A recipe of love

Conspiracy

In the dimly lit parlor, the air between Elsa and Elizabeth grew taut, like a string pulled too tightly, ready to snap. Elizabeth's eyes glinted with a fierce determination, her mouth set in a thin line as she leaned forward, her voice barely above a whisper but filled with a potent urgency. "You must stop them from seeing each other again, Elsa," she said, her words laced with command. "Margaret and Nathaniel can't be left to their own devices; you know how dangerous that could be."

Elsa's gaze dropped momentarily, her own resolve faltering beneath Elizabeth's unyielding stare. "I have tried," she murmured, her voice tinged with frustration. "I have tried to put distance between them, but he never forgot about Margaret. He carries her with him, as if she were some specter haunting his every thought. Nothing I say or do seems to turn his heart from her."

Elizabeth straightened, her face hardening with a look of severe determination. "Then you must do more," she insisted, her voice low but insistent. "I am arranging for Mr. Lennox and Margaret to be wed-and soon. I am sparing no expense to hasten this match, but I cannot have Nathaniel ruining what I've built. You must find a way to remove them both from this place, Elsa. One way or another, they cannot be allowed to cross paths again."

The demand hung heavily in the air, and Elsa's face flushed, a rush of indignation mingling with her frustration. "I am not the woman I once was, Elizabeth," she replied, her tone laced with quiet fury. "I no longer bend to others' will. Whatever arrangements you've made, they are your concern-not mine."

Elizabeth's brows arched, and her expression turned cold and unyielding. "Oh, do not play coy with me, Elsa. I invested a small fortune in you once, and I'd hate to see my efforts go to waste. You owe me your loyalty-and your obedience."

Elsa's eyes flared as her cheeks colored with anger. "You may have paid for my services in the past, Elizabeth, but those days are gone. You have no right to speak to me as if I were still bound to you by coin. I will repay you, every last pound you claim to be owed, but you will not insult me or treat me as some pawn to move about as you please. I am not a possession to be ordered about or discarded."

The room grew still, Elsa's words hanging in the air like a gauntlet thrown between them. For a moment, Elizabeth's steely composure wavered, though her eyes remained hard.

"Very well, Elsa," she said at last, her tone clipped. "Repay me, if that salves your pride. But mark my words, you are to ensure that Margaret and Nathaniel are kept apart, no matter the cost. You owe me that, at the very least." She rose, her skirts rustling as she moved toward the door, pausing to deliver her final words. "If they should meet again-if they should fall into each other's arms-it will be on your head."

Elsa clenched her hands tightly, watching Elizabeth's figure retreat with a mixture of anger and resolve burning in her chest. When the door closed, she took a deep, unsteady breath, steeling herself. However bitter the task might be, however much it threatened to rend her soul, she knew she would have to find a way to keep Nathaniel and Margaret apart-for her own sake as much as Elizabeth's.