My Wife, My Rules – 28. chapter

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It did not take long, Tess thought bitterly the next morning. Aiden had left for his duties only moments ago, and already there was a knock at the door to her room. No one in the house ever knocked on that door. Except Mary, and Mary always came earlier.

“Come in,” Tess called to her sister, and knew, even as she said it, that with her came the end of her happiness.

Viktoria entered the room, looked around like someone assessing new chambers, and slowly seated herself in the chair opposite Tess.

“So,” Viktoria said pleasantly, as though afternoon tea were about to begin, “we are finally alone. It is prettier here than I expected. One can see you like it.”

Tess did not answer. She did not move.

“I want you to leave,” Viktoria said at last. Her voice was as calm as still water.

Tess looked at her for a moment. There was no surprise in it.

“Well. You go straight to the point.”

“And why not?” Viktoria replied lightly. “You know very well how things are. And how they will be. You took something that was meant to be mine. And I want it back.”

Tess straightened, her gaze fixed directly on her sister.

“Have you lost your mind? Do you really expect me to rise now and walk away from the husband I love? Because of a sister for whom, at best, I feel nothing?”

“Well then, my dear, you will have to.”

“Because you would hurt me? You think I fear you that much?”

“Oh, not at all! Why would I hurt you?” Viktoria smiled faintly. “I never hurt anyone. It is only that… unfortunate accidents sometimes occur.”

“I am not afraid of you.”

“You need not be!” Viktoria answered smoothly. “I merely say that… if you stayed here, something might happen to Aiden. A fall down the stairs, perhaps. Who knows?”

Tess was not breathing then.

“But you want him,” she said slowly. “Why would you harm him?”

“Because he is such an idiot that while you remain, I probably will not have much of a chance. And be certain of this, my dear. I will not leave him to you.”

“Ah. The good old truth. If you cannot have him, no one can?”

“Exactly!”

“And did it occur to you that if I were widowed, everything he owns would remain mine?”

“But you would not have him,” Viktoria replied coolly. “And we both know that he is all you truly want. You are not capable of valuing power and money.”

Something dark rose in Tess’s chest. Not anger. Not defiance. Only the cold realization that she sat before someone willing to go as far as necessary.

“You will simply leave our house. That is all,” Tess said firmly.

Viktoria smiled softly and brushed her skirt.

“And do you believe I need to be here for something to happen to him?” Her voice was soft, but its tone seemed to freeze the air around her.

“You see, some people are very grateful when a debt is forgiven. Or when they are paid for silence. Or for a small service. You would be amazed how easy such people are to find. Within this house, and beyond it. Any tea would do, perhaps. Or wine with a small touch of henbane or thorn-apple. Or a single wagon wheel with a weakened axle. Do you know how quickly it breaks when descending a hill?”

Tess’s throat went dry. Not from horror. From understanding. This was not made up. It was not a game. Viktoria meant all of it deadly seriously. With the emphasis on deadly.

“You are mad,” Tess managed at last. “Do you truly believe that if I pack my things and leave without a word, Aiden will merely shrug and choose you instead? That he will return home, find me gone, and go to you? Aiden is not a thing one takes by pointing at it,” Tess said quietly.

“No,” Viktoria agreed. “But he is a man. And men can be manipulated. Even the strongest. Sometimes especially the strongest. Had you not been ill, you would long ago have learned what our beauty grants us, and how many doors it opens.”

She rose, smoothed her skirt, smoothed the waist of her dress, and walked to the door. At the threshold she turned once more.

“Think on it, little sister. A man like that would be a shame to waste. And I would take perfect care of him for you. Get out, and within days he will be in my bed. I look like you. And I can be very convincing. He would not have a chance of resisting.”

The door closed behind her.

Tess remained seated, surrounded by silence that suddenly felt far too vast for one room.