Chapter 51: Chapter 51 – Values of heart

With the end of Christmas and the return to routine for many, the day also came when Cousin Thomas had to return to Oxford. Or rather, the day arrived that he himself pre-established to return to the student residence he left and thus have a few more days to get used to and rest, considering his imaginary classes would begin shortly.

Needless to say, Thomas saved himself from telling his parents that he had dropped out of school, that he intended to start a dubious business, and, of course, that he was somewhat short of cash. Although it was true his parents loaned him something again, for him to spend the next semester calmly, that didn´t cover even a third of what he had told Oscar he needed. And if so, what could he do?

He did not complain to his parents. On the contrary, he even made some begging when accepting the money they offered, claiming things that anyone his age with a minimum of conscience should take into account. That is to say, Thomas reminded them that he was old enough to earn his own money, that they didn't have to go out of their way to save a few extra pennies to give it to him. Obvious things he said with a smile, but that did not prevent him from accepting the kindness of his parents.

And so, the morning of his departure, the Stevens traveled to Snodland for a moment to say goodbye to his son.

Unlike the previous time, he had chosen to take a carriage to return to London. Despite Thomas's cash shortage, this had been his idea. According to him, it was because he did not want to bother his parents or his cousin again, having to chauffeur him for a day or two, when he knew that everyone had work to do.

Oscar knew that that couldn't be the real reason; he had only spent a couple of weeks with Thomas, but he was already well aware of his selfish nature that bordered on narcissism. He might not dare with the Stevens, as they were his best benefactors, however with him, being the cousin he loved to mistreat when others weren't looking... That was another story!

But of course, Messrs. Stevens didn't know anything about it. They praised their son for being so considerate and there they said goodbye, occupying fifteen minutes of clock, in which Uncle Rob gave his son the usual advice and Aunt Cathy began to cry hugging Thomas, as if she would not want to let him go.

It unnerved Oscar to contemplate such an emotional scene when he knew well that one of the parts was only scheming for his own benefit, without caring about the other people's feelings. The Stevens had even paid for the stagecoach and part of the train ticket back to Oxford. How could this be?

And no, the worst part was not that they were fooled by their own son. Oscar was sorry, yes, but not enough to try to open their eyes immediately. That would have been a whole process that would require time, proof and, above all, a desire to fix other people's lives that he did not have. The worst was when, saying goodbye to her cousin, Aunt Cathy complained that he was being too cold. And, to remedy that, she insisted that they both hug each other.

Oscar wanted to refuse, in fact, he even took a couple of steps back involuntarily. He had already reciprocated Thomas's false kindness, without giving him away, wishing him that he would do well in college and that he would be back in town soon. Wasn't that enough? But apparently not.

Before he could do anything to stop it, Thomas had already moved closer and, to the delight of Mrs. Stevens, who liked to see the two children she raised getting along so well, he was already hugging him and refusing to let go.

"Can't you pretend a little better?" Thomas asked softly, so Oscar was the only one who could hear him. “You act lousy, really. If they had taken you for being an actor, I don't think you would have lasted more than ten minutes on any stage before the boos started.”

"Why don't you just drop the show and get out of here?" Oscar asked in turn; all this was giving him so much courage that he could not even return the hug to hide it and, although he did not push Thomas away, he did stay rigid and didn´t raise his hands to touch him. “I´m sure your new businesses need your attention, if you´re too busy you don´t even need to come back.”

"Nonsense, you know I love spending time with my dear cousin! I'll make time, without hesitation” Thomas said this louder, so that his parents would hear him, but he immediately said again in a whisper. “Also, I have half solved the money issue and it is all thanks to you. Well, you and Mr. Northrop. You should make sure to thank him when he returns, what he has provided will be very helpful to me.”

"He couldn't give you anything."

"As much as giving… No, no. He has only left it in my sight, but that is equally appreciated.”

"Have you been stealing in Thornfield?!”

“Of course not! Don't speak so loud... It would never occur to me! Less to such a respectable family. What I took was yours, so I guess it's only you who will regret it, regardless of where I found it.”

With that said, Thomas pulled away from him, narrowly avoiding Oscar's hand. Who was already going with all the intention of grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and shaking him until he confessed what evil he was now involved in.

But what could he do or think? If Thomas had really stolen something, this could be a perfect crime. He did not return to bother the inn from that day, nor did the employees inform Oscar that they had seen him loitering or trying to sneak through a window. In addition, Oscar himself did not miss any possession. That same day after his cousin's departure, he had rechecked his safe and all the money was still there, intact.

