Chapter 53: Chapter 53 – Attempted murder

Even though the plan to make Madeleine a defenseless woman in Patrick's eyes didn't turn out as it should, Dianne didn't give up. She really thought this was the best way to make the female protagonist forget about the villain and, therefore, she made the decision that it would be worth trying again. Not with a new robbery, of course. That would have been suspicious even for someone with the capacity of the protagonist. But, perhaps, planning another new accident and hiring for it a person a little more trustworthy than the beggar from the previous time...

Oscar, knowing these intentions, decided to not to know.

No, he did not want Madeleine to continue bothering Albert, but he did not intend to put himself in danger or even in the crosshairs of the police, for committing some illegality that ended in tragedy. He'd had enough of what happened at the tavern!

And, although Dianne protested the lack of heart he showed by "not fighting for his lover," she ended up letting him go. What would she need him for, anyway?

So, during those months, Oscar chose to focus on the suspense novel he was preparing and left any murky activity, regarding the aforementioned, to a Dianne who seemed to be more excited than she should be with this idea of ​​hers to redirect the plot using brute force.

While he was working on his own novel, helping out at the newspaper as much as he could, he kept in mind to send the villain letters on a regular basis to inform him not only of how he was doing at Snodland, but also to tell him about all those efforts - to no avail it seemed to him - that Dianne was spending on what she considered her divine mission. And it is that, how not to recount those things in letters?

He didn't know if it was Albert's case but, in his own, his waiting to see him again was getting long and tedious. Hence, from time to time, he felt compelled to recount an anecdote or two that he had observed from afar. Thinking that perhaps expressing with some humor would make them both feel better.

Thus, while the villain told him about his adventures in the capital, Oscar accompanied his own life stories with the latest gaffes starring the people he knew. And yes, maybe he was being nosy by including this in his reports but, the truth, that was not wasted! It seemed that Dianne, as much as she tried, was destined to achieve nothing in terms of her protagonists: The plot seemed to repel by itself any attempt to get those two together.

For example, the author's next attempt to make Patrick a hero was literally a hit-and-run.

Oscar remembered it perfectly, because that day he had met Sayer in town. Since Christmas, the two friends began to meet more regularly. Being that one of them was bored, without having anyone with whom to spend his free afternoons, while the other needed a shoulder to cry on, because Madeleine continued to ignore him.

"The best thing you can do is forget her," Oscar was telling him on that occasion. “I'm not saying this just because she's not interested in you, which is also important, but because of how she treats you. Can you imagine living perpetually with someone who is offended even for saying hello? It must be hell!”

"I know I have nothing to offer, if you compare me to Patrick Seymour, but still…" Stopping in mid-sentence, perhaps aware that the other wouldn´t agree with the end of what he was planning to say, he intervened. “Hey, you've been living for several months in Lilac Hall, could you tell me how those two were getting along while they were dating?”

"But don't you already know?"

No, he didn´t know. Despite being one of the best informed people in all of Snodland, second only to Kenneth and a couple of old pious women who frequented the parish association, the postman had no idea. Of course, on second thought, there was nothing special about this; even during their courtship, the protagonists were first-rate actors.

Inside the house they were throwing tantrums at each other or being ignored completely. While they were out in public or crowded places, they became the perfect couple. Hooked by the arm, conversing amiably and leaning on each other, what townspeople could attest to was simply the typical pair of lovebirds on a routine date.

Only those who lived behind the walls of Lilac Hall and Rose Cottage could know for sure what was really going on.

"They got along terribly," Oscar concluded, not waiting for an answer. “I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I have never seen a more toxic and sickly couple. Well, first of all, to say that Madeleine is impulsive when angry is to be too nice. Rather, the correct definition would be neurotic. But anyway, really at such an hour I am not able to remember what it was that Patrick saw in her.”

"Maddie is quite graceful."

‘All the protagonists of poorly done youthful cliché are,’ thought Oscar. ‘This is, at least, if you like the archetype of a white, blonde, and blue-eyed woman.’ Although, instead of this, he said with mock realization:

"Ah, I already remembered. If he began to notice her, it was by a mere mistake. Since some money ended up being given to him by mistake, we could almost say that Patrick got together with Madeleine thanks to a bribe.”

"The money envelope you told me about? That doesn't make sense. I mean, he might get excited the moment he got the rooms, but why continue to date Maddie after knowing that her family couldn't provide the level he hoped for?”

