✔️ shadows of desire | downton abbey

chapter 26

THOMAS POV

The clatter of dishes in the kitchen couldn't drown out the sound of Ma's sharp laugh as she entered the room. She looked at me with a sneer, her voice dripping with mockery.

"Ah, has the little brat finally been sacked?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with cruelty.

I stiffened at the word "brat," my fingers tightening around the edge of the table. My pulse quickened, the heat rising in my chest. For so long, I had bitten my tongue, tolerated her venom. But this was different. This was Eden.

I turned to face her, the tension building in my jaw. "Perhaps you should speak better of your daughter, Ma," I said, my voice low but firm.

She laughed again, the sound like nails on glass. "Daughter?" she spat the word out, shaking her head. "I don't have a daughter. She's dead to me." Her laugh echoed through the room, harsh and cold. She wandered into the sitting room, humming to herself as though she hadn't just cut through the air with her words.

My heart ached, the sting of her words reverberating through me. Eden, my sister, didn't deserve any of this. She never had. She had done everything for that woman-everything-and here she was, cast aside without a second thought. My breath was heavy with the pain I knew Eden would feel if she heard this, even though deep down, I suspected she already knew.

But hearing it aloud-hearing Ma dismiss her like she was nothing-made my blood boil. I couldn't stay silent anymore.

I heard Ma's heavy footsteps as she returned, her eyes scanning the room. "Now, where's that little brat? We need the money," she said casually, as though her words hadn't cut to the bone.

I turned sharply to face her, my hands clenching. "I don't know where she is. But if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

Ma's face twisted in annoyance, her brows knitting together.

"You've exploited her more than enough," I continued, my voice hard as iron. "Lord Grantham knows, Ma. He knows you've taken all of our money-her money. He asked me to stop providing for you. No more of our money is going into your pocket."

She froze, the color draining from her face, then her eyes flashed with fury. "Who does he think he is?" she spat, her voice rising to that shrill pitch she used when she was cornered. "Who does that man think he is to tell me what to do? What's mine is mine! You and that wretched girl-"

I shrugged, cutting her off before she could spiral any further. "I don't know, Ma. He's the Earl of Grantham," I replied, sarcasm thick in my voice.

She glared at me, her face red with anger, but I didn't care. I didn't flinch under her gaze. For too long, she had preyed on us, especially on Eden, draining her of everything-her joy, her freedom, her money. But not anymore.

I straightened up, feeling the weight of the years lift just slightly. I might not know where Eden was, but wherever she had gone, I knew she was better off far away from here. Far from this.

The silence between us thickened, and the only sound left was the ticking of the clock on the mantel, echoing through the room like a slow, heavy heartbeat.

Ma didn't let me go that easily. Her voice, sharp and bitter, followed me as I turned toward the door.

"Oh, you think you're something now, don't you?" she sneered, her tone dripping with disdain. "Strutting around like a peacock just because you work for some lord. But at the end of the day, you're still nothing more than a servant, aren't you, Thomas? Just like the rest of us. A nobody."