Chapter 55
“You kept fiddling with it. What is that around your neck?”
“Oh, this.”
Vanessa blushed and lowered her hand from the necklace. It wasn’t very visible anyway because of the lace trim, but for some reason, she felt too shy to show it off openly. More so because it wasn’t hers, but a borrowed item.
She hesitated and tucked the necklace completely inside the collar of her dress.
“It’s nothing.”
“Hardly nothing.”
Logan’s face had gone pale, as if he’d caught a glimpse of it in that brief moment. It was as if he’d seen something he wasn’t supposed to. Of course, the necklace was noticeably more lavish than her modest attire. Because of that, it must have looked somewhat awkward, like a younger sister who had borrowed and worn her older sister’s jewelry.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Vanessa pulled the ribbons of her hat to cover her chest a little more.
“Is it that bad?”
“No. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just…”
“Logan Dawson. Be honest with me.”
When she looked at him with a serious expression, Logan’s cheeks flushed slightly, and he hurriedly avoided her gaze.
“At first, I thought I’d misidentified it… but that thing around your neck, isn’t it the Mermaid’s Tear?”
“The Mermaid’s Tear?”
Vanessa tilted her head and repeated his words. She showed no sign of surprise or intimidation; she was perfectly calm. It was Logan who was now flustered by her composed reaction.
“The famous necklace from Dr. Muers… Surely, you don’t know about it?”
Vanessa blinked her rounded eyes at him, then suddenly burst into a clear laugh.
“I’m sorry. Your expression was just so… Of course I’ve heard the name. It’s incredibly famous.”
“Right, well. Then, that’s a… a relief, but…”
“Did you get that surprised because you thought this necklace was the real thing?”
Vanessa smiled, her heart feeling much lighter.
“Unfortunately, this is a fake. I borrowed it from a friend.”
“…A fake? That?”
“I mean, it seems like they used higher quality gems than your average imitation. But the Mermaid’s Tear is that company’s masterpiece. It was even displayed at the exhibition… How could an individual just walk around wearing something like that?”
Logan looked down at her with unreadable eyes. He seemed utterly speechless, yet also as if he felt terribly sorry for her. He rubbed his face with a thin hand and then looked at her with a grave expression.
“Vanessa Siren Somerset.”
He let out a deep sigh. A worried gaze followed.
“You… you’d better steel yourself from now on.”
She was about to ask what on earth he meant by that when, before she realized they had arrived, the doors opened. Soft, warm light suddenly poured over her face. Vanessa squinted for a moment before facing a hall that looked like a giant glass conservatory.
It was a formal space, worlds apart from the noisy, crowded exterior. As the doors closed softly behind her, Vanessa instinctively looked back, then moved forward, clutching Logan’s arm as if being pushed.
There were white curtains so sheer the view beyond the windows peeked through, deep green carpets, rows of round tables, the soft chime of glass clinking against glass, and sophisticated laughter…
Toward the front, she saw a band playing classical music, and well-dressed stewards were weaving between tables of seated gentlemen, carrying trays of champagne and light refreshments. Amidst them, Logan raised a hand toward someone.
“Grandfather Benjamin.”
“Ah, Logan.”
A game of whist had just ended, and the elderly man tidying the cards beamed when he spotted Logan. He gestured for them to come closer and then leaned toward the elderly gentlemen sitting with him.
As they walked straight toward his table, Vanessa stared at the old man without blinking. She observed him as closely as possible without being rude. Even though she had memorized the photo published in the local newspaper ten years ago, it was difficult to be certain if this kind-looking elderly man was indeed the person she was looking for.
“I know, in a little while… I’ll just have a quick word and be right back, so you can start drinking first… Yes, my boy.”
Perhaps they had decided to move further inside, as the elderly gentlemen busily rose from the table. Benjamin Dawson accepted his overcoat and put on a mock-stern expression toward his grandnephew.
“You rascal. Where on earth have you been? Your mother has been looking for you since early evening.”
“For what?”
