"You were supposed to get him on our side!"
His voice shook as he lashed out against Belle, who stood in the doorway, trembling.
"I'm so sorry, Jefferson! I had no idea he would do this!"
But the former Hatter didn't listen, he stormed into his kitchen and opened one of the drawers. He rummaged through it and threw knives and other cutlery onto the floor, as he looked for the biggest and sharpest knife he had in his possession.
Belle watched in horror as the man who had once saved her, prepared himself for murder.
"Jefferson, please, don't do this!" she begged of him.
He shot her an angry glare, which slowly changed into a more suspicious one. "Do you still have feelings for the monster?"
Belle sighed and averted her eyes from him. "I can't help but feel responsible for what he did."
"Yeah, well, you probably are," he said harshly, taking the knife and walking past her into the hallway again.
"Jefferson, please, stop for a minute," she begged of him, following him a few steps behind. "I will talk to him."
"And what good will that do?" he replied bitterly as he put on his jacket, not even bothering to look at her.
Belle however, hurried over to him and put her hand on his arm, forcing him to look into her eyes. "I will offer myself in her place," she said in a determined tone and for a moment, Jefferson's look seemed to change from hatred to confusion.
"It's me he wants," Belle explained. "It has always been me. He does not want Grace. He has no use for her." She gulped. "But he knows that I would never let you kill him. Because he knows I would never allow you to become a murderer. Just as I tried to stop him once."
Jefferson's look softened. He stopped closing his jacket and allowed Belle to take his hands into hers.
"I know him. This game of his has nothing to do with you or Grace. It's to do with me. He can't have it that I almost found happiness here."
A pang of guilt seemed to hit Jefferson and he grabbed her hands more tightly, as though he was unwilling to let her go now.
"You've been so good to me, to let me stay here when I had nowhere else to go. I will always remember you and Grace fondly."
She smiled bravely as he looked at her with a miserable expression. Without hesitation, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.
"I will make sure that Grace is returned safely to you. Goodbye, Jefferson."