And what about Thornfield? Oscar had stopped by a couple of times, since Albert left, and not only had he not noticed anything missing, but the service had not informed him of anything out of the ordinary either.

If something remarkable had been stolen, the alarms would have already sounded. But it was not the case. So soon, there were two options: the first, that the cousin had not stolen anything and was throwing a bluff as revenge for having ignored him the other day. The second, and more likely given his character, that he did take something from the Northrop property. Something that wasn't money, but was small enough to fit into one of his suitcases without bulging too much.

And what could there be inside Thornfield that belonged to Oscar? No, the correct question was: What to do next? He could not ask for the suitcases to be opened, for he had no basis for it and, if he was wrong, he could be even worse off.

So he did something that he didn't used to do but had undoubtedly been saving for days.

"Thomas."

Oscar called his cousin and he turned around with a smile, asking if he had forgotten something. It was not expected, neither fr him nor the Stevens, that Oscar would take advantage of that moment to take his right hand out of his pocket and, with the speed that provides a long-held rage, punch him in the face. The impact was so strong and unexpected that Thomas fell to the ground and soon his parents had to run to help him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He complained, in a hurt tone, allowing himself to be helped up and trying to cover an eye that would soon begin to change color.

"Ah, sorry," Oscar apologized as if he had just killed an annoying fly, as if what he just did did not generate an iota of remorse. “It seemed to me that I understood that you had stolen something from someone I love and my arm acted on its behalf. My fault.”

That said, and ignoring the protests of Mrs. Stevens, who urged him to explain what happened, Oscar left without saying another word. It was a shame that he had to look like this in front of his uncles, but really, at that moment he got the hot blood and he acted on pure instinct. He didn't see a smart solution in the short term, so he must have thought that, since he had no remedy at the moment, he could at least blow off his steam by giving him that well-deserved punch.

He would explain it to the Stevens later, before he had other priorities.

He still had some time left before he had to report to the newspaper, so he rushed over to make one of his routine visits to Thornfield to check that nothing was indeed out of the ordinary.

Once there, he was greeted with the usual courtesy, having complete freedom to wander the ground floor - he could also go upstairs, yes, but although Albert had said that he could be allowed to go wherever he wanted within the property's limits. He felt that that would be an abuse, because upstairs was where the lords' bedrooms were. He didn't find anything out of place or notice anything missing, although he had asked the service if Thomas had come to the house in recent days. And, for this, he got an affirmative answer.

Three days after New Year's Eve, Thomas had turned up at Thornfield with the excuse of missing a brooch. A servant accompanied him to the living room and offered to help him search, but he gently refused that help, assuring that he would find it himself. And there he was, alone, for more than half an hour. Until he finally found it, or he should have found it, and told the employees that he was leaving.

For this reason, Oscar focused his inspection on the living room and the adjoining rooms, thinking that in that time that Thomas was at his own, he might have had time to sneak one or two things of value. But nothing that he knew was out of place.

The service also did not notice that any object had disappeared, and how to attract their attention to do so? If he said something, they would no doubt think that both he and Thomas were behaving suspiciously.

Therefore, Oscar had to trust his memory and his instincts.

And not twenty minutes later, he had to leave for work in a deplorable state of mind, having failed to get his investigation to yield results. From what he had seen, it was likely that Thomas had made it up to annoy him. But there was also the possibility that not. That he had stolen something so small, so imperceptible to the Northrop servants, that only Albert himself could deduce what it was.

In any case, no matter what the answer was, Oscar decided that he would discuss it with Albert as soon as he returned. There was no point in sending him a letter telling him about it and making him worry when there was still the possibility that he was wrong. For now, he told himself, he was just going to get the address of the dean of Thomas University and write to him asking for an explanation about why his cousin had dropped out, as well as a copy of the real report card.

He would destroy Thomas little by little, using the necessary tools. Then he would talk to his uncles and finally get back whatever it was that was lost that day. He had it decided.

"And what is that face for?" Dianne asked in the afternoon, when they met in the tavern they had already taken as usual every time they needed to talk about the fuzzy plot or the main characters. “Looks like you're going to murder someone”

"It could be said I was about to."

