Translator: Nox

Chapter 19

The narrow path leading to the Rose Garden was River Ross’s masterpiece. Claiming the garden looked a bit dull, Mr. Ross had begun planting peonies several years ago, adding a fresh vitality to the somewhat plain grounds of Gloucester.

Carefully picking up two or three clean peony blossoms that had fallen to the ground, Vanessa readjusted her grip on the heavy basket containing lunch. The closer she drew to the Rose Garden, the more her hesitation grew. Was it really alright to drop by like this without a word of notice…?

“…….”

Vanessa, who had been walking with her eyes on the flowers, suddenly looked up. At the end of the path, the iron gate stood slightly ajar. After staring blankly past it for a moment, she abruptly quickened her pace.

She didn’t know why, but she had a sudden premonition that River Ross might not be there. Perhaps he had gone on a picnic to the river with the servants, or maybe he had gone out to Bath… He had often seemed to leave the storehouse empty for days at a time before. On nights when she couldn’t sleep and paced by her window, there were times when not once did a lantern flicker to life in the storehouse all night long.

Vanessa’s walk grew faster and faster until she was practically running. In one breath, she shoved the rusted gate wide and tumbled through to the other side. With that single step, the world transformed. A wild, lush May garden lay before her.

Shading her eyes from the sunlight pouring over her cheeks, her field of vision opened up. With just one precise turn of her head, she found what she was looking for. That is to say, the man she wanted.

Vanessa slowly exhaled the breath she had been holding anxiously. Her heart was racing from the sudden exertion. She realized only now that she had been holding her breath the entire way down the path; she admitted to herself just how nervous she had been. She had been terrified that he might have left for good.

“…….”

Dahlia was the first to notice her. As the white puppy, who had been rolling at the man’s feet, barked happily and ran to nip at her skirt, the man—who had been pruning overgrown rose branches—turned around. Beneath the shadow of his straw hat, his handsome eyes narrowed as he gazed at her.

Suddenly, her lips felt dry. Vanessa forced an awkward smile to her face.

“Hello, River Ross.”

---

Hello, River Ross. Vanessa did not miss the slight furrow of the man’s brow the moment she offered that short greeting. It was as if he were looking at something bothersome and annoying. That look made her heart sink for a moment.

But the moment he blinked, his face returned to its usual indifferent mask. It was as if that glimpse from a second ago had been a mere illusion.

“It’s been a while, Vanessa.”

The way River Ross said her name sounded like a sigh. It almost felt like a reproach, as if asking why she had come back. Though, in truth, the latter was likely just her own defensiveness…

While she hovered in an inexplicable awkwardness, River Ross closed the distance with long strides. He pulled off the thick gloves he used for gardening and took the basket that had been weighing heavily on her arm. After pulling back the cloth to check the contents, the man looked at her with surprise.

“You came to give me this?”

“I thought it would be nice to eat together if it was before lunch. We haven’t seen each other in quite a while.”

“I heard you were ill.”

“Yes. I’m fine now.”

His clean linen shirt and well-pressed trousers made him look more like the master of this garden or a distinguished guest than a laborer. He seemed to have a knack for getting the maids to do his bidding. By giving them money. Or perhaps… by giving them something else. Just as her hand tightened around her manuscript bag, he spoke.

“Come in.”

He opened the door to the storehouse and called her into the dim interior. Vanessa set the struggling Dahlia down on the floor and stepped inside. The inside of the storehouse hadn’t changed much since her last memory of it.

“Tea?”

“Yes. Please.”

River Ross placed the basket she brought on the table and set a kettle on the small portable stove he used as a hearth. Unlike the men she knew, who didn’t even know how to warm milk, River Ross was adept at everything. Vanessa rested her chin on her hand and watched his back.

Her feelings toward the man were now close to a sort of stubbornness. For someone who had agreed to be her lover, his attitude was lukewarm. Perhaps her standards for a ‘lover’ were simply too high. From the beginning, she had desired something beyond what could be reached through contracts or agreements.

A woman wanting a man, and the man happily accepting… such things were likely only permitted in a normal romantic relationship. Of course, Vanessa had no idea what kind of things were generally allowed between lovers in the first place. Growing up, the only man she had been close to was Blair, and unlike him, River Ross made her tense just by looking at him…

“Sugar or spirits?”

