The next day, Eloise woke up early in the morning to prepare for the trip out of town.

After last night’s events and what was uncovered, Eloise couldn’t wait to get away. She watched as all the trunks were carried out to the carriages.

Jane dragged her feet, annoyed she had to wake up so early. "Must I ride in the same carriage as you and Damien?" she asked while rubbing her eyes.

"It is for safety," Eloise answered. "It is best that we all sit together. The roads to the countryside are not all safe. There might be thieves waiting to steal from unsuspecting travellers."

"Only a fool would approach our carriages. I wish to travel alone," Jane said, certain she would fight with Damien if she sat with him.

"Then, if we are attacked, you would be left alone with your guards. I will leave it to you to tell Damien that you don’t wish to ride together. I must warn you that he is already in a foul mood," Eloise said, looking ahead at Damien.

Jane glanced at her brother and noticed his scowl. "I have finally gotten on better terms with him. Perhaps it would not be wise to trouble him now. At least promise me that you two will not make me feel excluded."

"How would we exclude you? You will be in the carriage with us. It would be hard to ignore you."

"You speak as though you don’t know my brother. When you two are together, all you do is focus on each other. I could be speaking about a carriage being on fire, but my brother would be focused solely on your appearance," Jane explained.

"I assure you that will not happen. During the ride, I will make sure you feel included. You will feel so included that you hate it. Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Eloise said, tapping Jane’s shoulder. "We must get in the carriage so we can leave on time."

"I am starting to realise that I speak too often," Jane muttered.

"Why haven’t all of you left yet?" Kyle asked, rubbing his hands. "You must leave now to make use of the daylight."

Damien looked away from the guard he spoke to. "If you host any events while I am away, I am going to skin you alive and dangle your body over the gates for all your peers to see. There are no guests and no drinking."

"I know the rules, Damien. I swear to you that there will be no visitors besides Samuel-"

"Not him. He is not welcome here when I am not present. Quinn will be in charge in my absence," said Damien.

Kyle’s mouth fell open as he couldn’t believe he had to listen to Quinn. "Quinn? After the good work I did, you would not permit me to share some of the responsibilities? Why would you trust a man who wants your-"

Kyle was silenced by a smack on the back of his head.

"Enough," Quinn said, tired of Kyle speaking.

Kyle wanted to complain until he realised where he almost slipped up to reveal Quinn’s secret.

Quinn kept his hand on the back of Kyle’s head. "The estate is in good hands. I won’t allow any gatherings or visitors in your absence. You should leave now to be on time."

Damien eyed both brothers, not holding any faith in either one, but before they could make him reconsider staying, he walked towards the door.

Eloise went ahead to the carriage first, not wanting to make eye contact with Quinn. Without a proper conversation held, it was awkward to be around Quinn.

"I would not trust those two to keep the estate well, but if it falls, I am fortunate not to be present," Jane said as she followed Eloise inside the carriage.

Damien was last to follow, and once the guards took their places, the carriage moved off, starting the journey.

"Damien, what placed you in a bad mood?" Jane asked, trying to start a conversation.

"What bad mood?" Damien replied, missing what Jane spoke of.

Jane turned to Eloise for an explanation. "You said I shouldn’t trouble him because he is in a foul mood."

"I lied to get you inside the carriage, and it worked. It helped that Damien looked like he was upset," Eloise said, thankful for Damien’s fixed expression.

Jane pouted and folded her arms. "I should have gone in the other carriage."

"As much as I would like to be alone with my wife, the other carriage is for our guards and servants. Stay put, and unless you want to put me in a foul mood," Damien advised Jane.

"Staying with Aunt Camille and our cousins doesn’t sound so awful now," Jane muttered, already annoyed.

"I can have the carriage turn around to go there now. Should I?" Damien asked, waiting for Jane’s answer.

Eloise sighed, fearing the trip would not be an easy one. "Must you two bicker at every corner? This is meant to be a break from the usual antics, yet you are taking it along with you. Now I wish to go into the other carriage."

"Then we must," Jane said, eager to leave.

"Alone," Eloise clarified. "You are both ruining this for me. I was going to enjoy speaking to you both, but now I will focus on my book."

Eloise picked up the book she had fortunately packed and opened it to start reading. If there were an item to cover her ears, she could peacefully enjoy the long ride.

Damien disliked the silence on Eloise’s end. He had imagined that she would be quite the chatterbox, pointing out all the places she visited and the people she knew. Not being quiet whilst reading a book.

"If you want time alone with her, you only need to send me to the other-" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"No," Damien denied Jane’s request. "I have a better solution for stuffing your mouth so you do not speak to me. For one hour at the very least, can you be quiet? Do you know how to be quiet?"

Jane gasped. "I do know how to be quiet. Don’t insult me. Forget going with Aunt Camille, I should have stayed with Kyle and Quinn. At least I would be able to see my peers in your absence. Is it too late for you to reconsider so I may stay?"

Eloise smiled, enjoying how Jane tortured Damien’s ears. If he had allowed Kyle to join them, then Jane could have ridden in another carriage with Kyle. Now Damien was forced to enjoy Jane all the way to the countryside.