Chapter 7
Traditionally, a bride returns to her family three days after the wedding. But Riley couldn’t wait–she rushed back to the Donovan estate with the Count the very next morning, all for the sake of the dowry.
She went straight to the main courtyard to see Vivian. When she saw the storeroom and the chests prepared for her, she burst into tears. “Why did my sister get 120 chests while I only have half?”
Vivian gave her a bitter smile. “I had planned for you to take her dowry, but she took it back. Now I can only prepare this much for you.”
Riley cried out, “Father earned countless military honors and rewards! Who would believe we can’t afford a hundred chests of dowry?”
“And Rowena got all that money from the Count yesterday–why didn’t she give it to you? You’re the mistress of the house, aren’t you?”
My father and I entered just in time to hear it. I smiled. “How pitiful. Mother is no longer in charge–I am.”
“As for that money, I’ve donated it in the name of the Donovans to the victims of the snow disaster at the border. It’s probably already been turned into coats and grain by now.”
Riley fumed. “How could you waste money like that? That was the Count’s money!”
I looked her in the eye. “It was my money. I can spend it however I please. And frankly, giving it to those in need is better than having it wasted on you.”
Riley stomped her foot. “Father, are you really just going to let her bully me like this? Even my dowry is so meager–how can I show my face in the Kingsley estate?”
My father frowned. “Do you think your husband married you for your wealth? If you can’t show your face in that house without a dowry. If so, you may as well come home now. We can still feed you here.”
Riley’s eyes reddened and she said pitifully, “I’m already carrying the Count’s child. How could I possibly return home now? Father, how cruel can you
be?”
My father was done with her. “Your mother’s original dowry was only a few chests. The dozens you have now were funded from this household’s coffers. Your sister didn’t touch a single coin from the estate. And yet you accuse me of favoritism? If anyone favored you, it was your mother.”
With no other choice, Riley had the few dozen chests carried out and returned to the Kingsley estate.
The Kingsley estate was full of people who knew how to flatter the powerful and trample the weak. The moment they learned the new Countess was a substitute bride, pregnant before marriage, and had stolen her sister’s engagement–they looked down on her. And when she left with all the dowry only to bring back a mere fraction the next day, rumors exploded.
“Did you hear? The Countess’s dowry was taken by her sister on the wedding day. She only brought back forty chests today.”
“I heard she was just a stand–in. All that dowry was meant for Miss Rowena.”
“What was the count thinking? He could’ve married Rowena but chose the mistress’s daughter instead. And that mistress was just a poor knight’s daughter–how could she raise a proper lady?”
“She’s running the estate now? Who knows if she’ll start skimming our wages.”
“I bet she will.”
-people smiled to her face, but watched her every move.
Soon, the whole household was whispering behind Riley’s back. She was the only one unaware-
Newly married, Benjamin naturally doted on her. He took her out every day, indulging her whims. People said the Count adored his wife, and with a child
on the way, she was more smug than ever.
Before long, she was put in charge of the estate’s finances. When she received the ledgers and the storeroom keys, and saw the trove of gold and jewels, she couldn’t stop smiling. The fortune of a lifetime was now hers to command.
She immediately changed all the estate rules. Her daily meals had to include seafood and a serving of Cygnus Sanguis–swan’s blood.
“It’s for the baby,” she said, gazing at her bright red nails. “They say it’s good for the child.”
“And since no other woman in the estate is pregnant, stop wasting expensive ingredients on them. Save the money.”
“From now on, no one’s daily meals may exceed two silver coins. If it does, I’ll deduct it from your wages.”
The stewards and servants dared not speak out. They could only nod and obey.
The Kingsley estate quickly fell into turmoil. Complaints echoed throughout the household–until one day, the Count’s younger brother cornered him in the study.
Chapter 7
6.09%
DramaBox
“Brother,
sister–in–law has
cut
the budget for
every wing of the house. Even my mother’s medicine
is no longer
being
funded. Are
Only then did Benjamin realize how bad things had become. Furious,
he rushed
home to
confront Riley.
F
we going
6.09%
