Chapter 334: Out of the way (2)
"Sometimes you make me understand why mother doesn’t want us to use weapons. You would give her an awful fright if she heard that we are using live targets. I like my gun just as much as you do, but I will not have such targets," Penelope said, horrified by the thought of it.
"Then you will miss out on all the fun. You have the targets standing outside your gates. They stand on your land, so you are within your right to get rid of them as you see fit," Edgar said, tempted to do it for her.
"Whilst that is true, Tyrion and I are royalty. It won’t be good for him to attack his people. News of this would overshadow what Teo is doing in the palace. What needs to be done is to find the person sending them here. Tyrion thinks they are hired," Penelope shared.
"It is not unusual for the townspeople to protest, but they are quite bold to come right up to your gates. You don’t need to kill them. Give them a little scare," Edgar suggested.
’Your kind of scare would be to release dogs to see them run or to fire a gun in the air. It is best to do as you first suggested and let the town guards remove them. Which reminds me," Penelope said, thinking about Mark.
"When I was in the palace, I had the misfortune of meeting Mark from the court. He told me that he spoke with both you and mother about Warren. He also asked that if I knew of Warren’s whereabouts, I should tell him," said Penelope.
"Mark seems to be circling Kate these days," said Edgar.
Edgar found it to be amusing how much Mark spoke with Kate these days. Normally, Mark wasn’t of interest, but a little birdie spoke of seeing Mark with Kate. They were an odd pair.
"Is it because of Warren’s disappearance?" Penelope asked, curious about how many were searching for him.
"That is part of it. Some of it is because the murders resemble what her late ex-husband used to do. Don’t worry yourself about Mark," Edgar assured Penelope. "He is a little fly who bothers you from time to time, but he is harmless."
"How do you know what he speaks of with Kate? You are not close to either one of them unless that has changed since I left," Penelope said, puzzled by how her father worked.
"I will never be close to Kate or Mark. It would be a good day for me if those two held hands and disappeared from this kingdom. You don’t need to speak with Mark if you don’t want to," Edgar said, but he expected Mark to be persistent.
"Why do you two hate each other again?" Penelope questioned, wishing to hear more about the story. "Mother is not here for you to keep pieces of the story from me."
"Mark spoke, his voice was agitating, and he had a smug expression that bothered me. I hated him from the moment he stopped me to speak of something I can no longer remember," Edgar recounted the story.
"That, and he once tried to court your mother. She told me about Mark trying to court her to get under your skin, but she wasn’t going to accept him. Priscilla doesn’t want anyone tied to the court," Penelope explained.
"She still has you referring to her as Priscilla instead of grandmother," Edgar chuckled.
"Grandmother makes her sound old. One day, when we have children and they call her great-grandmother by accident, I fear she might faint," Penelope said, worried about Priscilla’s poor heart.
"Hmm."
"Father," Penelope playfully tapped Edgar’s hand. "You mustn’t see the joy in it. She truly would faint if she were called great-grandmother, so she will always be Priscilla. I am glad that you two are close. I adore her."
Penelope wished to give Edmund a chance since she might share some of the moments she had with Priscilla with Edmund.
"She narrowly avoided death for what she did," Edgar said, sometimes amazed that he welcomed her back.
"So, a second chance is worth it," Penelope concluded.
"Don’t try to be wise with me. A second chance doesn’t work for anyone. Don’t try to fix any relationships I have with anyone," Edgar warned Penelope.
"I wouldn’t do that to you because I wouldn’t want it done to me. If anyone you dislike stands before you and says that I sent them, it will always be a lie. I wouldn’t do it to my mother either. Has she heard from the others? My aunt and uncle, I mean," Penelope clarified.
Had anyone apologised for what they did, or were they going to go after the mines?
"No, she hasn’t," Edgar replied, not in the mood to speak of the others.
"I see. How unfortunate," Penelope said, but she wasn’t surprised. "There were plenty we missed growing up, like how our cousins always pleaded to have the jewels you gave us. Or, how Aunt Claire would make us feel bad that her children couldn’t wear the same clothing."
"I do have many fond memories I will cherish, but there are little things I am noticing that bother me. I have received some letters from my cousins. They aren’t asking about the mines, but rather help with the season," Penelope said, annoyed they glossed over other things.
"It is up to you to decide if you want to help them. You did grow up together when you visited your aunt and grandmother’s home," said Edgar.
"Our family is in an awful state, and they think I would have time to parade them around the town. I will not make the same mistake my mother did. I will not push them into circles just for them to betray me later. As you said, not everyone deserves a second chance," Penelope said.
"No, they don’t," Edgar said, smiling due to Penelope showing how wise she was. "You didn’t give away any of the necklaces or bracelets I gifted you, right?"
"No," Penelope shook her head. "We would never give away your gifts. They were precious to us. Now that you mention it, it was never really Claire. It was Luke trying to guilt us for having nice things. Aunt Claire needs to stop following him."
"The blind will continue to lead the blind. All you need to do is leave them be. Luke is going to the Cromwells to speak about the mines, but nothing will come from it. They don’t like outsiders," Edgar said, wishing he could be present.
Edgar would pay plenty to see Luke be sent away from the Cromwells.
"He has always thought of himself as grandmother’s true son. I think he would try to convince them he is a Cromwell at heart. Is it too late to leave to see him be turned away?" Penelope said, a smile with hidden cruel intentions starting to form.