“Don’t wake up the sleeping Demon, if you don’t want to be swallowed by Hell”

“Do you know, Ms. Beneath, that your husband will have a child with another woman?”

A thunderbolt struck Sophie’s head at that moment as if she was sitting in the middle of the street while pouring and the sky was mad when she heard Emily’s question. “A child?” she thought. “It can’t be. Not so fast,” and forcing herself to hide the shake of her hand, Sophie looked in the eyes of her guest.

“I don’t think that it is something of your interest, Miss Davis. What does or what doesn’t my husband … out of this house … it is only his business and mine,” Sophie calmly answered, while inside she was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Emily took a sip from her tea and while leaving the cup on the coffee table, she caught the slight shake of Sophie’s hand and jaw, and her host was fighting with her inner demons at that moment.

“You are right, but let’s say that it was just information from one woman to another,” and saying this, Emily sketched a provocative smile.

Sophie also smiled and taking the cup of tea in her hand, she drank, but she continued to lurk her guest with the eye of an eagle ready to attack his prey. “The same Demon, as always,” thought Sophie, while analyzing Emily. And she hates her. Yes, Sophie hates this woman, for the simple reason that Emily is mister Chesterman’s lifelong mistress and everything that Chesterman’s wife hated, automatically became Sophie’s enemy too, because the two friends shared not only the same glacial soul but also the same harsh manners of kneeling the enemy and if necessary, to destroy him.

“Said a lover about another one,” came Sophie’s remark, and she said this with such a tone, so as to stab the rival that was sitting in front of her, but what she did wrong was that she never tried to guess the thoughts of her enemy, being more than sure about her movement.

“Better to be the lover, than the wife sitting home and knowing nothing,” Emily did again an attack movement. “And you never asked who the other woman is. Don’t tell me: do you know this already?”

Sophie left the cup on the coffee table, crossed her arms on her knees, and bending a little, she stared into Emily’s eyes, but her trying to intimidate her guest didn’t work because Emily was used to dealing with wives of all kinds and she knew that Sophie is nothing else than a stupid and jealous wife.

“Do you know why the wolves are so well-known, Miss Davis?” asked this time, Sophie.

“For their sharp intelligence?”

“Not only … for their constant attack and that they almost never fail, while hunting.”

Two pairs of eyes lurking for prey … a constant attack of glances … tactics of intimidation, used by both women, who continue sitting in their place, but their mind is working like a devilish weapon, trying to take the other’s heart out of the chest.

“Almost is not an assurance of success. I prefer to be a dog better. At least he’s faithful,” Emily said and she right away stood up. “I thought you were wise, Sophie Anderson Bell, but you are nothing more than a beast of prey. I apologize, but I won't say goodbye to you.”

Emily walked proudly toward the door, but right before exiting the house she stopped and turned to Sophie, who talked to her. “Take care of the other, Miss Davis. She can’t end like you, twenty years ago, … rolling down the stairs, right?”

“Marianne Chesterman Loran,” Emily said with hatred, but her words were barely heard of Sophie, who was grinning satisfied that she could kneel in the end her rival.

When Miss Davis exited the house, Sophie climbed the stairs in a hurry, having only one thought in her mind: she needs to find out who the other one is and she must find it today because she knew at that moment that she was vulnerable and if Brian is really in love with that woman, he won’t hesitate to throw Sophie out of his house and of his heart.

***

“To “Chesterman and Associates”, Emily demanded to Albert, right after she got into the carriage and the teamster right away pulled the reins and the two white horses left in a hurry Beneath’s property.

“Something happens, Miss Davis?” asked Albert, when the carriage was already far from the property.

“I made a mistake, Albert. The worst I could ever make and I’m afraid it will have the same end as twenty years ago,” answered Emily and she felt how her both hands were shaking and their shaking became more and more visible.

Then, was Marianne the one who threw her down the stairs that day at the theatre. Emily had suspected this, but she hadn’t found out ever evidence about this, because everybody told her, when she asked about Marianne’s location that day: “she went to Vienna, four days ago, and she will turn back only after two months,” but something deep inside was telling Emily that it was a lie and that everybody was at Marianne’s side.

“But how? How did she do this? I certainly remember that the one who pushed me was a man. Did she hire someone for this job? No. It was too risky. Even if Marianne is powerful and she could ask somebody to do this job, she’s not stupid, because it could be something used against her one day. “Then? Then, how did she manage to do this?”

While these wandering thoughts are spinning in Emily’s head, like a swarm of bees, she feels that lacks air, and Emily’s hand unconsciously had touched the collar of the dress, trying to release her throat, but she felt herself being a chained dog, and this left her breathless.

Suddenly she started to weep, with all of her body, while her open mouth was desperately looking for air.

“Miss Davis? Miss Davis, what’s wrong with you?” Albert asked her preoccupied, but receiving no answer he turned his head and saw Emily squirming on the rear bench as if she had been possessed by the demon at that moment.

Frightened, Albert stopped the carriage and, jumping off his place, he ran toward the carriage door and, opening it, he practically hugged Emily’s body, who was looking for air, and seeing the opened door, she unconsciously exited it.

“They killed me that day, Albert. They are the criminals who made me like this,” whispered Emily through her teeth, while her body slid down from the teamster’s hug.

“Who, Miss Davis? Who did this to you, and what did they do?” continued his interrogatory Albert, but instead of an answer, he saw, at his surprise, a devilish gaze in Emily’s eyes and he shuddered because he has never seen anything like this before, especially in the glance of such a good woman, as Emily Davis.

Kneeled on the ground, with her knees touching the cold and wet soil, while her hands were squeezing Albert’s coat, Emily stared at something unseen, past him, and after a few minutes sitting like this, she whispered: “if they wanted to meet the Devil, they have succeeded. Just wait a little bit, you crow, you don’t know what you woke up just what, and for sure it won't be something that tastes sweet when you’ll take the poison from my hands”.

These words were as if some fresh, cold water had cooled Emily’s heart. She stood up, helped by Albert, who supported her, and, standing firmly on her feet, Emily sketched a devilish smile. “Do you like to play, Albert?” asked Emily, while looking in her teamster's eyes.

“Me? Not really,” he replied, feeling confused.

“But I like to play. I always liked to play and my favorite play had always been “catch the mouse”. I never lost this game, Albert and I don’t intend to lose it now” and saying this, Emily bent and cleaned her dress, at least how much it was possible to be cleaned because the wet mud left visible marks on her vestment. “Such a mess,” whispered Emily. “We should get rid of this mud that fills our country. It’s unbearable already”.

The carriage hurries away. In the place, where before had kneeled Emily, were left only two knees’ marks and a dirty kerchief she had used to clean her dress, and, that kerchief, that was once of impeccable white, looks deplorable now as if someone's dignity had been trampled on.