“Social pressure. You know how the Cornell's are like: They don't have much, but what little they have they show off to their heart's content. After those two got together, rumors about their relationship increased throughout the region. Such is the power of gossip in these parts that, when Patrick came to realize this family was broke, the fact that the guy had a formal girlfriend had already reached the ears of his parents. And well, you also know young Seymour. With the getaways he does for fun and the number of women he hangs out with... his old father almost jumps for joy when he found out he ‘wanted’ to formalize something with someone.”

"So he didn't want to formalize?"

“Hell, no. As I was telling you, those two used to fight all day when they stayed at Lilac Hall. Patrick quickly lost interest in her. He ignored her as much as he could, took the opportunity to remind her of his poverty every time they wanted to go out to eat somewhere, and prioritized his friends when it happened that they all agreed on a visit.”

"That´s so despicable! Treating the one who should be his girlfriend like that...”

"True, even if she's blameless either, he treated her badly. Anyway, she didn't lag behind either. You should have seen the jealousy antics that were staged when there were guests! Just for Patrick to look at another woman, it was already wrong. And then, when they proceeded with the slander, at first Madeleine cried and victimized herself, as if those hurtful words affected her. But later, as there was no intention of amendment on the part of her dear boyfriend, her false sadness turned into rage and exploded. The last time I remember, she threw an ashtray at his head.”

“How…? Are we talking about the same Maddie?”

“She has quite a bit of character when angry. It is a pity that her aiming skills do not collaborate: The ashtray passed by and ended up breaking one of the windows that overlook the garden. Moore almost had a fit: he was just trimming some hedges just a couple of meters away when he saw the glass burst.”

"I have to admit that, no matter how angry she was, it's never good to go around picking up the first heavy object you come across to throw at the culprit for abandoning you... As much as he deserves it! But I´d like to think that this was an isolated situation, a moment in which she lost her patience.” Seeing that Oscar was not saying anything, he asked tentatively. “Wasn't it?”

“This was the most serious, in terms of violence. I confirm that. But the fights and the pointless arguments happened almost daily. If those two didn't kill each other, it's only because they didn't live together.”

"Then why doesn't anyone in town say anything about it? I know that not everyone sees the same thing, not being working in Lilac Hall, but everything has a limit! Or is it that at the Seymour estate you have some kind of secrecy agreement, not to reveal the lord's indiscretions?”

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"If there was such a thing, Kenneth would have been fired long ago," Oscar laughed but, before the other could ask more about it, he explained. “It isn´t that there is an explicit rule not to talk about what happens in there. It's more like it shouldn't be done. Mr. Seymour Sr. is a man who doesn´t tolerate indiscretions and has passed that on to his most loyal employees. Speaking more than the account is considered rude and, although it doesn´t come implicit in the contract, depending on what you are saying there, it could be grounds for dismissal.”

"But this Kenneth ...?"

"They don't fire him because he's always had a very loose tongue. He has people so fed up that most of them no longer believe or directly don´t pay attention to him. That is why it doesn´t matter that he does break the rule. Well, he and many others who were little in that house. As long as it is not the butler, the housekeeper, or one of those who have been serving the Seymours for decades (and therefore the populace have an easier time believing them), everything will be fine.”

Sayer nodded, still trying to absorb the new information. It was true that by Snodland two or three people had been heard talking about the fact that the union between the protagonists was a matter of pure interest, that both got along like cat and dog in the privacy of their home.

It was in Madeleine's best interest to keep him tied up to help her family with the bankrupt business. And Patrick didn't want to completely get rid of her either, as he didn't get along quite well with his father, and having him convinced that he did want to settle down with a woman could give him the freedom and money he craved, since Mr. Seymour would be more willing to negotiate with a son who seemed to have reached maturity.

But again, the rumors the couple got on excellent were far stronger than any phrase of mistrust whispered by anyone of little power as gossip.

"Maybe I would be doing good by walking away," said the postman, after a few minutes in silence. “Regardless of whether or not I may have a chance in the future, I have to understand that right now she´s upset with her partner. I don't think having me around insisting on something might be good for her. Maybe, in a few weeks or months, and only if Maddie agrees, we can at least sit down and talk calmly about it...”

"If it makes you happy to think that...”

Oscar would leave him. Although he considered it useless to have even a shred of hope, he was glad that at least he had chosen to leave Madeleine alone. Not only for the protagonist, but for himself. It couldn´t be healthy to spend your existence chasing a person who would never reciprocate.

