Chapter 405: Can You Forgive Me?

"Shut up," Cecil growled. "Don’t you say another word or else!" His face was beet red with anger.

The sly smile dropped from their faces, and their mouths dropped open in astonishment when they heard him speak French. Their stone faces suddenly became pale. They were so busy laughing and making fun of Edie that they didn’t notice him standing there.

Raising his head and directing his eyes towards them, he glared at them, eyes piercing like arrows into softwood. When they looked at him, they were startled by the intense emotion his eyes revealed. His eyes were shining with the moistness that rage and hatred can bring.

"Are you not friends with Brittany? Does she know your gossiping about Mrs. Yates?" He tilted his head the way a predatory bird might as it inspected prey. "First, you will deal with her and then Mr. Yates." His brows squish fierce together as his tone lifts his betrayals. "How dare you brazenly bully her?" His voice is even harsher.

"Who....are you?" Liz said in a trembling voice.

Cecil raised his head and looked her in the eye with an evil smile revealing his beautiful white teeth. Then he spoke in German. "My name is Cecil Keen. What difference does it make if you speak French or German? What other languages do you know? Use them, speak to me now!" he demanded.

Their eyes widened as big as silver dollars. The room went silent other than Connie fidgeting with the lipstick, which dropped when she heard the name of the little boy.

They were terrified, knowing straight away who he was. The Keen name was well known in England. It came from Madame Yates’s side of the family, and there were very few Keens. They were rich and powerful people and definitely not people who you should defy. The women stood gaping with mouths and bloodless cheeks, turned into statues by a magical mixture of fright and astonishment.

Cecil could tell by the looks on their faces what they were thinking. "I bet you feel like fools now! You should be ashamed of yourselves." His voice was deep, cool, and controlled.

"I apologize. I was way out of line," Connie began.

Jane looked extremely ashamed and then said in a weak voice, "I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Cecil turned to face Edie, and his expression turned serious. "They were saying awful things about you. You need to tell Stuart and make them pay for what they’ve done."

Edie smiled, gently rubbing his cheek and said, "I don’t care. These women think they’re better than everyone else. I wouldn’t want them as friends. Let them say all they want about me, but the only one they’re hurting is themselves," she tried to explain, speaking loud and clear enough so the women could hear what she was saying.

The women sighed in relief, apologized again, then quickly turned around and left. After listening to what Edie said, Cecil became very angry. He clenched his hands into fists, stomped his feet and said, "They’re jealous. Why are you letting them getaway? You need to fight back!"

Edie could see the frustration on his face. She smiled, kneeled down beside him and hugged him. "I didn’t understand a word they said, and I don’t care if they insult me. If I fight back, it makes me as awful as them," she said.

Puzzlement washed over Cecil’s face. "But...My father said if someone bullies you, you should always fight back." He frowned, and a serious look came into his eyes. "If you don’t, they’ll keep doing it. You need to tell Stuart, and he’ll teach them a lesson."

Edie smiled, but her face expressed a series of confused expressions. ’You should fight back, but you need money and power. Stuart does it all for me, and I can’t stop them from talking about me. If I said something to them, it would only make things worse.’ She felt tired. Many other fears were crowding the edges of her mind. ’Do I deserve to be his wife? Without Stuart, I’m a flame without a moth.’

She tried so hard to make the relationship work. The pressures of his family and culture left her feeling alone and lost. They were from two different worlds, had different interests, and socialized in different ways.

Edie stared down at the floor, her mind churning thoughts out one after another. "What kind of life am I living? I can’t go anywhere alone. I can’t even watch a movie by myself.’ She was tired of denying it any longer, tired of being afraid of what would happen. She wanted to tell Stuart but didn’t know-how. ’These women insulted me, but I had no idea what they were saying, and I acted as though it didn’t bother me. There’s no way of stopping it.’ She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the sudden feeling of intense sadness.

Cecil looked at Edie, her face tense and shadows of unhappiness in her eyes. He couldn’t hide his disappointment. ’I should have protected her. I was given a job, and I failed.’ He had to do something, or he would never be able to forgive himself. He took a deep breath and swallowed. "Don’t worry! I will never let anyone ever hurt you again," he said proudly.

Edie kissed him on the cheek, smiled, and said, "You’re my knight in shining armor."

He tilted his head and asked, "Can I go get something to eat? I’m starving!"

Edie laughed at him. "Okay, there’s all kinds of food. I’ll go get it for you."

Cecil raised his voice. "No!" He didn’t want Edie to go because he was afraid someone might say something to her again. Then he lowered his tone and said, "You stay here. I’ll be right back."

"You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be fine. Why don’t we go together?" Edie said as if reading his mind.

"No, I’m going by myself," he demanded and then walked quickly towards the food.

Edie took a sip of champagne and waited for him to come back. Some time had passed, and still, he didn’t return. "Where is he?" she said as she looked around for him.

Suddenly the room was filled with people, and she heard a familiar cry. She pushed her way through the crowd and saw Cecil sitting on the floor, crying. His eyes were filled with tears, and everyone seemed to feel sorry for him. Edie had a strange expression on her face, Cecil was holding onto the bottom of a woman’s gown. ’Does he know her?’ she wondered. Then she looked at his suit, and it was smeared with food. It looked as though someone had thrown food at him. She panicked and raised her voice, "Do you have any idea who this is? How dare you do this to him!"