife. Make do with what you were given before. It is not every day something is found in the mines, so why spend all that you received in the past?" Edgar asked.
Lewis didn’t have an excuse. He also wasn’t with his children all the time to know what they did with the money Alessandra sent from her share of the finds in the mines.
Lewis always warned his children that eventually the mines had to end, and there was no more to get from them. Melody was the only one who appeared to save since she had nothing to spend the money on.
"Lewis, have you seen my shoe? What are they doing here? Why did you allow them inside?" Melanie asked, rushing to be at Lewis’s side. "You do not belong here. I will send for the town guards."
Melanie noticed Tobias was present, but it would not stop her from getting the guards.
"I was welcomed inside. We were talking without the drama. I would like it to continue that way," Edgar said, wishing Melanie would go back where she came from.
"No," Melanie snapped, pointing her finger at Edgar. "I’ve had enough of you trying to come to us to control us."
"Aren’t you trying to make my wife do as you want? Sit down while I am being nice," said Edgar.
Tobias now wished he had stayed in the palace. This was the first time he was seeing the tension between the two families. It was different to hear of Alessandra’s troubles and then to witness them.
"Nice? You have not been nice since I met you. I am my mother’s daughter, yet what belongs to her has not once been given to me-"
"Why don’t you stop for a moment to question why she skipped you and went to her granddaughter?" Asked Edgar.
Edgar was tired of this family acting like it was Alessandra’s fault she was handed the mines. Edgar spent more time with Alessandra’s grandparents than Melanie did in the last moments of their lives.
"I am not going over my actions with you. This could all be settled if we leave it as it is. It is I whom Alessandra hates, so rather than punish my children, punish me. Never mind," Melanie said, shaking her head. "Why am I speaking to you when the mines are not your concern?"
"Dear," Lewis said, worried Melanie would upset Edgar.
Edgar was long tired of Melanie not understanding him. "The mines concern my wife, and what involves my wife is my concern. I brought you back to Lockwood, and I will gladly send you away."