“Just milk is fine.”

“I don’t have milk.”

“Then just give it to me plain.”

He took what he needed from the cupboard. Inside the empty cupboard, there was nothing except one or two types of strong liquor and a tin can filled with tea leaves. It looked as though he had only unpacked the bare minimum of necessities for a temporary stay.

The military bag leaning in the corner of the storehouse looked as though it hadn’t been touched since the day he arrived. As if he could leave this very day if necessary… Watching River Ross’s back with her chin in her hand, Vanessa spoke impulsively.

“I’ve been thinking about what to do next.”

“What kind of thinking?”

“A plan to ruin my reputation. Since you said you’re a man who can’t have children.”

“Isn’t the South rather conservative? Even a rumor that you were out in the garden alone with a man at night would be devastating.”

“Things like that don’t get printed in the newspapers.”

“You intend to get into the newspapers?”

“Rumors can always be smoothed over. People’s memories are bound to fade. On the other hand, if it’s left as a record, it becomes an eternal truth. Since I, the person involved, won’t be correcting it.”

The man, who had been measuring tea leaves into the kettle, turned around to look at Vanessa’s brooding face. Lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t notice his gaze and spoke slowly.

“What if I have morning sickness on the wedding march? There will be a few reporters there that day.”

“They’ll just call a doctor.”

“Couldn’t I bribe them somehow?”

“The method is one problem, but what will you do if they take you to a hospital?”

“Then what if I have a fit? To make myself look unstable, whether mentally or physically.”

“It’s better not to start an act that you can’t maintain until the end.”

“How about pretending to be a woman who’s mad for any man?”

“You’re doing that right now.”

Clack. With a chuckle, River Ross set the teacup down on the table. Without even a saucer. Unlike the swirling black tea, his steady, deep blue eyes stared straight at her.

“An uncertain plan will only ruin your life, Vanessa.”

“…….”

Vanessa avoided his gaze and looked down at the teacup in front of her. For one thing, she knew for certain that he had ruined the tea. If this could even be called tea.

The dark, brownish-black shimmering liquid looked bitter just by sight. No amount of sugar would be able to make that taste normal… Vanessa subtly pushed the teacup away and looked at him.

“Anyway, I just came to see your face today. I wanted to tell you that I’ve fully recovered.”

“You sound like a merchant trying to prove his loyalty to a client.”

“That’s not wrong. Our relationship isn’t exactly grander than that.”

“Are you leaving already?”

“After I eat the sandwiches.”

Checking her wristwatch, Vanessa pulled her manuscript, fountain pen, and ink bottle from her bag. She was just finishing up a manuscript that had to be sent out by tomorrow. As River Ross looked at her with an absurd expression, she waved her hand dismissively.

“Don’t mind me, just do what you have to do. I’ll sit here for a bit and then head back on my own.”

The man’s lips quirked up as he watched her meticulously organize the manuscript paper she had taken out.

“A novel?”

“Ah… yes. I told you last time that I have a bit of money I can use.”

She answered casually, but somehow it felt a bit pathetic. Vanessa looked at him with somewhat embarrassed eyes.

“Do you also think this kind of labor is unnecessary for someone like me?”

“I wonder.”

He picked up Vanessa’s old fountain pen from the desk.

“I think it’s better than doing nothing. The era where inherited land earns money for you is over.”

“Do you believe in the value of labor?”

“I believe in the value of money. It solves many things.”

“So that’s why you entered the Naval Academy. Because it’s the highest success a commoner can achieve.”

“Well… let’s go with that.”

He returned the pen and nodded his chin. As if telling her to get on with what she was doing. Vanessa gripped the pen hesitantly. In truth, it really was an urgent schedule; she had to finish it now so she could hand it to the milkman tomorrow morning.

Initially, she had been anxious with the thought that she had to ruin her virtue as quickly as possible, but she felt that if she spent time frequently with a man who drew as much attention as River Ross, scandals would practically create themselves. If she killed some time here and returned to the castle around the time the servants came back, she could create a few witnesses as well.

“Vanessa.”

She had forgotten River Ross for a brief moment. It was the moment she placed the final period after concentrating with a furrowed brow. As she lifted her head at the reflexive call of her name, River Ross took hold of her chin.

The man leaned down and bit her lips as if softly swallowing them.