Warren stared at the hand Alia held out to him. He laughed, knowing she would wipe her hands the second he touched them.
While Warren would soon need money to start paying back his debt, he wouldn’t get it like this. He wouldn’t allow Alia to look down on him.
"Find soone else to help you tear them down. You’re already off to a good start with the rumours you’re putting out," Warren said, turning his back on Alia.
Warren needed his father to return with the last of the supplies he needed so he could finish up the job.
The pay for this work would be little compared to what he needed to pay back, but it would be a start.
Alia wanted to kick Warren. "You’re a foolish man. I am offering you money you couldn’t get in one day, no matter how hard you worked. You should take it and use this chance to avenge your mother."
"I understand the choices your mother made to remain the centre of her father’s attention," said Alia.
Alia had an older brother who was the pride and joy of the family simply for wielding a penis. There were many days when Alia wished sothing would happen to her brother so he would no longer be breathing or he could not move, so he would be useless to her father.
The things Warren’s mother did were cruel, but Alia understood them. It was hard for a woman to survive here in Lockwood, so they needed to do what they could to get ahead of others.
"You’ll never understand your mother like I do. I think that she has already paid the price by marrying the Marquess and then losing her mother. The Collins have never been punished for the things they do. If you were my son, I would be disappointed," said Alia.
Alia hoped to never end up like Kate. To settle for a man who built hos and to have a useless son.
In Alia’s eyes, Kate did nothing wrong, but her mistake was not planning out her steps. Unlike how Kate lost to her half sister Alessandra, Alia was not going to lose to Penelope.
"It is good that I am not your son," Warren replied.
Alia looked around to see who was watching them. Anyone close was on her side. "I shall scream for help. It is like you said. A lady like shouldn’t be around a man like you with only my maids. I control things here," she said, stepping toward Warren.
It would only take one little accusation to have Warren held captive, and the town guards coming to take him away.
Warren stood up. He guessed Alia was evil, but he didn’t know that she could be this evil. "What are you doing?"
Alia smiled. "Getting what I want. I am tired of trying to play nice to get you to agree. One scream and I can make it hard for you to show your face in town. My father can get the court to hang you. I suggest that you start agreeing to my plans."
Warren didn’t want to test if Alia would be so crazy as to accuse him of sothing so heinous.
"It is tiring to play nice. I have to do it with my peers, but they co from families who can afford my kindness. You, on the other hand," Alia said as she walked around Warren. "You are a servant that I can use to my liking."
Alia liked how Warren glared at her like she had said sothing wrong. "What? Did I say sothing wrong? Your mother is no longer the daughter of the baron, her late husband lost his title after his cris, and you have very few ties to the duchess. She is your mother’s half sister."
"You are a servant," Alia spoke slowly so Warren understood his place. "You should know your place. Perhaps living in that big ho has confused you. I am curious how much more money you have left before that ho slips out of your hand."
Alia couldn’t imagine that Kate still had so much money to her na after all these years had passed.
"Be a smart little boy and make your mother proud. Will you listen, or must I scream that the worker who had his eyes on from the mont he arrived touched inappropriately?" Alia asked, pulling off a ribbon from her dress to show her determination.
Warren looked at the maids who kept their heads down.
"They will not speak," Alia chuckled. "Not unless they don’t ever want to find work in this town, and my father has his ways to keep them well-behaved. Ti is ticking down," she said, noticing Noah returning in the distance.
"You are an evil woman," said Warren.
"I am no different from your mother, who you said was not innocent, but I can help you have the town forget what was said in those court docunts. Your cousin stands in my way, and I shall use you to help break her down. Agreed?" Alia asked, offering her hand to Warren again.
Warren was still reluctant to make a deal with her, but he had no power to fight against any claims she would make that he touched her inappropriately.
Before he shook her hand, Warren said, "You must pay for what I say."
"I am a woman of my word. I will pay you handsoly if you do well. So," she said, needing him to act sooner.
Warren knew this would co back to bite him, but he shook Alia’s hand to get her away from him for now.
It would not always be like this where she could make threats and he would have to listen. The tables would turn one day for him to be ordering her around.
"My maids have witnessed everything that happened here. If you so foolishly try to stab in the back, then I shall have them speak of how distraught I have been after what you did. Be wise," Alia advised Warren.
Alia left Warren’s side and started to inspect the work he had done just as Noah returned.
"Can I help you, Miss Prescott?" Noah asked.
"I was only looking. I wanted to see what it looked like before you got ready to finish up. You’ve done a good job with this. There are other parts of our ho in need of fixing. I shall put in a good word for you," said Alia.
"That is kind of you," Noah said, going to stand between Alia and Warren. "If you would please excuse us, we have work to finish up."
"I have seen enough," Alia said, leaving the two so they could work.
Suddenly, the day felt much better for
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