“How should I know? Though I suspect she might have received your report card via express mail.”
The faces of the two gentlemen clouded with worry simultaneously. Judging by the comfortable atmosphere between them, it seemed Logan was very fond of his granduncle.
“By the way, aren’t you going to introduce the young lady beside you?”
“Oh, right. This is Lady Vanessa of Somerset. She came along because she said there was something she wanted to ask you, Grandfather.”
“I am Vanessa Siren Somerset.”
Vanessa elegantly extended a hand. Had she been a lady well-versed in high society, she might have greeted an elderly gentleman with a simple curtsy. Just as young ladies of that age often subtly ignored or looked down upon them.
However, for Vanessa, who had been experiencing nothing but firsts all day, it was a struggle just to maintain a straight posture and a soft smile. She had no choice but to rely blindly on the etiquette books and the teachers at Saint Louis. And on Rosalyn’s advice.
Benjamin seemed somewhat surprised by the old-fashioned greeting, but he soon smiled pleasantly and made a gesture as if to press his lips to the back of her glove.
He continued to smile with doting satisfaction until he caught Logan’s eye and cleared his throat.
“Somerset? Ah, speaking of which.”
The old man’s eyes crinkled as if searching his memory, and then he let out an exclamation.
“Yes. Yes… I remember meeting your parents a long time ago. Oh, my goodness. You were nothing but a little girl back then.”
Finally. Vanessa smiled broadly, hiding her trembling, nervous heart.
“I heard that you once provided advice as my parents’ legal counsel. So I must have seen you then, but unfortunately, I have no memory of it…”
“You were at that age. Were you about five years old?”
“Please, feel free to speak comfortably.”
The old man stared at her for a moment with clear, sky-blue eyes. Soon, a benevolent smile appeared on his face, lined with the depth of his years.
“May I? I thought you had come to see me as a client.”
The eyes looking straight at her held a brilliance and shrewdness that remained unchanged by age. Vanessa calmed her breathing. Benjamin Dawson seemed like a man of integrity.
Of course, this was the judgment of a twenty-year-old girl whose experience of the world was limited, and whose only outings alone had been to boarding school and church. She didn’t trust her own instincts or judgment regarding ‘adults.’ They were skilled at wearing masks, and she did not yet have the power to see through them.
In particular, she could sense the weight of experience from the elderly gentleman before her. No matter what she hid or how she tested him, he felt like someone who could keenly notice and unearth the meaning behind it. And lawyers were usually trained for such things…
I don’t think half-hearted attempts to hide information or test him will work.
Having made up her mind, Vanessa put a little strength into the hand that was holding Logan’s arm.
“Logan. I’m sorry, but would you mind giving us a moment?”
“Huh?”
“It’s a somewhat sensitive family matter.”
“Ah.”
Logan, who had been blankly watching their meeting, only then stood up, looking sheepish.
“Right. Of course. I’ll just go over there and have a whiskey soda.”
“Don’t drink too much and don’t get carried away by the mood, Logan. Watch your medicine.”
“Grandfather. Do I still look like a child to you? Well then, Vanessa.”
Logan took her hand in an old-fashioned greeting and winked. While he stared at her, his cheeks were even flushed with his busy thoughts.
“Don’t forget my help. I’m going to charge a very high price for it.”
He gave a playful salute to his granduncle and walked toward the other side of the hall. Vanessa watched Logan’s retreating back for a moment.
Well, how should she put it? At some point, she had started to feel a very strange sense of incongruity in Logan’s attitude. There was no way to explain it, and she couldn’t know exactly what it was, but she felt a strange discomfort, like her heart was pounding. Vanessa lightly pressed her hand over her heart. This was a completely different feeling from when it raced while thinking of River Ross.
“So, Lady Vanessa.”
Lost in thought, Vanessa looked up at the voice calling her. The smile that had looked so gentle was gone, replaced by the cool face of a sharp lawyer staring directly at her.
“What is the reason you sought me out, even using Logan to get to me?”
