A MAZE OF GREED

"Then it is doing the job I give you or, your beloved Ruth loosing her job."

Mrs Payne could not believe that Eloise would say something like that only to make her get those medicines she needed for her hair care.

The whole incident with Eloise made her wonder if it was all about only those medicines or, was it had something to do with Ruth?

Mrs Payne shook, could not shake those thoughts out of her head as she walked in the corridors of 'the great manor'. It was already late in the afternoon. She needed to hurry and get those medicines from the market and the woods.

The woods...

The thought of that place sent a chill down her spine. A place where she lost her beloved husband. And that memory made her realise something. She froze in her spot for a moment. How did she not think of it before?

Her heart lurched dramatically in her ribcage. A cold fear suddenly gripped her mind and heart. Only one name came to her mind who would clear her doubt.

And he was out of Vincardine for a couple of days.

Mentally noting that she needed to meet Edwin and ask about it as soon as he returned, Mrs Payne lifted her feet again and resumed walking. The pain in her ankles made her moments slightly sluggish.

"Aaaahhhhh..."

She crashed into someone, hitting her nose. She heard a feminine shriek from the opposite side, followed by something hitting the floor. Mrs Payne took the support of the nearby pillar to steady herself.

The first thing her eyes caught was an expensive-looking bottle of a colourful liquid. As her eyes moved up, they were met by the angry hazel ones.

Theodora looked like an angry dragon ready to burn her alive.

Recovering from the shock, Mrs Payne bought the time by crouching down and picking up the bottle from the floor. Although the bottle was not broken, some of its content spilt on the floor.

By the strong and unique fragrance that attacked her smelling senses, Mrs Payne figured that it was a perfume bottle.

"My apologiese, Lady Theodora! I-"

Theodora snatched the bottle from her hand forcefully. Taking a napkin from passing by maid, she began rubbing the bottle of Mrs Payne's dirty touch.

Mrs Payne frowned but maintained a calm face. It was Theodora who was in hurry and did not pay attention to where she was going and, yet she was acting like Mrs Payne was a powerhouse of germs.

"Who the hell are you woman?" She demanded.

It was no wonder that a self-centred woman did not remember her after more than two decades. She was never interested in anything else except Gerald and what Gerald could offer her.

Fannie stopped near the corner as she heard Theodora's angry voice. She analysed the situation and knew that the old woman had messed with Lady Theodora in some way.

Her eyes widened when she saw that perfume bottle in Theodora's hands. Theodora had ordered that bottle from the markets of the middle east- the place of finest of fragrances- to gift it to Douglas Morgan.

Fannie was entrusted to get it to Theodora, and she did just that in the morning. Fannie knew that now that Lord Augustus and Edwin were out of Vincardine for a couple of days, Theodora had invited Douglas to spend some private time with him.

As he had a special interest in the fragrances, she decided to gift him with this one as an apology for not spending much time with him in these past days.

Fannie mentally prayed for the old lady, for she knew how obsessed Theodora was about the things she liked. And Douglas Morgan was no joke to her!

"My name is Isabella Payne. I am Ruth Moore's aunt."

Mrs Payne purposefully gave her full name, which she rarely did just to see if recognition flashed in Theodora's eyes. Unfortunately, there was none. She indeed had forgotten about her.

Well, the woman who could forget her own child could forget even the God! Mrs Payne thought with disappointment.

"Whoever you are, who let you enter my house, huh?"

Theodora was so loud that the maids who were passing by and the guards who were stationed around, gathered to see what the commotion was about.

Aware of the onlookers' eyes, Mrs Payne tried to calm down Theodora.

"Lady Theodora please, lower your voice. People are watching. I apologise-"

Instead of calming her, Mrs Payne's words aggravated Theodora even more. Taking a threatening step ahead, she held Mrs Payne by her elbow and tugged it harshly.

"What did you say, guttersnipe? How dare you tell me lower my voice?"

Mrs Payne winced in pain as Theodora's long nails scratched her wrinkled skin.

"Lady Theodora please, leave me."

But Theodora was not in a mood to listen. How dare this old woman insult her in front of her servants like this? She needed to learn a lesson!

