His recent company abroad, a crew of ill-reputed individuals, lent him the air of a bandit more than a gentleman.

Disturbed by the commotion, Lilah and Gerard went down the stairs.

"Uncle Jameson, please, take a moment to collect yourself," Gerard implored. Positioned protectively in front of Lilah, Gerard eyed the doctor who lingered just behind Jameson, dressed in a white suit with gold-rimmed glasses, carrying a medical kit that marked him as somewhat professional.

"Collect myself? You expect me to collect myself?" Jameson scoffed, his voice rising. "I demand to see her. Don't dare tell me you've tucked her away somewhere."

He snorted disdainfully, and then shot a stern glance toward Lilah.

"This was her idea, wasn't it? Gerard, you're completely under her spell. What if she wants to do something bad? Have you ever thought what would become of your mother?"

Lilah found herself at a loss for words.

Damn it! How dare he judge others by his own skewed standards?

“Uncle Jameson, she is my fiancée. I trust her completely, as well as the doctor we've consulted."

With icy disdain in his eyes, Gerard fixed Jameson with a steely glare, seeing nothing but a man of muscle devoid of sense.

Jameson's brow furrowed, and he was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a stretch of uncomfortable silence, he threw up his hands in exasperation and collapsed onto a sofa. "Very well, I'll wait here. But tell me, when can we expect Brenda?"

“I must insist that you return home," Gerard responded firmly. “We will inform you as soon as she is ready to receive visitors."

Then he asked a servant to see Jameson and the foreign doctor out.

Yet, Jameson was not so easily dissuaded. He even prompted the doctor he had brought along to stay by his side, determined to see Brenda no matter the wait.

Resigned, Gerard and Lilah agreed, and all settled into an uneasy vigil in the living room.

They waited until nightfall.

Even Lilah began to feel the pangs of hunger gnaw at her.

Jameson, picking at a bunch of grapes, grumbled under his breath, “How much longer must we wait? Surely, your doctor isn't still treating her. No doctor in the world takes this long-it's preposterous!"

Unable to sit still any longer, Lilah ascended the stairs.

She lingered at the bedroom door, hesitating, wanting to speak several times, but ultimately holding her tongue.

She was willing to trust Miranda.

At eight o'clock, the tension reached a breaking point.

The chime of the bell was the last straw for Jameson, who leaped to his feet and pointed an accusatory finger at Lilah. “Damn it! What on earth are you up to? If anything happens to Brenda, I won't spare you!"