Dangerous Love: You Are My One and Only Bride novel Chapter 1559

Shelly, gleaming the subdued aggravation in Mark’s eyes, decided to stop. “Alright, alright. Go ahead. Brian’s gone home, hasn’t he? Be careful while driving, okay?”

She looked out of the window and watched Mark’s car vanish into the distance, the softness in her mien gradually receding. Finally, she summoned Mary to her.

The housekeeper balked at any interaction with her, so she made no attempt at hiding her irritation. “What is it, Mrs. Leigh? I’m in the middle of cleaning duty.”

Shelly sized Mary up before exposing her guise with a deadpan expression. “Please, you’re just looking for a way out of talking to me, aren’t you? All you do all day is take care of Smore for a while; you’re not even required to do much actual housekeeping. But of course, that is neither here nor there. I just wanna ask you something, so why don’t you take a seat?”

Mary reacted by straightening her back and standing tall. “No, I’m not gonna,” she declared in a steely tone. “I’m just a lowly worker who has no right to sit next to her mistress. Now, if you have anything to say, Mrs. Leigh, make it quick.”

Shelly did not care much for Mary’s attitude. “Fine by me. Gotta’ admit, Arianne is plenty amazing at charming people, isn’t she? All these years living off the Tremonts gave her ample opportunities to ingratiate on everyone here, huh? She’s pretty successful, too, judging from how willing you and that butler are to leap to her side. She must have showered you two a lot of favors, I presume? How else would a mere orphan, living at the mercy of someone else, managed to command so much of your reverence, huh?” she sneered. “But back to the question. What’s the tie between Alejandro and the illegitimate son of the previous Tremont patriarch, hmm? You must know, don’t you?”

One of the things that always ruffled Mary’s feathers was hearing other people bad-mouthing Arianne. Right on cue, her spleen flared and rose into her pate. “Can you stop mouthing off nasty malarkey about Madam already? Everything was all sunshine and blue sky until you came along kicking up all kinda hoo-ha!” she snapped. “Ingratiation? Giving favors? Poppycock! What humble folks like me know is treating each other kindly just as you want others to treat you, and that good people don’t build genuine connection outta’ prices! And why are you asking about the Tremonts’ bastard son, huh? What in the name of the Lord does it have anything to do with you? You’re Mr. Tremont’s aunt from his mother’s side, for Pete’s sake; you’re not even a member of the Tremonts!”

Shelly turned a deaf ear to everything that did not match what she was looking for and asked again, “Just answer the damn question, Mary. Is Alejandro Smith the Tremont bastard or not? And before you run off your mouth, you’ll do well to remember that my sister died because of that bastard and his shameless, homewrecking mother. You think I, as her surviving family, have no right to know about him?”

Mary had had enough of Shelly for a long time. Seeing how the latter was obsessing over Alejandro, Mary remembered that the man himself was no saint, and the thought of using one poison to fight another rose into her.