Chapter 12: The Warning in the Ballroom
1474 Words
Elise did not confront Maren directly.
She knew better than that.
Instead, she waited until Helena was occupied with several elderly guests, then moved closer to Mrs. Beaumont near the edge of the ballroom.
Her voice was soft enough to sound reluctant.
“There are so many valuable things here.”
Mrs. Beaumont followed her gaze toward the antique cabinets, oil portraits, and silver pieces displayed throughout Ravenscroft Estate.
“Elise.”
“I’m not trying to cause trouble.” Elise twisted her fingers together. “I’m worried about Maren.”
“Why?”
Elise hesitated with practiced precision.
“She didn’t grow up around places like this. Everything happened so quickly—the marriage, the clothes, all of it.”
Mrs. Beaumont’s expression tightened.
Elise lowered her eyes.
“If something went missing, even by accident, people would remember what happened with my necklace. They might blame her again.”
The implication settled exactly where Elise wanted it to.
Mrs. Beaumont looked across the room.
Maren stood beside Helena, listening as the older woman spoke. Lucian remained nearby, his presence quiet but unmistakable.
“She had better not embarrass us,” Mrs. Beaumont said.
Elise touched her arm.
“I’m sure she won’t. Maybe you should just remind her to be careful.”
Mrs. Beaumont nodded.
Elise hid the satisfaction behind a worried smile.
Across the ballroom, Helena held Maren’s hand between both of hers.
“You look less frightened than the last time I saw you,” Helena said.
Maren smiled carefully.
“I was trying very hard not to look frightened then.”
“You failed.”
“That is unfortunate.”
Helena laughed.
Lucian stood close enough to hear them.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He ignored it.
Helena noticed.
“So,” she said, “how is married life?”
Maren glanced at Lucian.
The safest answer would have been something polished and meaningless.
She chose something close to the truth.
“Lucian has been considerate.”
His gaze shifted to her.
“The house is beginning to feel less unfamiliar,” she added.
Helena studied her face.
Maren had not said happy.
She had not said romantic.
But she had not sounded trapped either.
“That is a start,” Helena said.
One of the guests beside them asked to see photographs from Maren’s recent work.
Maren reached for her phone.
The screen lit.
Their shared photograph appeared.
Helena’s eyes sharpened with immediate interest.
“Oh?”
Maren nearly dropped the phone.
“It’s just—”
“A very good picture.”
Helena took the device before Maren could hide it.
In the image, Maren smiled into the camera while Lucian stood just behind her. He was not smiling, but the distance between them was intimate enough to suggest comfort.
Helena looked at Lucian.
“Your phone.”
Lucian did not move.
“Grandmother.”
“Your phone.”
Maren kept her expression neutral.
Inside, she was celebrating the flawless execution of her plan.
Lucian removed the phone from his pocket and handed it over.
Helena pressed the side button.
The same photograph appeared.
Her smile deepened.
“A shared photograph is a start.”
Maren nodded solemnly.
“We believe in practical progress.”
Lucian looked at her.
She gave him an innocent smile.
Helena returned both phones.
Before she could say more, Mrs. Beaumont approached.
“Maren, may I speak with you?”
There was nothing warm in her tone.
Maren’s pleasant mood cooled.
“Of course.”
Mrs. Beaumont led her several steps away, though not nearly far enough to create privacy.
Nearby conversations quieted almost imperceptibly.
“You are representing two families tonight,” Mrs. Beaumont said in a low voice.
Maren waited.
“You need to behave appropriately.”
“I have been.”
“This is not the kind of place where you can be careless.”
Maren looked around the ballroom.
“What kind of carelessness are you expecting?”
Her mother’s mouth tightened.
“Do not be difficult.”
“I’m asking a question.”
“There are valuable objects everywhere. You should keep your hands to yourself and avoid any misunderstanding.”
Maren stared at her.
The warning had been phrased carefully.
Its meaning had not.
“What exactly are you warning me not to do?”
Mrs. Beaumont lowered her voice further.
“You know what happened before.”
“No. Say it.”
Several nearby guests had stopped pretending not to listen.
Mrs. Beaumont noticed and became visibly uncomfortable.
“This is neither the time nor the place.”
“You brought it up.”
“I am trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Maren.”
“Are you referring to the necklace Elise placed in my bag?”
The question carried farther than her mother intended.
Conversation around them thinned.
Helena turned.
Lucian’s attention moved from the man speaking to him and settled immediately on Maren.
Mrs. Beaumont’s face changed.
“Keep your voice down.”
“Why?”
“This is a family matter.”
“You just warned me in front of half the ballroom that I might steal something.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You were careful not to use the word.”
Elise approached with Theo and Mr. Beaumont close behind.
“What happened?” she asked.
Maren looked at her.
“You know exactly what happened.”
Elise’s expression became wounded.
“I don’t.”
Helena reached them.
“What is this about?”
Mrs. Beaumont forced a smile.
“Nothing serious. An old family misunderstanding.”
Maren answered before she could continue.
“Elise accused me of stealing a diamond necklace.”
Helena’s expression cooled.
Mrs. Beaumont looked at Maren with open anger.
“There was no need to discuss this tonight.”
“You decided there was when you implied I might steal from this house.”
“I was warning you to be careful.”
“Because you still believe I am a thief.”
Lucian came to stand beside Maren.
He did not touch her.
He did not need to.
His presence altered the balance of the entire group.
Helena looked at Maren.
“Tell me what happened.”
Mr. Beaumont stepped forward.
“Mrs. Ravenscroft, this was resolved months ago.”
“Then it should be easy to explain,” Helena said.
Maren kept her voice calm.
“Elise said one of her necklaces had disappeared. It was later found inside my handbag.”
Theo folded his arms.
“Because you took it.”
Maren looked at him.
“No one saw me touch it.”
“It was in your bag.”
“That is not the same thing.”
She turned back to Helena.
“The bag had been left in a sitting room at Skyline House. My parents never checked the security recordings. Theo forced me to apologize. When I refused, Elise informed my employer. I lost my job.”
A murmur passed through the guests nearest them.
Elise’s eyes filled.
“I never wanted you to lose your job.”
“You contacted the company.”
“I was upset.”
“You were deliberate.”
Mrs. Beaumont stepped between them.
“The necklace was found in Maren’s possession.”
“In her handbag,” one guest said quietly. “That does not prove she put it there.”
Theo turned toward the speaker.
“We know Elise.”
Maren gave a short, humorless smile.
“That has always been the entire argument.”
Mrs. Beaumont’s voice sharpened.
“Elise was raised properly. She would never invent something like this.”
“And I would?”
“You had lived without much before you came home.”
The words fell into the space between them.
Several guests looked away in discomfort.
Maren held her mother’s gaze.
“So poverty was your evidence.”
“That is not what I said.”
“It is exactly what you said.”
Mr. Beaumont intervened.
“This discussion ends now.”
Helena turned to him.
“Was the security footage reviewed?”
He hesitated.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Mrs. Beaumont answered.
“There was no reason. We trusted Elise.”
Helena’s expression became still.
“You trusted one daughter, so you saw no need to investigate before condemning the other.”
“Elise is not capable of such cruelty.”
Maren looked at Helena.
“That was their conclusion.”
Helena’s gaze moved over the Beaumont family one by one.
“You allowed an unverified accusation to cost Maren her employment.”
“It was an internal family matter,” Mr. Beaumont said.
Lucian spoke for the first time.
“If you intend to accuse my wife, you will provide proof.”
- Writer
