Benjamin agreed with Gregory, but stubbornly believed that Amelia first needed Rebecca's forgiveness. He understood now that his mom's reaction wasn't entirely unjustified. If Amelia kept threatening to end her life, the same situation would just keep repeating.
To put a stop to it, he decided to harden his heart and ignore her.
As the temperature dropped sharply that night, the cold crept into the bones of the kneeling Amelia. She had been frozen in place for most of the day, resembling a statue, utterly still.
Tara draped a cloak over Amelia's shoulders before going inside to persuade Rebecca. The old woman refused to budge, insisting her daughter-in-law must remain kneeling until the next day.
"If I don't punish her severely, how will she ever realize her mistake?" Rebecca said coldly.
"But it's so cold, and Madam Amelia has already caught a chill from the water. She might end up worse off," Tara urged.
"No more talking! Close the door. If anyone else begs for her again, she'll kneel again tomorrow!" Rebecca snapped, her voice low and filled with menace.
Tara dared not argue further. Instead, she snuck out again to add another layer to Amelia's clothing, then dismissed the other maids. She returned to sit with Rebecca, who had been known to wake several times a night.
Previously, Amelia had been tending to her, but it had resulted in Amelia not getting proper rest.
In the middle of the night, Rebecca got up to use the chamber pot as usual. Tara stepped outside to fetch the spittoon. Just as she reached the door, she saw a shadow illuminated by the dim lanterns of the corridor, hanging from a tree directly facing Rebecca's room.
Tara slipped, letting out a terrified scream.
"Help! Madam Amelia has hanged herself!"
Hearing Tara's cry, Rebecca rushed out to see. Her heart plummeted at the sight of a woman hanging from the apple tree. The woman's eyes seemed still alive, staring blankly in her direction.
Rebecca fainted from shock.
Upon seeing Amelia's lifeless body, Charlotte's tears flowed freely.
"Oh, what a tragedy!"
She took off her cloak and draped it over Amelia's body, then turned to glare at Benjamin, raising her hand to slap him. But what good would hitting him do now? With Amelia gone, Charlotte couldn't bring herself to care about the first branch of the family's affairs now.
Through his tears, Benjamin cried out, "I didn't know it would come to this! I thought she wouldn't really take her own life. Why did this happen? She already almost died once! I even went to bring her back! Didn't she just have to apologize to Mom? Why did she have to resort to this?"
His future lay in ruins. With his wife committing suicide, people would surely say that he had mistreated her. His prospects were irrevocably shattered.
Barrett also felt deeply saddened. After quarreling with Viola, he hadn't come to check on his mom that evening. He had returned only when the palace gates closed and gone straight into bed, unaware that his sister-in-law had been kneeling outside his mom's courtyard.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Her Graceful War Song
What happens to the other chapters, I've been waiting to read more of this story, the character's and the screening are fantastic, very intriguing story...
Next chapter please, what's happening...
Very captivating novel....
Both content and context are very intriguing, the writer style of pulling out characters in their unique ways are profound,I have recommended this book because it's very captivating...