Ivy sat in a carriage with Scarlet and a man introduced as Scarlet’s guard. It had been quiet since they left the hotel and Ivy could not take the silence anymore. "Do you get along well with Ian? I hope he isn’t too much for you to handle. He used to be a quiet boy but there were tis he gave a lot of trouble."
"We get along well. He might be too talkative at tis and always wants to be near, but it doesn’t bother . His ways have brought out of my comfort space and let experience new things. If you could scold him when he speaks too much, that would be lovely," Scarlet replied.
Scarlet glanced at Ivy’s hand in her lap. She hadn’t stopped playing with her fingers since they sat down. "Did you co to first because you wanted my help to get close to Ian? If I were in his shoes and my mother suddenly ca back to town, I would not want to speak to her right away."
"I ca for your help to make him the next lord and yes, I wanted soone who would get him to speak to . Ian didn’t give any notice when he was going to run it. He just did it not caring how I would feel about my son going missing," Ivy said, looking out the window at the town. "I knew I wouldn’t find him so it was pointless to search."
Ivy continued, "Not long after he left I had been sent out of the estate. They might have only let stay there because Ian was present."
"Where have you been all these years?" Scarlet asked, curious as to how it was just so easy for Ivy to show up like she hadn’t gone far in the first place.
"I was kicked out but Hank gave a place to stay. It was a small ho the Kingsleys owned that he was giving to Ian for when he returned from where he ran off. I couldn’t return to my family as I had shad them enough by getting pregnant by a married man and with all the rumours going around, I couldn’t find more work as a maid. Will you judge for that?" Ivy inquired.
"No. You were to be given sothing as the mother of his son. You were to receive a lot more. The affair doesn’t change that you share a son with him. You should have taken this to the town court. They wouldn’t care about how you ca to be pregnant. They would have you and Ian taken care of," Scarlet said, once more seeing how people failed to use the court.
"I worried about Hank’s influence in the town-"
"And Ian’s chance of being his heir if you humiliated him by going to the court. We should be honest with each other," Scarlet said.
Ian was far over the age where he could marry and take care of himself. The court would have had Hank give money and maybe a ho if Hank had another for Ian to take care of himself. Ivy failed to do the right thing back then.
"Ian still got his money as Hank once ntioned to . Ian waited for when he was of age and went for it himself. Yes, I was trying not to anger Hank by being the one to do it. As long as I was in Hank’s good graces then there was a chance for Ian to return and be accepted by that family," Ivy admitted.
As long as she was in the middle, there was hope for Ian.
"My goal was to always get him to return to be the heir. I did what I could to have that happen and it might not have been the best decision but I was focused on getting even with Layla. She still blas for being the reason her son is sick. I hate her but I didn’t hate Victor. He was the only one to keep coming around us. He’s a sweet boy," Ivy said, touching the necklace she had from years ago.
She had been devastated to learn how sick Victor was but then hurt when she was accused of doing sothing to Victor. Unlike Layla, she had acknowledged Victor as Ian’s brother.
Scarlet kept Layla’s involvent in Victor’s health a secret since Ivy might reveal it to Layla to taunt her before Ian wanted it to happen. "We are here."
Ivy leaned forward to see what the business looked like. "Is this it? My son owns this?"
"He does," Scarlet answered, holding Dawson’s hand to step outside. "He has done well for himself so now you can understand why he doesn’t care for the title. I will let him tell you about the other businesses he has. Thank you," Scarlet thanked the man at the door.
"The lady boss has arrived," Scarlet heard Owen as soon as she walked in.
Scarlet’s attention went straight to Victor with a glass in his hands. "Didn’t Ian try to hit you the last ti you drank?"
"It is only water this ti. I have learned my lesson. Ivy?" Victor asked, surprised by the familiar face that walked through the doors. "Are you Ivy?"
Ivy smiled as Victor grew to be a handso man. "The little butterfly in the garden grew up. It is good to see you look so well."
"You. How are you here? Does Ian know?" Victor questioned Scarlet, worried about how this may go as Ian was already not in a good mood. "He went to his office for a mont-"
"What are you doing here?" Ian asked, looking behind Scarlet to his mother. He slowly walked by the bar to be seen. He was happy to see Scarlet but then his mother ca into his line of sight. "Why are the two of you together?"
Ian didn’t want Scarlet to be eting with his mother.
"Victor, I would love so water," Scarlet said, leaving Ivy’s side so she could be left out of the conversation.
"Not so fast," Ian said to Scarlet. She wasn’t free from his questioning yet. "Why are the two of you together and how long has this been happening?"
Ivy couldn’t speak at first as she was enjoying the sight of her son. He had grown far taller than she rembered him to be and his voice was different. "Well I," she paused, smoothing out her dress. "I went to her to see who you were courting-"
"What gives you the right to do that?" Ian asked, not caring for her ddling. What gave her the right to show up and start acting like his mother?
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