Chapter 42 - (3)

Lady Steinhouse waited in the sitting room, a frown veiled her beautiful face. The door opened and an elderly lady walked in slowly. Lady Steinhouse needed not look up to see who it was, as her frown was replaced with an indifferent mask.

"You won't even welcome me into my own home?" the elderly voice croaked a sneer. Lady Steinhouse made no sound nor did she look up. She only got to look at the aged face when the elderly lady sat in front of her. It has been years since she saw this old woman and the years had not favoured her.

"Have you no shame? I may not live in this house with you, but I am still in the city! How dare you go around town with a lover, rubbing my son's face in the mud that way?!" the elderly lady scolded.

"So what? Your son is dead and his entire property is mine. I can do what ever I want." Lady Steinhouse said carelessly.

"You can't say that, sister in law!" a young lady' scolded from the door. Lady Steinhouse needed not look to know who it was. She should have known that bad things come in pairs. The young lady walked in and sat without invitation. Her face; though young, would be considered an old maid in society, as she looked in her mid thirties even though she was in her early twenties; the same age as Lady Steinhouse.

"My brother left you all his property and we did not fight you for it, yet you still could not respect him in death? You dragged the family's name through the mud!" the young lady scolded.

Though many ignored the fact that there were in actuality, four Lady Steinhouses, the elderly woman was referred to as Old Lady Steinhouse and the younger as Lady Steinhouse, but this was true only in her face. She is not welcomed much in society, as a lot of people knew that the Lady Steinhouse who was the king's niece, did not like them much; thus, no one truly wanted to offend her. Coupled with the fact that Lady Steinhouse had royal backing and was much more popular than her, the lady soon was referred to as, the Steinhouse spinster.

"Worry not, Lilly; She has stayed unmonitored for long, but that will end today. From now on, we will live here to check her attitude. Or else, who knows what else she will do to shame our name?" Old Lady Steinhouse said.

Lady Steinhouse sneered at their words. She knew they had been waiting for such an opportunity. When her husband died, he had made her swear she will not throw out his family, that was the only reason she had tolerated them. As soon as he died, she arranged for them to leave. They had always been looking for an excuse to return back to their old glory.

"You want to stay? Fine. I will arrange for you to stay. But, as long as you live under my roof, you will do as I say. You will have no authority, you will be just guests and my maids are not obligated to make your life comfortable. So, will you still be staying?" Lady Steinhouse smirked.

"You ungrateful wench! My brother brought you into our home and you intend to suppress us?" The Steinhouse spinster fumed.

"Your brother? If not for me, you all would have been executed by the king years ago. Your dead brother had committed a crime enough to have you all executed! If he had not begged I marry him to stop the king from having your heads, do you think you would be here sprouting rubbish?" Lady Steinhouse sneered.

"Lies! My Leigh could do no wrong, talk more of betraying the crown!" Old Lady Steinhouse declared.

"Oh? You did not know? I always thought you knew since I asked you too vacate the house and you did without making a fuss. So, what that son of yours told you on his death bed was not that?" Lady Steinhouse broke into a melodious laugh.

"I always wondered why you were shamelessly rude to me, when you knew that I basically saved your life. So you never knew in the first place?" Lady Steinhouse found the entire situation amusing.

"You still spit on a man six feet under?" The Steinhouse spinster was so angry, one could almost see veins pop on her fore head.

"The evidence that was presented before the king is still in his possession. Do you want me to get it for you?" Lady Steinhouse seemed to enjoy their reaction, as she relaxed and threw shock waves after another.

"Liar!" The Steinhouse spinster fumed.

"Oh? Does Old Lady Steinhouse think I am lying too?" Lady Steinhouse asked the old lady. Old Lady Steinhouse seemed to have lost her soul as she had turned several shades whiter.

"Mother, say something!" the Steinhouse spinster fumed.

"Enough!" an elderly voice said at the door. Lady Steinhouse frowned. She turned to look at the old lady being led in. she was Grand Lady Steinhouse. Seeing this old skeleton that refused to drop dead, she frowned deeply. Did the Steinhouse women suck all the life off their men to out live them this long? She wondered.

"Mother in law!" Old Lady Steinhouse seemed to jolt out of her thoughts as she stared at the old woman led into the room by a maid.

"I know my grand son did wrong. But don't forget; you too needed to be married out fast. Just as you saved us, we saved you too." Grand Lady Steinhouse said, sitting down.

"I see you have always known about the deal your grandson made with His Majesty." Lady Steinhouse said to Grand Lady Steinhouse.

"Grandmother, It's true? Brother committed wrong and we were all to be killed? She saved us?" The Steinhouse spinster asked.

"So what? Your brother saved her too!" Grand lady Steinhouse insisted to her grand daughter.

"That is why you still send allowance each month. It matters not, we are moving here. What ever you may do to us, do it! Now that you have made a spectacle of yourself, people will come to wonder about who is keeping you in check. You may be a widow, but you are still a woman." Grand Lady Steinhouse said to Lady Steinhouse.

"So, you are doing this out of thought for my own well being?" Lady Steinhouse snorted.

"Like it or not, you still need us. To keep away whatever you are running from, you married into our family. Do you think I could not make it clear our relationship? That way, those you are running from will know where you are." Grand Lady Steinhouse threatened and Lady Steinhouse burst out in in fit of laughter.

"You misunderstand. My crisis was averted the moment I was married. I could have the king decree a divorce but doing that means he can now force me into a marriage he always wanted. This title is just convenient. I have enjoyed freedom and have no intention of giving it up. You, on the other hand, still have your lives in my hands. I still hold evidence of your grandson's deeds. If I am divorced from your family, the king has no more reason to hide it. What do you think would happen to you all if I were to leave?" Lady Steinhouse laughed.

Humph. She almost got suppressed by this walking corpse, Lady Steinhouse snorted inwardly. The old lady may have known about the arrangement between she and her grandson, but she still did not understand that she was still in danger. This title was her shield, and not a very good one too. In fact, before the eyes of those who wished her harm, this shield is like going into a sword fight with a kitchen knife. Only she and the king know of her predicament. Did this woman think she could suppress her with such little knowledge?

Lady Steinhouse could see that they believed her words and was gratified. She stood and made to leave, before pausing at the door.

She looked back dangerously and dropped a warning, "Don't think I do not know of your connections to Grand Lady Dockstorm. You best play your cards right; the queen is not the one holding your lives in her hands. You best not provoke me to make sure you join your grandson in his grave." before she walked away.