“What are you doing here?!” Juliet snapped.

“Shouldn't I be posing the exact question to you?”

Juliet released what sounded like a tired breath. “Ethan cannot know you're here,” she began, turning Elaine around and ushering her back to the carriage. “You are in luck I saw you from my bedroom window.”

Elaine reached the foot of the carriage's stairs and halted in her tracks. Turning back around to face Juliet, she said, “I will leave, but you're coming with me.”

“Are you mad?” Juliet gritted her teeth, turning back briefly as if afraid of the fact that Ethan might find her talking to Elaine.

“Listen, you ungrateful child,” Elaine grabbed her wrist in fury; she was done trying to reason with her niece. There was no reasoning with Juliet! “I took you in when nobody else wanted you! I took care of you, and I found you a noble man to marry. But if you think you're going to ruin my life...”

“I'm trying to fix things!” Juliet protested, struggling against her hold on her wrist, but she was stronger. “Ethan still loves me. Give me a few more weeks...”

She laughed then —her silly niece! Did she honestly not know that she had but a week to appear in court?!

“Aunt Elaine, please. I know you're only interested in the manor, and I shall get it for you, but I cannot let that American take what's rightfully mine! A few more weeks is all I ask and Ethan is mine, so is the manor.”

“I let you run off once, Juliet... Heck, I helped you run off! But the aim of your escape was defeated the moment you went completely missing that even I, could no longer find you. When I allowed you get married to Ethan, my payment for taking care of you all these years was the manor. But you failed to deliver...”

“Aunt Elaine...”

“You claimed to know nothing of Ethan's refusal to pass ownership of his manor to your Uncle and me. Then, you suggested to me to help you run off. According to you, if Ethan thought you left him for his refusal to gift your family his manor, he wouldn't hesitate to do so.” Elaine let out an angry laugh. “But you, Juliet —my conniving, lying, little witch of a niece— had other plans; to disappear, even from your own family.” Elaine inched forward and gritted her teeth. “Get into the carriage right now or I swear to you, I will march into that building and tell Lord Williams everything.”

“And the child?”

“Silly girl,” she laughed at the look on Juliet's face. “For a second, you had me believing you genuinely care about the child.” The smile disappeared, giving way to a frown. “Get in!”

Both women traveled in silence. Juliet's face seemed to have been permanently dented with a frown as she sat with her hands folded in her lap.

She glanced out of the window just in time to see the grand manor come into view. She turned to Juliet then, her face taking on a surprised look as she turned to face Elaine.