The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

Eloise sat down, watching as Jane tried on her dresses. She noticed how Jane slowly warmed up to Beatrice and wasn’t so guarded.

"All she needed was a little attention," Eloise realised.

Though Jane tried to act far older than she was, she was still a child and needed to be treated as one. So, for a few hours, Eloise gave Jane all her attention.

"I apologise for overworking you, Beatrice," Eloise said when the dress fitting came to an end.

"You didn’t overwork me, Lady Hawthorne. I enjoyed seeing both of you try on the dresses, and it gives me work to do all day. This was fun for me," Beatrice said as she packed up the dresses. "I will mend them to fit both of you and send what is done in the morning."

"You may take your time with mine. The most important dress will be the one for the ball. You may focus on Jane’s dresses," said Eloise.

"I have plenty of dresses I have not worn yet, so please give all your attention to the dress for the ball. Do not forget what we have discussed," Jane said, wanting the dress to be perfect.

"What did you two discuss?" Eloise asked, looking back and forth between the two ladies. What had she missed?

"It wasn’t for your ears to hear now, but you will know in time. What are we to do now?" Jane questioned, trying to distract Eloise.

"Now? I thought you would want to retire to your bedchamber," Eloise replied.

"Oh."

"If it is that you want to continue spending time together, I do not mind. Your brother is busy, and I won’t have any more visitors for the day. Perhaps you could tell me the stories you have heard about the palace, and who I should avoid," Eloise requested.

"Well, I have plenty of stories to share. My friends and I have always listened to gossip about the balls. I know of a few ladies you should avoid, but do you know who would be best at sharing gossip?" Jane asked, staring at Beatrice.

"Me?" Beatrice pointed to herself.

"Yes," Jane nodded. "Dressmakers know all the gossip. When ladies enter your shop, they speak of what they heard. I have long noticed that dress shops have all the best gossip."

"I am sorry to disappoint you both, but my shop is quite small. There are no ladies who can share gossip about the palace, only about the other common folk. If you need gossip, I can ask around," Beatrice offered.

"No, it is not needed. I don’t want to take up more of your time and pull you into my troubles. Do you need help putting away the dresses?" Eloise asked, trying to end the topic.

"No, your maids are more than enough. If you wish to leave, you may. Thank you for trusting me," Beatrice said with a curtsey.

"Then, we shall take our leave. Hannah," Eloise addressed her maid. "Please see to it that Beatrice gets all the help she needs and send her off on my behalf. I look forward to seeing you again, Beatrice."

"As do I, Lady Hawthorne," Beatrice replied.

Eloise walked out of the room with Jane right beside her.

"I noticed you took a liking to Beatrice," Eloise said, starting a conversation. "Do you approve of her dresses?"

"I do. She surpassed my expectations. Her work has made me realise that I have not been properly looking around the town. It would be quite impressive to wear the work of a dressmaker no one knows and make her popular. No one can deny that you went to her first," said Jane.

"Truthfully, I don’t care about those little details," said Eloise.

"You must! This is your life now. You are Lady Hawthorne, so all these details matter."

"I know that my life has changed, but I have never been one to be so concerned about starting trends. I know that I am to dress up and look my best, but anything beyond that doesn’t capture my interest. It is only important to ladies like you," Eloise explained.

Jane was disappointed, but she didn’t push the matter. "Then, what would you like to focus on?"

"Being a good wife and focusing on the family. I would also like to have friends here in town, so my days are not boring. I do enjoy dresses, but I do not like them as you do, to concern myself about others going to Beatrice," Eloise said.

"I understand, but I also know that in time, this opinion will change. You might find yourself competing with other ladies. Sometimes, I do it without realising it. If you can stay as you are now without changing, then I will be amazed," Jane said, deciding to keep watch.

"If I ever slowly start to change, I hope I can count on you to point it out, so I may stay true to myself. I don’t want to get too caught up in what other ladies do and lose myself. Can you promise me to point it out?" Eloise asked, offering her hand to Jane.

"Well, I am not good at keeping my thoughts to myself, so I will point it out for you. Must we shake hands?" Jane asked, staring at Eloise’s hand.

"We don’t need to if you don’t like it," Eloise said, starting to lower her hand.

"No!" Jane exclaimed, grabbing Eloise’s hand before she placed it at her side. "I can shake your hand. I do not want you to speak of this to Damien."

"Why would I go to your brother about you not shaking my hand? I don’t inform him of little things." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Then how does he know all that occurred between us?" Jane asked, suspecting Eloise was lying.

"If your brother asks me about our interactions, then I will speak the truth. I don’t want to lie to him, but if it is not a matter that requires his attention, I will keep it to myself and fix the matter alone. That doesn’t mean you should trouble me when we are alone," Eloise warned Jane.

"I will turn to your brother if I need help, or handle the matter alone. Do you think I cannot punish you?" Eloise asked, noticing Jane’s smile. "I can make it so you do not have ladies in the estate, or limit the dresses you have made. It might be embarrassing for you to wear a dress more than once."

Jane stopped walking, watching as Eloise walked ahead. "You are evil."

"No, I will not let bad behaviour go unpunished," Eloise corrected Jane.