Chapter 75
“I’m planning to go to Linden.”
Her voice was exceedingly elegant. At the sudden announcement, the cutlery that had been greedily scraping the last bits of sauce from a plate came to a dead stop. Wyatt looked his niece up and down, his face twisted as if doubting his own ears.
“…What did you say?”
“I said I have some business to attend to in Linden.”
Despite his somewhat fierce reaction, Vanessa replied casually and picked up her water glass, taking a slow sip. Before her uncle could interpret her attitude as a sign of defiance, she continued.
“I was thinking of paying a visit to the Duke.”
The Duke. Her breath trembled ever so slightly as she pronounced the word. Fortunately, Wyatt didn’t seem to notice. Rather, he seemed to feel a flicker of anger at the fact that his niece was asserting an opinion of her own, only to be checked by the sheer weight of the title ‘Duke.’ The hand that had been gripping the cutlery tightly finally relaxed.
“…….”
Wyatt remained silent for a long time, narrowing his eyes. He didn’t even ask the cliché questions of how or why she would meet the Duke.
Vanessa cut a bite-sized piece of the trout on her plate and spoke again.
“Before everything becomes too late.”
“…Too late?”
“The Navy’s summer leave will be over soon. If I take a train from Bath Station in the morning, I’ll arrive in Linden by evening. I’ll bring Mary along so you won’t have anything to worry about. That is, of course, if you permit it, Uncle.”
Even through her lengthy explanation, she could see his fierce expression soften at the mention of permission. He looked satisfied, likely viewing this as the result of years spent ensuring she wouldn’t even dream of rebelling.
Wyatt tapped his fingers on the table—tap, tap—as if weighing his options. Soon, having finished his mental calculations, he nodded with a much more relaxed face.
“Why take a train? I’ll let you use the car, so take that. Mary needs to help the butler, so you’d better take another maid. If there are any changes, whatever they may be, inform me by phone.”
Vanessa stared at the casually responding Wyatt with calm eyes. Seeing her uncle find nothing strange about the situation made a corner of her mind turn cold again.
“…Thank you for your consideration.”
“In exchange, I’ll write a letter for you to deliver to the Duke. It’s perfect timing, as he hasn’t been answering my messages lately. When do you plan to leave?”
“I intend to depart immediately after the meal.”
“Harold!”
At the sound of the silver bell, the butler who had been waiting outside the door entered immediately.
“Ready the car right now. The driver, too.”
Vanessa smiled at Wyatt and offered a polite word of thanks. Then, using the excuse of needing to prepare for the journey, she requested his leave and hurried away from the table.
The moment she stepped into the hallway and realized no one was there, the nausea she had been suppressing surged up. Her cold lips trembled. Vanessa barely managed to steady her ragged breathing while gripping the stair railing. A sense of disillusionment toward the situation followed immediately, but she forced herself to endure it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss. I’m Emily.”
The maid replacing Mary was a girl so gaunt and frail she looked barely fourteen. Vanessa noticed the grime under the girl’s fingernails that hadn’t quite been washed away. Usually, those who had been recently hired were more loyal to her uncle.
It seemed her uncle had decided that Mary’s surveillance alone was no longer enough.
“The horn is honking. It seems everything is ready for departure.”
At the maid’s urging, Vanessa picked up the small handbag she had packed in advance and headed downstairs. The car was not the usual old model, but a new one purchased recently. There was only one reason he would offer this so readily.
‘It’s for the Duke’s benefit. He wants to wrap me in decent packaging to drive up my price somehow.’
It was a cynical assessment, but an undeniable truth. Vanessa received her uncle’s letter from Harold and climbed into the car. Soon, the vehicle pulled away smoothly.
The maid began to doze off by the time they left Bath, and the driver, Alman, was a naturally taciturn man. Thanks to that, she had plenty of time to organize the thoughts she had been trying to suppress. The color slowly drained from the lips that had been feigning a smile.
‘Did Uncle know from the beginning?’
He probably did. Unless there had been some sort of agreement from the start, it made no sense for a man as prominent as the Duke to be staying in Gloucester. If that were the case, then naturally, that contract must have been her price…
Vanessa let out a dry laugh. This was a crazy thought. In the first place, she was the one who had proposed such a relationship to ‘River Ross.’ No matter how calculating her uncle was, he couldn’t have brought the Duke into this with that in mind. Moreover, a man who groveled before even the Winchesters would never have let a Duke stay in that dilapidated warehouse if he had known…
‘Could it be?’
The breath caught in her throat at a sudden possibility. Had her uncle realized their relationship and used it to blackmail the Duke? Was the Duke merely caught up in it? It was a highly probable hypothesis. Her face reflected in the car window was now beyond pale, looking haggard.
‘In the end, there’s no way to know for now.’
Where things had gone wrong, or if this was all truly a misunderstanding—nothing could be proven for certain until she heard the full story from the man himself. Mr. Ross the gardener must have just been caught in the middle, and that subordinate…
‘Maybe that man is the real River Ross.’
She sighed, retracing the faint impression of the man in her memory. If nothing was certain, then postponing all judgment was the best option for now. Being swept away by emotion only hindered wise choices.
So, while keeping her emotions detached from the situation…
“So, Theo. When did you decide on that name?”
“A very long time ago.”
Detached? She let out a hollow laugh. Looking back, there had been moments where he hinted at his identity. He must have thought she wouldn’t notice even then. How ridiculous she must have looked, falling helplessly for him while knowing nothing.
Perhaps it was a miserable expectation—to hope that the man who had deceived her all summer would finally confess the truth now.
Even if her expectations were thwarted, she at least needed time to end their relationship properly and with dignity. As long as she didn’t leave Ingram. As long as they intended to live as members of society, keeping to their respective positions.
“We’ve arrived, Miss.”
After a full day and another half-day of travel, the car stopped in front of a grand hotel in Linden. She stared at the building that seemed to be the pinnacle of capitalism with calm eyes. The Ritz. It was the very name ‘River Ross’ had mentioned in passing.
Though she was exhausted to the point of being unable to lift a finger, Vanessa stepped out of the car without showing any sign of fatigue. She steeled her heart once more, which had wavered several times during the journey.
“Wait here, both of you. I’ll be out soon.”
She politely declined the bellman’s offer to carry her small handbag and headed straight for the concierge. A man in formal attire greeted her with a bright smile.
“Good evening. How may I help you?”
“I’m looking for someone. I heard he was staying here the last time we were in contact.”
A flicker of worry and unease crossed the man’s polished face. He quickly composed himself and picked up a pen and paper.
“If you provide a description and a name, I will see if I can assist you.”
“The person I am looking for goes by the name ‘River Ross.’ He has black hair, blue eyes, is tall, and is in the Navy. My name is Vanessa.”
“…….”
“Please tell that to the Duke of Battenberg. Tell him a woman has come looking urgently for River Ross.”
The hand signing the reviewed documents was decisive. The orange glow from the fireplace flickered across the man’s elegant cheek, flaring and fading as the embers settled.
Anxious concern clouded the old butler’s eyes as he watched his master, who had been immersed in work for days without proper sleep. As if sensing that gaze, the young Duke leisurely lifted his head.
“It seems you have something to say to me, Norman.”
