Chapter 104
<104> Hunting Party (7)
"W-What's the matter?"
"I have something for you."
Laura draped a shawl over her shoulders and walked to the door. She opened it to find Mr. Dalton standing there in his tuxedo. He hadn't changed after the evening dinner. Laura, conscious of her appearance in her nightgown with her hair braided loosely, blushed.
Mr. Dalton held a tray in his hands. It held a steaming bowl of soup, a small glass of wine, and cookies studded with almonds.
"You hardly ate any dinner."
"...Thank you."
Laura took the tray and tried to close the door, but Mr. Dalton stopped it with his hand.
"Are you ill?"
"..."
"Tell me honestly how you're feeling. I'm so worried I can't do anything."
Laura's heart pounded.
"I'm just tired. I'll be fine after I sleep. Please go."
"I've been making you work too hard. I'm sorry."
She felt tears welling up. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Why do you keep apologizing? You haven't done anything wrong to me."
"You grant every request I make. You're as kind and gentle as an angel. That's why I wanted to rely on you for everything. I didn't realize it might be a burden to you."
'A burden? On the contrary, it's a joy to be needed by you. I'm so afraid of the day I'm no longer needed that I'm plotting my escape.'
The thought of the day he wouldn't need her anymore brought a tear to her eye before she even realized it.
Mr. Dalton's expression hardened.
"Miss Pendleton!"
Laura quickly turned and went back into the room. She heard Mr. Dalton following her.
Laura set the tray on the table and wiped away her tears. She could feel Mr. Dalton standing behind her.
"I want to rest. Please leave."
"How can I leave when I see you crying?"
"It's a problem Mr. Dalton can't solve."
"I can offer comfort."
He took another step closer to Laura.
"Please, tell me. Confide in me, lean on me. I also..."
There was a hint of anguish in his voice.
"I also want to be someone who is helpful to you. Someone you can always rely on and confide in. Someone whose absence would leave a gaping hole in the middle of your life. A hole that couldn't be filled with anything else... someone like that."
His hand touched Laura's shoulder.
"...Even if I'm not that to you, you are that to me."
A chill ran down Laura's spine. She felt a premonition. In his voice, in his touch.
'No. It can't be.'
Laura denied her intuition. It was an absurd prediction, one that couldn't be true.
Laura wiped her face with the shawl and took three steps forward.
"It's inappropriate for us to be together like this in the middle of the night. My reputation is already ruined because of you."
"...What do you mean?"
"It's only natural since I'm acting as the mistress of a bachelor's house. I've been misunderstood... as your mistress."
A moment of silence. Mr. Dalton's breathing was inaudible.
"...Who said that?"
Laura felt a chill. His voice was sharp and cold as an ice pick.
"Tell me."
"What if I do?"
"I'll shoot them with a gun."
Laura whirled around.
His face seemed calm at first glance, but his eyes were burning dangerously like those of a rabid beast.
Laura opened her mouth calmly.
"Let's reflect on our own actions. Our friendship has been indiscreet and careless. Even if we have no ulterior motives, it's easy for outsiders to misunderstand."
"..."
"Let's get through this gathering safely, and then let's be careful from now on. I won't visit Whitefield anymore. It's only natural for you to visit Dunville Park out of affection for your niece and sister, so I'll be careful. Let's avoid running into each other as much as possible, and even if we do meet, let's avoid being alone together."
Laura finished speaking firmly and walked to the dressing table and sat down. She untied her braided hair and began to brush it.
For a while, only the sound of hair being brushed filled the room.
"...Plans are useless, after all."
He turned abruptly and strode out of the room.
The door closed. Laura put down the brush. As the tension eased, all the strength drained from her body. She collapsed onto the dressing table.
'No. It can't be.'
Laura tried to ignore the premonition that had seized her.
'If it is, then Mr. Dalton has played the worst trick. He becomes reckless, cruel, and selfish. There's no way he would do that.'
That night, after tossing and turning for a long time, Laura finally drank the wine Mr. Dalton had brought and managed to fall asleep.
In her dream, Laura returned to her days in London for the first time in a long time. The days when she was called a socialite, the picnics she went on to the suburbs dressed in airy clothes. A small forest path by the river. Sitting on a rock, poking the ground with her parasol, feeling the cool summer breeze. And Mr. Dalton sitting beside her.
The intense gaze that pierced straight through her.
