Chapter 4 The Wedding Day Robbery

"Mrs. Thornfield! Sister Margaret! The Marsh boy has come to take his bride!"

It was Winifred Pratt.

People called her Big-Mouth Winnie.

She was the biggest gossip in Millbrook Village. Everyone was afraid of her. If you were not careful, Winnie would listen in on your family's business. Once she knew, the whole village knew within half an hour.

So as soon as Grandmother heard that voice, her body went stiff and her skin crawled.

I could not miss this chance. I smiled at her sweetly. "Did you hear that, Grandmother? The Marsh family is here! Have you decided? Will you give me my dowry, or let Isolde get married by herself?"

"You... you..."

Grandmother held her chest. She wanted to shout that she would pick neither. But Winnie was right in her yard. She went limp like a popped balloon and shut her mouth.

She looked at me like I had lost my mind. Maybe she thought the fever had hurt my brain.

I pushed a loose hair off my forehead and kept going. "No? Grandmother, it is bad enough that Isolde was sneaking around with my fiancé behind my back and wanted to swap marriages. Now she wants to keep the Marsh family's gifts too."

"She is so greedy, lightning will strike her!"

My voice got louder at the end.

"Hush!"

The more excited I got, the more scared she got. Her eyes went blurry. If Winnie heard, her precious Isolde would be ruined.

"Grandmother, come here for a second."

Fiona ran in, right on time. She pulled Grandmother to the door and whispered, "Sister Isolde says you must agree to give her half of the dowry. The Hale family's wedding party will be here soon. If we don't get rid of her fast, something could go wrong."

"She says when she marries into the Hale family, she will have plenty of good things. This little bit won't matter."

Then Fiona took fifteen ten-dollar bills from her pocket, walked over to me proudly, and pushed the money at me.

"Here! This is the money the Marsh family gave. One hundred and fifty dollars, not one cent missing. Now you should be happy and stop making trouble, right..."

Before she could finish, I took the money, put it in my pocket, and said slowly, "Well, that depends on my mood."

My eyes showed a small smile.

The hundred and fifty dollars was what I expected. Last night in Isolde's room, I left the hundred and fifty dollars in her coat pocket on purpose. I was waiting for this moment.

I could not wait to see Isolde's face. She would marry into the Hale family happily, then check the money and gold bracelet Grandmother sewed into her clothes, and find nothing.

"You!"

Fiona's face turned red. She glared at me. "What do you mean? I gave you everything! What else do you want?"

She was in so much pain. One hundred and fifty dollars! Even if Sister Isolde did not care about the money, it could have bought her many pretty new clothes and shoes!

"Fiona, how can you talk to your sister like that?"

Margaret had finally woken up from her shock. She had no time to think about why her oldest daughter suddenly seemed so different. She rushed to pull her youngest away.

But Fiona did not back down. She shouted, "She's not my sister! I only have one sister, and that's Isolde!"

"Perfect," I said with no feeling. "I don't need a sister like you."

I looked at her coldly. "If you have trouble in the future, don't come to me. Even if you do, I will not care."

Fiona burst out laughing. "Beg you? Dream on! Even if something happens to me, I still have my sister and my brothers."

She would never beg a weakling like me.

I did not go easy on her. "Remember what you said. The moment I leave the Thornfield house, we are done. Your problems are not mine anymore."

"Fine! Let's end it! I'm not scared of you!"

"Oh, girls..."

Margaret's face went pale. She never thought her daughters would grow so far apart.

She looked at me in confusion, lips pressed together. "Elowen, Fiona only spoke in anger. Please don't take it to heart."

I snorted.

Fiona knew exactly what she was saying. Margaret just did not want to see it.

Grandmother heard Margaret speak badly of her favorite in front of an outsider, and she finally blew up. Just then, a voice outside told them to hurry. Her face turned dark, and she shouted at Margaret, "Gregory's wife, are you deaf? Don't you hear them calling? Go out and greet the guests!"

If she could not control the crazy Elowen, she could at least control this daughter-in-law.

"Yes, Mother, right away." Margaret froze, then answered quickly.

She looked at me and opened her mouth to say more, but Fiona pulled her away.

As soon as they left, Grandmother could not stay in the room either. She was afraid that one more minute with me would make her explode with anger. She glared at me and said, "The dowry is in the main room. If you want anything, go get it yourself." Then she left.

She thought I would take a few small things and be happy.

I laughed and called after her, "Grandmother, you said it yourself. Don't take back your words."

She walked faster, as if she had wings on her feet, and was gone in no time.

She soon regretted it.

I took most of the dowry she prepared for Isolde. After I packed it up, I took the good bedding and blankets too. Only when nothing good was left did I nod happily and get ready to go.

I took everything like a pack of thieves in a village.

Grandmother was so angry she thought her lungs would burst. She wanted to scream but could not, so she kept telling herself, "It's fine, it's fine. When my Isolde marries into the Hale family, she will have mountains of gold and silver, and everything she wants."

She just needed to get rid of this crazy girl.

She calmed herself for a while, thinking of what Isolde promised, and felt a little better.

But then she saw the young men from the Marsh family carrying my good things out one by one, and her heart started bleeding again.

She took a deep breath and rushed to the groom. "Marsh boy, my second granddaughter is in that shed. Hurry up and take her away!"

If she did not get rid of this trouble soon, she was afraid she would not live.

Lucian Marsh looked at the woodshed next to him. His eyebrows came together, and his eyes grew dark.

Then he walked inside.