Chapter 366
The butler had barely finished speaking when Fidelia suddenly swayed on her feet.
The truth was, Fidelia was already at her limit; she was just gritting her teeth and forcing herself to hold on.
Lyman noticed her wavering, but chose to ignore it. If she couldn’t handle even this bit of family discipline, then perhaps she needed to accept her own limitations —and stop provoking Effie.
Lyman and Effie were about to go find Bancroft Etheridge when a figure hurried toward them.
It was Marcia.
Lyman had anticipated Marcia’s arrival and, as expected, instinctively stepped in front of Effie to shield her.
“Lyman, Fidelia is still just a child. She knows she was wrong-please, let her off this time,” Marcia pleaded, her eyes rimmed red, as if she might burst into tears at any second.
Lyman’s tone was ice-cold. “Aunt Marcia, everyone has to take responsibility for their actions. Without rules, a family falls apart. If we forgive every mistake without consequence, what would become of the Etheridge family?”
“But….. she’s just so young…” Marcia’s voice trembled, on the verge of crying.
To her, Fidelia hadn’t done anything unforgivable—she’d only said the wrong thing. Did it really warrant such a harsh punishment?
Just then, Bancroft joined them, leaning heavily on his cane. He rapped it against the floor for emphasis. “Lyman is right. The Etheridge family has its rules, and we don’t bend them for anyone.”
“Sir…”
Marcia looked at Bancroft, words caught in her throat. In the end, she swallowed them, resigned.
Bancroft turned to Lyman and Effie, his stern expression quickly softening into a genial smile. “It’s not often you’re both home. Stay for dinner tonight, won’t you?”
Lyman glanced at Effie rather than answering right away.
Effie smiled. “We’d love to.”
Only then did Lyman nod. “All right.”
Whatever Effie decided, Lyman would always go along with it.
That evening, Lyman and Effie joined the old man for dinner.
Halfway through the meal, the entire room was plunged into darkness.
Effie had just been sipping her soup and nearly snorted it out her nose in surprise.
“Power’s out?” Bancroft asked, breaking the silence.
“Yes, sir,” the butler replied. “There’s an outage. I’ve already sent someone to check what’s going on.”
“Just a moment, I’ll have them bring some candles.”
Soon enough, the flicker of candlelight filled the room, restoring a warm, gentle glow.
“What happened?” Bancroft asked. “Was it the house’s wiring, or is it outside?”
The butler rushed back in. “Sir, they’ve checked-it’s the external power supply. Workers from the utility company are already making repairs, but there’s no telling how long it’ll take.”
“I see,” Bancroft said, looking over at Lyman. “Qur front gates are all electricz With the power out, none of them work. You’ll have to stay here tonight-wait until the electricity comes back before you go.”
Lyman narrowed his eyes, watching Bancroft. Was it just his imagination, or did
the old man actually seem excited as he said this?
Effie shrugged. “It’s no problem. There’s no telling when the power will be back-
no use running around in the dark.”
She glanced at Lyman with a mischievous wink.
“In that case, you’ll stay the night. I’ll have staff get your rooms
“Bancroft said, unable to
delight in his voice.