'I can imagine it. Mrs. Dalton willingly allowing you to live with us... Because if I were to marry, Miss Pendleton would have no choice but to live at Whitefield Hall. Without that situation, my marriage would not be possible, Miss Pendleton.'
In her dream, she embraced Ian with both arms. Holding him tightly to her chest, she cried out without hesitation.
'Me too, Mr. Dalton. I also can't dream of marrying anyone other than you!'
* * *
Nobles and gentlemen obsessed with hunting gathered in front of the hunting grounds from dawn. Due to the large number of people, they were divided into six groups. They were alliances formed through family ties, and of course, all the men were proud of their hunting achievements.
The group with the best results was a group of young gentry. They returned every day with a considerable amount of game, impressing many ladies.
On the morning hunt of the third day of the gathering, this group surpassed the achievements of the previous two days by a dizzying amount.
Mr. Fairfax, who had recently joined, had quite good hunting skills, but that only provided a little help. It was because Ian Dalton, who was acting as the leader of the group, was shooting like a madman possessed.
Wherever he shot, there was invariably the sound of the game squealing and something collapsing to the ground. The members of the group all looked at Mr. Dalton with admiration. Except for his longtime friend, Mr. Fairfax.
On the way back to the mansion after the hunt, Mr. Fairfax made sure the group was far away and caught up with Mr. Dalton, who was ahead of him.
"Is something bothering you?"
"No."
"Liar. The way you're shooting, it's like you're killing animals instead of shooting people. Did you have a problem with Miss Pendleton?"
Mr. Dalton frowned.
"Shut up."
'I knew it.'
"It's your love affair, so it's not my place to interfere. Let's talk about something else."
Mr. Fairfax looked around again.
"You're the one who decided to invest in the Pendleton Estate's shipbuilding business, right?"
Instead of answering, Mr. Dalton quickly reloaded the gun he was carrying on his shoulder and shot at the branch of a fir tree on the right side of the road.
With a flutter, a bird fell into the bushes. At Mr. Dalton's signal, a hunting dog that had been following him ran into the forest to retrieve the game.
"Hearing rumors that a huge amount of capital was invested, many investors appeared. What's the plan?"
The hunting dog ran back to its owner with the prey in its mouth. Ian stroked the dog's head once and then signaled to the servants who were carrying the game. The well-trained hunting dog ran to the side its owner gestured to.
"Are you asking because you, a businessman, don't know?"
"I want to hear it directly from you."
"I'll pull out the investment when the construction is halfway done. The business plan is so messed up from the root that there are plenty of things to pick on."
"...Are you really going to do it?"
"Yes. I'm going to do it."
He reloaded the gun and pulled the trigger towards the bushes. Another bird fell.
"Stop it. You're going to wipe out all the animals in the hunting grounds."
"Don't stop me, I'm barely holding back from shooting people."
"...Okay. I understand. I understand. But I have to say this. Think carefully before you act. The Pendleton Estate's land has been reduced to half of half, and the income from that tiny plot of land is all going to pay off the interest on the debts the children made. If this business fails, the Pendleton Estate is finished. They'll be out on the streets."
Mr. Dalton smiled coldly.
"That's a delightful prospect."
"Will Miss Pendleton find it delightful too? What would she say to you if she knew? If she thought you were cruel?"
Mr. Dalton said nothing. Soon the edge of the forest appeared, and they arrived at a wide plain. He put away his rifle, slung it over his shoulder, and took out a silver cigarette case from his jacket pocket.
He offered the case to Mr. Fairfax. Mr. Fairfax took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. And in return, he lit his friend's cigarette.
"I discovered a side of myself I didn't know while loving her."
Mr. Dalton exhaled smoke. His bloodshot eyes were red, probably from lack of sleep.
"Until now, I thought I was indifferent to everything, whether it was desire or anger. I was wrong. I'm quite impulsive and cruel. The religious education I received since childhood is useless, I'm swayed by desire."
"Everyone is like that."
"You lost love and got over it well. You were rejected and spent a few days hunting in the hunting grounds to shake it off. And you became friends with that lady as if it was all a joke. But I can't do that. Even if I spend ten years hunting every day, I won't be able to forget her."
"Then, why don't you stop retaliating against the Pendleton Estate? Avoid the risk of losing her favor..."
"I can't forgive the person who hurt her. If I lose her, that's my fate. And I won't forgive myself for making me lose her."
He looked up at the clear autumn sky.
"The person I wanted to shoot today was me."
"..."
"I think I might lose her. William."