Since Thomas told him that, Oscar had been in a terrible mood. The anger did not go away even when he returned to work, although it was all good news there, although it was true that he was waning as the hours passed. He really wanted to believe that it had all been a practical joke and that he would have no need to show up at that Oxford address to get his cousin out of what he took.

"Let's see, who do you want to kill? As I told you, I am opposed to you getting rid of Madeleine or Patrick, the rest I think we can negotiate… Depending on who it is. You know? I do not like that my characters are suffering because of you, even if they are secondary”

"It's that Thomas, he's done one of his again!"

“Yes? Well, he might do it to you, because what is to me…” Dianne pointed out. “We were still around the other day. He is a very kind young man, just like I described him in my novel. He invited me to a coffee and praised my good work regarding that horrible job that you know I have and that you are always making fun of. It was so nice…! I hope he comes back for a visit soon.

"If he comes back, I'm not going to be as patient as I was this time. In fact, if he comes back, he better bring something to protect himself with. Because just as I freed myself by hitting him a bit in the face, next time I might just sprain him or push him down some stairs.”

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"You… Has spending so much time with Albert affected you? You sound like the villain in the novel, but expressing all the evil thoughts out loud.”

"Albert has no evil thoughts about anyone. Sure that from time to time he will piss off people and he will think badly of them, but the normal thing. He´s not a violent person.”

“I don´t care, I don´t care. You were expected to defend your lover,” the author stopped him, ignoring his protests. “Anyway, we are not here to talk about him. Well, not from him, not from your unappreciated cousin Thomas. No. What I want to know is, what are we going to do with the protagonists?”

"Tie them together and throw them into the river. With a really big stone, if possible. And let them sink,” Oscar suggested. “I'm already bored with their dramas.”

“You know well that cannot be done; not only would it be a crime, but it would constitute a terrible publicity for my novel. Imagine my readers were reading this story again and noticing the changes in the main plot! It would be intolerable.”

“You think so? It seems to me that it would be a good exercise in reflection, so they could understand what a toxic relationship is and what consequences it brings.”

"Although I'm glad Albert didn't play Madeleine's game," the author continued, not paying attention to what he was saying. “It seems that you have it well tucked in your waist, which I thank you. For this alone, it´s quite likely that I´ll regret it when the villain decides to kill you.”

“About that…”

“But, what could we do? Destiny is thus written. I hope you enjoy your last months, I will try not to bother you too much until your time comes,"she continued, already leaving the other for dead. “Now, the thing is, although Albert has no interest in Madeleine, she still thinks about him.”

"Not only does she keep thinking about him, she also plans to pester him the same way she does all the men who capture her interest. Even asked me for his address! Obviously, I had to give the wrong signals. Who does she think I am? As if I was going around spreading people's personal information...”

"That's how I like it, that you defend yours."

Oscar was going to protest here, claiming that Albert was not an object to belong to anyone. But Dianne was still deep in her own speech, and even if he had protested, he would not have been heard.

"When will the villain return? In March? You´ll agree, then, that we have to find a way to get the protagonists together before he reappears.”

"Yeah, and about that, how do you plan to do it? Madeleine has no intention of going back to Patrick. I suspect that even if he crawled back to Rose Cottage, engagement ring in hand and a firm promise to buy the property for her, Madeleine wouldn´t be willing to accept.”

"All because with your nonsense you delayed the whole plot! At this point in the novel, those two should already be finalizing their wedding preparations, not separated and not wanting to even hang out as friends! Poor Patrick, having to be alone despite his constant efforts to redeem himself... Is he not even giving you some pity?”

 Shame Patrick gets some of his own medicine? None. Nor that he lacked admirers who sympathized with his situation, thought Oscar, remembering that many of the people who alternated with the protagonist at the Christmas Eve ball were precisely ladies.

"No, it's clear that Patrick's willingness to reconcile won't solve anything. I know Madeleine well when she is infatuated with someone. She´s capable of becoming so obsessed that she finds it impossible to look around her and see anyone else.” Perhaps fearing that Oscar would make another of her unwanted remarks, she hastened to add. “That's why I've been thinking, what has she seen in Albert? And the answer has come to me with total clarity. You see, if she has suddenly come to look at the villain, to think that he´s handsome, strong and intelligent, it is only because there was an event that caused her opinion to take a turn. A drastic turn, I have to say. And why? Well, because Albert was there to save her, while Patrick missed out on her.”

“That saving her has so many nuances... I don't think Albert would have left that house just for her.”

