The Agreement

Chapter 7

"She's not here Gentlemen," Elizabeth said as she came out onto the porch after hearing Osiris roaring.

"Where is she?" Victor asked curiously.

"Not here," Elizabeth said shaking her head.

"Can you tell us where she is?" Victor asked and Elizabeth shook her head.

"My Lady asked me to not tell anyone where she is. She likes her privacy."

"I understand that," Victor sighed, "But we really would like to get to know her."

"I'm afraid I can't help you in that," Elizabeth shrugged. "She's not at the vet hospital either if you are thinking of going there to look for her."

"We already tried," Kota admitted. "They wouldn't tell us anything either."

"Can you tell us anything?" Silas asked, "Please."

"Just that My Lady wishes you would go back to your country and leave her alone," Elizabeth shrugged. "She only agreed to the marriage because she was under the impression that things would remain exactly as they were and you would go about your businesses and she would hers. She didn't expect you to come in and disturb her lifestyle or peace as she never thought of doing what you are doing to her to do to all of you. She just wants things to be like they were before."

"Why won't she give us a chance?" Victor asked.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that, Sir," Elizabeth said as the house phone started ringing. "Good day, Gentlemen." She headed inside and picked up the phone.

A few days later

Esme shut her book when she heard commotion downstairs. She left the library and started to descend the stairs then froze when she hear the discussion.

"I'm sorry Gentlemen but there is no Countess Esme Graves at this castle," The butler said sternly.

"We know she is here Sir," Owen Blackbourne said. "She is our wife and we want to speak with her."

"I understood that the first time you said that Sir but once again I have to tell you that there is no Countess Esme Graves here, please leave the property, as you can see it is currently under renovations so there is no one living here except me to make sure everything goes according to plans."

"Maybe she really isn't here," Kota Lee said looking around. "Nice place though."

"I'll be sure to pass the appreciation onto the owners Sir but they are currently not in Ireland and will not be for some time," The butler said as he held the door open.

"She's here," Owen said adjusting his tie. "Corey traced the phone call back to this castle."

"Okay?" Brandon asked, "We know she likes to travel, she could have gone somewhere else to keep trying to avoid us. Maybe she was just here visiting the owners when she placed the call to Elizabeth."

"No," Owen said staring at the stairwell, "She's here."

"Excuse me Sir," A man said walking over to the butler, "Did the owner say he wanted the third floor library to have the original stain glass put back in or did he want something else in the windows?"

"He wanted the original placed back in after it had been restored," The butler said looking at the paperwork, "He wanted as much original in the castle as possible with what modern necessities was necessary such as electricity and such but mainly originality as possible. He wants as much authenticity as possible."

"Understood Sir," The man said making some notes, "Please let him know the stain glass should be ready next week if he wants to be here to oversee it being placed back in."

"I will let him know," The butler nodded and the man walked off. "Is there anything else I can help you with Gentlemen?"

"No thank you," Victor said sighing. "Have a nice day."

The group left and Esme raced back up the stairs to the library. A knock on the door a few moments had her looking up from the book she was struggling to get back into, "I assume you heard My Lady?" the butler asked coming into the room.

"Yes," Esme nodded, "Thank you Alfred."

"Of course My Lady," He nodded.

"Please thank Jason as well," She said softly.

"Of course My Lady," Alfred nodded. "Dinner will be ready at six. Would you like it up here?"

"Please," She nodded, "I don't want to venture downstairs just yet."

"Understood My Lady," He nodded then left.

Esme sighed and picked up the book again. After a few moments she sat it back down and looked towards the window. She wanted to go look out it but was too scared of what she could possibly see if she did. She thought escaping here would get her away from them, but she was sadly mistaken. Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? Couldn't they see that they were just too different, and it was just best to go back to how things were before they made the agreement?