One of the maids ran to find Ruth seeing the situation was worsening.

"Ruth... Ruth... your aunt... Lady Theodora..." The maid whizzed through her rapid breaths.

The name of Lady Theodora was enough for the alarm to go off in Ruth's head. Leaving the job she was doing unattended, she ran as fast as she could.

All along the way, her mind was crowded by the unpleasant possibilities. When she reached the scene, she was stunned to see the way Lady Theodora tugged at Mrs Payne's hand harshly while throwing insults her way.

Not caring about anything else, Ruth ran and released Mrs Payne's hand from Theodora's.

Theodora looked shocked. Her temper rose even more till the smoke came out of her ears and nose. Fannie was ecstatic to see the drama unfold further now that Ruth was also there.

"Lady Theodora! Stop!"

A pin-drop silence fell heavily on the surroundings. Every person present had their eyes open wide at Ruth's foolish braveness.

"You poor leeches! Do not you have any mannerisms? Oh wait! How can you have them when you do not have parents to teach that?"

"Lady Theodora!"

Mrs Payne was silent all along for the sake of Ruth. But when she crossed the line, she was ready to defend Ruth as a tigress puts herself first before her cub.

"Do not interrupt me when I am talking! No wonder why this woman is so ill-mannered. Having a family like you must be the most unfortunate thing if you can not even teach her how to behave with the people above her."

"But what happened?" Ruth finally asked.

"This happened!" Theodora showed the spilt liquid from the bottle on the floor.

"Do you have any idea how expensive and classic it is? You fools can not even count its price with those tiny brains of yours! It is actually our mistake that we hire low-class people like you for our service.

Instead of feeling gratitude, you people try to sit on our heads. We should forget the kindness and show you your right place now and then."

Ruth's eyes stung as the weight of every pair of eyes increased by every minute. The most disturbing part of all this was the woman who had given birth but then abandoned her, was insulting the woman who accepted her as her daughter.

What an irony!

"I apologise on her behalf, My Lady!" Ruth forced out the words through gritted teeth.

"Apologise? Does your apology going to change anything Ruth?"

"Then what do you want me to do?" Ruth was losing her calm.

Theodora saw the frustration clearly written on Ruth's face. She saw it as an opportunity of killing two birds with one stone.

"She needs to apologise by bowing in front of me!" Theodora declared.

Ruth gasped. Her eyes were saucer-shaped, her body stiff like a rock.

"She is not going to do that!" Ruth finally lost it.

A slap spun Ruth's head. Its ringing sensation made her ears go deaf to other sounds.

"Ruth!" Mrs Payne called in alarm.

All the people, including Fannie, were shocked. They had not expected Theodora to act that impulsively.

The humiliation that slaps brought with it made Ruth's heart stir uncomfortable in her chest. Her eyes watered, but the tears were not hurt. They were made up of pure anger.

Ruth could feel the pressure building inside her.

The woman who was her biological mother was not only selfish but also the worst person she had ever met. She had no regrets, instead, she was teaching Mrs Payne how to instigate mannerisms in Ruth when she herself had proved herself a pitiful failure as a mother.

Mrs Payne could not see this anymore. She would die before she let anyone hurt Ruth in such a way. So she did what she was asked for even though Ruth resisted.

Mrs Payne bowed in front of Theodora, and with a clenched jaw, she apologised.

"I present my apologies Lady theodora! I hope this will calm your anger and pamper your ego."

Ruth clenched her hands in tight fists as she struggled to suppress her other side. She did not want Mrs Payne to witness it. Besides, there were many people around.

Straightening up, Mrs Payne took Ruth's hand in hers and looking straight into Theodora's eyes, she said, "A mother can sacrifice her own life for her child as well as she can destroy the two worlds if it takes her to that.

Unfortunately, this is only understandable by a MOTHER! And a woman who only gives birth but not love, can not be called a mother! But the one who stays by her child, protects and loves her child even though she has not given birth to that child is the REAL MOTHER!"

She did not wait to see Theodora's reaction and dragged Ruth away from there. But Mrs Payne's words hit Theodora like a slap in the face.

She had intentionally targeted her weak point.... successfully!