"Save your jealousy for later, I'm trying to tell my plan," Dianne asked him as if this were the most casual thing in the world, much to his annoyance, since Oscar did not consider having interrupted her for that reason, but because he was not sticking to the facts so and how they happened. “What I mean by this is that, right now, Madeleine sees Albert as her savior. How can we fix this then? Simple! We just have to make her see that Patrick can bail her out too.”

"Oh, so the guy is going to loosen his wallet and buy Rose Cottage back?"

"I've talked to him about it and he said he'd only do it if Madeleine agreed to marry him," the writer murmured, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “But it is the same, anyway, that doesn´t count as much as a situation of distress from which you have to be saved immediately.”

Oscar smirked at this, thinking that Mr. Cornell was certainly not of the same opinion. If no one did anything to prevent it, they would proceed with the move shortly.

"What Albert did during her stay at Fairview was rescue her from a murderer. So what is the only thing that could compete with that?” Before Oscar could even open his mouth to say anything, she exclaimed. “Exactly! We must put her back in a life-threatening situation and then just wait for the protagonist to save her. As it should be.”

"I don't know what the hell you're up to, or why did you call me to tell me this. But frankly, that plan cannot end well... And I don't want to participate!”

"Do you know what will happen if Patrick doesn't buy Rose Cottage back? That the Cornells will move in front of our inn.”

"Don't fuck around."

"It's true, haven't you noticed there was an empty apartment block? There they will go! That is one of the reasons why you should help me; I know you hate Madeleine, and now that you've gotten rid of her, you won't want to live so few meters from her new home again.”

Oscar didn't say anything for a long time, he just leaned back in his seat with regret. Well, when Albert came back he was going to work for his family. Which meant he would be spending a lot of time at Thornfield. Ergo, if the Cornells were still there, it would be like still having them as neighbors. And if they really moved to the main street of town, it would be more of the same. What did it matter where they lived? More or less time, he was going to have to put up with them anyway.

"What was the other reason I should help you?"

"It shouldn't be necessary asking. For your lover, of course! Or is it that you don't want to get rid of the competition?” Without letting Oscar inquire as to which competition she was referring to, since she already saw it coming, she continued. “Anyway, you wouldn't have to do much. That life-threatening situation that I was going to expose Madeleine to is of course not real, it will just be a trick. It will seem that she could die if someone does not save her, but the truth is that she will never be in real danger.”

“Pity. I was going to tell you to sign me up just to see how those two managed in a tricky situation like that.”

"I was thinking of a robbery," Dianne continued. “One at gunpoint, here. I have some money saved, so I could bribe the owner to be part of the pantomime. It wouldn't last more than fifteen minutes! Look, I'd just have to book them for both Patrick and Madeleine to show up around here at a certain time. Then, when not even five minutes have passed, you can appear dressed as a thief...”

“No.”

The monosyllable should not have been persuasive enough, because the author tried again to convince him:

"It will be like a game. Your gun will not be loaded, the police will never know anything and hopefully we will have the premises to ourselves. There will be no need to panic! It is only a matter of mere performance.”

"And why don't you act like a thief and I'm the one who takes the main characters there?"

"Why can't it be you? A moment ago you were listing a host of misfortunes that you wanted to put Thomas through! It is very clear that you have potential for crime.”

“I'm leaving.”

And Oscar got up, but he didn't get to take a step away from her table when Dianne made him stop.

"Okay," she said reluctantly. “We´ll do it as you want.”

To be honest, if things were done the way Oscar wanted, they wouldn't get done at all. And it is that the desire that he had to participate in these troubles was less than zero. But he had to accept, right? Not for him, but for Albert. For he was convinced that if they did not get the protagonist to revert to Patrick, she would continue to pursue the villain as soon as he returned.

That is, if she hadn't already done so. Although Oscar trusted not.

It was possible that, after sending several unanswered missives to the address he gave her, Madeleine was trying to elicit the Northrop service, or Sayer himself, about the true address or another method of contact. As insistent as she could be, the option of her trying to visit London for the simple purpose of greeting a person who was simply avoiding her was not ruled out either.

And Oscar didn't want any of that to happen, both for the villain's peace of mind and for his own. He did not want to continue playing Celestina for people who weren´t worth it, but if the role he had to play in all this was so small that it would not bring him consequences, he didn´t mind helping out either.

So it was that, after half an hour of negotiations, he and Dianne finally reached a satisfactory agreement. 

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