Chapter 118 Is Clio Forcing Cressida to Marry?
A long silence.
Brynn slowly opened her tear-filled eyes and looked around.
She was still in the sedan chair, not taken away by ghosts.
But just then, a hand lifted the curtain.
Cressida's striking, heroic face appeared.
"Brynn, you're finally willing to tell the truth."
Brynn collapsed down, her whole body going limp, her face turning even paler.
Cressida had Verity bring Brynn out.
Once outside, with the July summer breeze blowing, Brynn could see clearly.
Her maid and the sedan chair carriers were all held down by a group of guards nearby, their mouths stuffed with rags.
As for the so-called ghost, it was just Emma pinching her voice to shout—it couldn't fool others, but it scared the guilty Brynn half to death.
Things had come to this point. Brynn knew she couldn't hide it anymore and broke down crying.
"Cressida, I'm begging you, please let me go. I really wasn't the one who attacked Mabel."
"You saw Michael coming out of Mabel's room, didn't you?"
Brynn trembled at the question, slowly nodded, her crying helpless.
That day, she also had an upset stomach. After getting up to use the bathroom at night, she was heading back to her room.
But unexpectedly, in the not-quite-bright dawn light, she saw a familiar figure coming out of Mabel's room.
Though there was some distance between them, she recognized Michael's face at a glance.
She saw him holding something in his arms, sneaking around, then turning toward the back mountain.
Brynn wiped her tears: "I thought nothing serious would happen, but I didn't expect to hear that morning that Mabel had been attacked."
"It was Michael who attacked Mabel, why didn't you say so then!" Cressida's sharp rebuke made Brynn flinch.
Brynn looked at Cressida fearfully: "I didn't dare. If I had said something, your mother wouldn't have let me go. And Michael dared to kill even Mabel—I, I was really scared."
Cressida stared at her, a sea of anger churning in her heart.
She had tried several times to get Mabel to get rid of the troublesome Michael, but Mabel always pitied him for becoming simple-minded.
Mabel thought that caring for him would awaken his conscience. The facts proved that people who are rotten to begin with will never turn over a new leaf.
Cressida felt she had been too soft-hearted. When Michael became simple-minded, she hadn't finished him off.
In fact, he should have died long ago!
She grabbed Brynn's wrist: "Brynn, I need you to cooperate with me and identify Michael."
Brynn trembled and shook her head frantically: "No, no! Cressida, I really don't dare!"
Brynn and her family had no status or power. They had relied entirely on Clio before. Now asking Brynn to identify Michael—Brynn didn't dare no matter what.
Cressida's voice turned cold: "If you don't dare, I can only send you to the authorities. The officials have their methods—they'll make you spit out everything you know, every last detail."
Brynn had been to the authorities before and naturally knew what that was like.
Hearing this, she cried even harder, kneeling on the ground, clutching at Cressida's sleeve.
"Cressida, I'll listen to you, I'll do whatever you say!"
Even if it meant death, she couldn't go back to that kind of place.
The next day.
Cressida cut off all financial support to Clio and Rose, using account auditing as the reason.
Clio didn't come herself but sent Nanny to question Cressida about the reason.
However, when Nanny saw Cressida, her legs went a bit weak.
"Ms. Hamilton, why did you cut off the financial support to our courtyard?" Nanny's voice was faint, asking very carefully.
"I looked at the accounts from when my mother was managing the household, and some things aren't clear. Once I've sorted it out, I'll restore the financial support to your courtyard."
Nanny was about to say more, but saw Cressida staring at her, that cool face showing no hint of a smile.
The sense of pressure was overwhelming.
Nanny quickly excused herself. After returning, she relayed these words exactly to Clio.
Clio was so angry she slammed the table: "How outrageous! This bastard child, trying to control me—isn't she afraid of divine punishment?"
Rose said: "Cressida is deliberately making things difficult for us."
Hearing this, Michael gritted his teeth.
"I really wish I could kill her right now!"
Cressida actually dared to trick me into eating ants and had several servants mock me.
If I didn't still want to hide my physical condition to avoid being suspected of being connected to Mabel's injury, I would have already made a move against Cressida!
Clio pondered: "It seems we can't wait any longer. We need to bring Wilder Louis here soon and marry her off."
A few days later.
Patrick summoned Cressida to the main hall.
When Cressida arrived, she found almost everyone was there.
Brynn kept her head down. Beside Reid stood the two sons he had with his mistress, both looking honest and dutiful.
There was another person in the hall—a man dressed plainly who looked very gentle.
When Cressida appeared, his gaze turned toward her with deliberately eager warmth.
"Cressida, this is Mr. Wilder Louis," Patrick said.
Cressida raised an eyebrow: "Where does our distinguished guest come from?"
Clio immediately said: "Wilder is my distant relative. He came to Emerald City and stopped by to visit me, planning to stay for a few days."
"As it happens, Wilder is very learned and can tutor Reid's two sons. We've invited Wilder to stay temporarily at the estate. Cressida, what do you think?"
Cressida sneered: "Mother, you're asking the wrong person, aren't you? Since you're finding a tutor for Reid's two sons, why ask me?"
Patrick explained: "You're managing the household now, so we're letting you know to avoid any confusion."
Cressida looked toward Wilder. Behind him stood Mira, who had been sizing up Cressida from the moment she appeared.
Mira's gaze was disgusting.
Cressida's tone was calm: "If you're really asking my opinion, then I think it's inappropriate."
The smile on Clio's lips stiffened: "Why? Wilder is a rare intelligent person. Having him teach would be good for the children. Besides, he's modest and kind, and as a distant relative, he has a connection to the estate."
A connection? Cressida scoffed inwardly.
She looked up, staring directly at Patrick: "Father, my two cousins' education is already being handled by teachers employed by the Hamilton family. Why would we need an outsider to teach them?"
Cressida paused, her gaze coldly sweeping over Wilder: "Moreover, Wilder is only a distant relative, not an old friend. Having him stay at the estate so suddenly seems inappropriate."
Clio secretly clenched her handkerchief.
Wilder smiled slightly and bowed: "Ms. Hamilton, you're overthinking this. I'm simply doing a small favor at Mrs. Hamilton's request, with absolutely no other intentions."
Cressida didn't engage in pleasantries with Wilder.
She said directly: "Father, there's a lot going on at the estate recently. Mabel's case hasn't been solved yet. Having an outsider enter the household at this time will only add to the trouble."
Patrick saw that Cressida's attitude was firm and exchanged a glance with Clio.
Finally, Patrick said: "How about this—he's a guest, so let him stay for a few days. As for the tutoring matter, we'll discuss it later."
With that, it was settled.
Cressida said nothing more and turned to leave.
Wilder was still arranged to stay in Reid's courtyard.
As soon as the door closed, Mira, who was serving him, said: "Mr. Louis, I see that Ms. Hamilton speaks harshly and has a bad temper. She's so thin too. If you marry her as your wife, she may not be able to manage your household well. I heard she came back from a military fortress—I'm afraid she'll have trouble bearing children for you. You should think this through carefully."
Wilder set down his luggage and said: "Mira, what are you thinking? This is General Hamilton's sister. If I can marry her, my future success is just around the corner."
"The marriage may not go so smoothly."
"It will definitely go smoothly. Mrs. Hamilton promised me that she would prefer me to have a relationship with Cressida first, rather than not allowing us to get married."
Wilder was very confident in how to seduce a woman. In the past, when he was at his home, he had secretly slept with many of the maids.
Besides, he heard that Cressida had been at a military fortress and probably had never experienced being loved by a man.
He believed that once he made his move, Cressida would definitely be willing and obediently marry him.