"Now what?" Oscar added this question not even half a minute later when, in the middle of the road, Sayer stopped suddenly. “Have you already regretted it?”

"No, it's just… Isn't that Maddie over there?"

Looking where the postman was pointing at, he could see the eldest Cornell was indeed there. Alone she walked the streets of Snodland, it wasn´t known if she was taking a walk - like the two who were watching her -, if she wanted to meet someone to mortify, or if she simply planned to go into a shop to spend the little money that it was left to his relatives after the move.

"Let's change sidewalks, quickly."

“Is it necessary? She´s still very far away and, as absorbed as she seems to be looking at the windows, I don't think she´ll tell us anything as she passes by either.”

If Sayer was going to protest when he heard this reply, the comment must have gotten stuck in his throat when he realized the protagonist was not the only one who was frequenting those places. No, despite not being a busy afternoon in the center of town, Patrick was also around. Although he was accompanied by his own entourage of female admirers.

From a safe distance, they saw the small group of six or seven people stop at one end of the road, chatting in a friendly way, without a care in the world. Anyway, the usual. The protagonist was not one to worry too much about his own personal dilemmas, so his companions were going to be the same.

Madeleine must have seen him at one point because, not wanting to have to confront him again for dating a bunch of women behind her back, it was she who turned around and took the initiative to change sidewalks.

Sayer would no longer have to worry about bumping into the protagonist... Or so he must have thought for at least five seconds. Because, just after Madeleine turned her back on a Patrick who still seemed oblivious to her presence, the unimaginable happened.

A carriage peeked out from the other end of the street, stealthily appearing from a corner, but beginning to pick up speed as it neared the plaza. It really was crazy! The road was clear of vehicles, except for this car which was now speeding toward a clueless Madeleine, who was still halfway between the two sidewalks.

With the driver showing no intention of slowing down, despite one person still in a risk zone, Sayer had to be the first to move.

To Oscar's astonishment, who had already left the protagonist for dead the moment he guessed that the car wouldn´t stop no matter what, the postman had the courage to safeguard her from danger seconds before it was too late, pushing her with enough force a few meters further and covering her with his body so that she wouldn't hurt herself when hitting the ground.

When Oscar moved closer to make sure they were all right, as it seemed from a distance, he could hear Madeleine thanking Sayer for rescuing her. A somewhat unusual action, for a girl who was unwilling even to have a casual conversation with someone she considered inferior, in various senses of the word. But the explanation was simple: Everything had happened so fast that she hadn´t had time to look her hero in the face and, therefore, she didn´t know that it was the postman until just after having opened her mouth.

Sayer was probably going to say some humble phrase, perhaps with the intention of downplaying the incident, but Madeleine no longer let him. As soon as she looked up and saw that it was the poorest of her suitors, the smile froze on her face. Ignoring the hand the other extended to her and not even bothering to give Oscar a single glance, she stood up by herself. Then, verifying that no other acquaintance had seen her fall, she hurriedly said goodbye to them and left without turning back.

None of the people on the side of the road missed the grimace of disgust she made as soon as she was sure that Sayer had been her savior, even if the grimace had only lasted a couple of seconds.

In short, no. There was no need to worry that Madeleine was going to fall in love with a savior that had pulled away so quickly, refusing to touch him again, as if he were a cockroach.

Oscar was outraged by this rude behavior. And he would have said something about it, encouraging Sayer to give up even his plan to wait for the protagonist's neurons to settle, but in the end he decided not to. At a time like that, and seeing that the postman had just been stunned by such direct rejection, he decided that the most charitable thing to do would be to close his mouth and not keep sticking his finger in the wound.

Where was that fool Patrick when needed? He was nowhere to be seen. And not that he had done like the other time, that she started running as soon as she felt the slightest sign of danger. No, this time it is that the very inept man should not even have noticed that his beloved was about to be run over! The guy had already disappeared into an apartment, with his troupe on his heels, before everything happened.

Oscar even doubted that Patrick had noticed that Madeleine was also there that day.

"You don't need to say it," Sayer began, finally coming out of the self-absorbed state he had been in since Madeleine stood him up a few minutes ago. “Love has died”

He didn't specify who or what he was referring to but, Oscar thought, whatever it was was fine. When in a romance story things didn't seem to work for one or both parties, it was best to let it go. It didn't matter that those who were originally destined to be paired ended up single. What's more, for everyone's peace of mind, it was better this way.

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