Chapter 110 - Hundred And Ten
Delia took the pamphlet from Eric and, with a calm, deliberate motion, handed it across the table to Augusta. The Baroness took it, her eyes quickly scanning the bold, inky headline:
MYSTERY DYER OF THE WELL-KNOWN DYES IN THE SOUTHERN ISLES IS REVEALED TO BE FROM ALBION.
"Baroness," Delia began, her voice as smooth and cool as polished stone. "I recently found out that you have been selling my original dyes abroad. It was very clever of you. Since you didn’t give out my name as the producer, I am sure that people did their own digging, which has only increased my exposure and the value of my work."
Anne looked at her mother in utter disbelief. Henry, however, took the pamphlet from his wife and read it, a wide, proud smile spreading across his face. "Well, it’s true then!" he said, his voice full of a hearty laugh. He looked at Augusta, completely oblivious to her scheming. "For once, my dear, it seems your actions have brought some good news to this family!"
Delia smiled sweetly. "So, since these are my formulas for the dyes you shipped, I will be splitting the profits fifty-fifty with the company from now on, isn’t that right?"
She didn’t wait for an answer. "I will send my husband’s aide, Mr. Aiden Caldwell, to speak with your Mr. Prescott about my fifty percent share of all past and future profits. Please have him put it directly into my husband’s account."
Augusta fumed with a silent, helpless anger. Her face was a pale mask of fury. " How did she know?" she thought to herself, her mind racing. "How did she know I was exporting her original dyes to the southern isles? It must have been that old fool, Edgar. He must have told her everything." She had thought she could turn the tables, pocket all the investments Edgar had secretly made, and all the profits she made from secretly selling the dyes Edgar had put in storage for Delia. But Delia, in one clean, simple move, had switched the lanes and taken control.
Delia then turned her gaze to her stepsister, her smile turning condescending. "Oh, and Anne, don’t you worry too much," she said. "I will still let you keep your little job at the establishment. Your... exquisite fashion sense... will surely come in handy for something."
"How dare you?" Anne hissed, her hands clenched into tight fists on the table.
"We are family, are we not?" Delia replied, her voice full of a false warmth. "No matter our different approaches, we must all work together to arrive at the same goal." Anne was already boiling, her entire body trembling with the desire to lunge across the table and rip Delia’s throat out.