Chapter 317 Extortion Few could endure the optics of a bawling old woman. Naturally, some of the bystanders were compelled to mediate.
âCome on, Eilis! Look at Mrs. Boebert. Sheâs so old and can barely walk on her own these days. You canât possibly think she came to you, despite the difficulty, just so she could slander you in public, right?
âBesides, nobody wants an unresolvable conflict among ourselves, right? This is a small place, Eilis.
Tell, uh, that girl to apologize and get this over with.â
âAmen to that! We are a tight-knit community. We know everyone here, drink the same water, and live under the same sky. It doesnât do any of us good if the community splits because of something so trivial, right? Something as trivial as picking a fight with a little kid, too! If I may be frank, Eilis, do you really think that young lass is as trustworthy as you hope?â
Their comments were like thorns stinging Deirdreâs chest.
Eilis, however, was having none of it. Thatâs enough!â She erupted in rage.
Even if she did care a great deal about maintaining the villageâs peace, she s⦠wanted to defend Deirdre. Eilis was fed up, and her face visibly trembled. âIf you all want to frame this whole incident as my Dee Dee picking a fight with a kid, then why donât you all also consider that Bobby is picking a fight with a blind. -woman?! Dee Dee canât see a thing, people! She could not even harm Bobby unless that imp started it first!
âAnd Lord Almighty, have any of you no shred of sympathy!? Why canât you all just be a bit nicer to her after all the terrible ordeals she went through? Ask yourselves: when did her late mother ever mistreat any of you when she was alive, huh!?â
The bystanders suddenly fell silent.
Deirdre took a deep breath. She must not let Eilis alienate the rest of the village any further. As these people had said, everyone knew everyone else in a small village like this one. Next to everyoneâs peace and co-existence, Deirdreâs thoughts simply did not matter.
âMadame Russell?â She spoke up and smiled softly. âThank you for sticking up for me, but I think⦠I think Iâm the one at fault here. Itâs true. I shouldnât have picked a fight with a child.â
âDarn it, Dee Dee! You got to stop being so nice, or everyoneâs gonna wipe their boots with you, you hear me?â Eilis refuted hotly.
That tragic smile she displayed pained Eilis a lot. âThey are lucky that all you got was an external wound. What if you ended up with head trauma, huh?â
Deirdre cast her blind eyes to the floor. âWhich is why Iâve decided to leave this house as little as possible from now on.â
The crowd looked down uncomfortably.
Deirdre steeled herself and turned to the old woman. âMrs. Boebert? I formally apologize to you and your grandson. I shouldnât have picked a fight with a child, and I promise I wonât do this anymore. I hope that you and Bobby can forgive me.â
Mrs. Boebert, unfortunately, did not plan to let things slide so easily. âHa, will you look at that! If an apology is all we need, then why do we need the criminal justice system and law enforcement?â Eilis saw red. âWhat!? You said you only wanted an explanation!â
Mrs. Boebert glared at her. âOh, did I? When? Look at Bobbyâs arm! Itâs all sore and red! God knows this requires a medical examination, Eilis. I mean, what if his bone was fractured? You canât possibly think a full body checkup doesnât require expenses, right?
âLetâs just cut to the chase. 300 dollars compensation and weâre good. Otherwise, one guess.â
The answer was so obvious it did not need to be stated. She was not going to leave unless she received 300 dollars from them.
Everything about her proposal was preposterous. Even the well-manned Deirdre could not help but clench her hands into fists. She took a deep breath and raised her voice. âFine.â
Mrs. Boebertâs face lit up. Before she could express more of her joy, though, Deirdre quickly added, âBut your grandson hurt me too. I guess that means I should also do a medical checkup in the hospital, right? Your grandson injured my head, see. Even if it seems like Iâm fine for now, I canât rule out side effects in the future. To prevent unexpected problems with my brain, I will have to perform medical checkups every few months. Can you pay for all of that from here on out?â
âYou b*tch!â Mrs Boebert shrieked. She leaped to her feet and lurched at Deirdre. âHow dare you try to extort money from me!?â
Eilis quickly stepped between them. âExtort you, Mrs. Boebert? We could never! Weâre just following your logic. If your grandsonâs injury warrants a checkup, then Dee Deeâs injury is just as deserving, donât your agree?