Chapter 112
<112> Aftermath of Sincerity (2)
The next morning, Laura's luggage was loaded onto the Four-wheeled carriage.
All the members of Dunville Park came out to the front of the mansion to see Laura off. Laura kissed her brothers, whose faces were swollen from crying, one by one, and hugged Olivia, who was smiling brightly, telling her to have fun. Then, she bowed politely to the master and mistress of the house before getting into the carriage.
As the carriage departed, Laura leaned out the window. The Fairfax family was waving at the departing carriage. Laura also waved until they were out of sight.
A heavy sadness lingered in Laura's heart. She realized that the members of Dunville Park had become comfortable and loving figures, like family.
However, as the mansion disappeared from view and she moved further away from the forest surrounding Dunville Park, Laura felt increasingly at ease. She had to part with precious people, but she was also moving away from her greatest fear.
'I won't have to see Mr. Dalton for a while.'
Laura shuddered with relief.
After the kiss in the carriage, facing Mr. Dalton again became a fear for Laura, second only to death. In that moment when he clung to her, soaking her dress with tears, the broken lid that had been holding back Laura's emotions completely fell off, hinges and all.
With the lid gone, countless emotions poured out from her heart. Love, the yearning and desire that only love can give, loveliness, and sweetness. Like in a fairy tale where a princess cursed to sleep forever is awakened by a knight's kiss, the vivid joy that had been dormant within Laura awakened and took over her.
It no longer mattered that he had deceived her or that he had acted recklessly to get her to accept his proposal. She wanted to give herself to him entirely. She wanted to be his forever. She wanted to give him love, bear his children, and give him her very life.
Such emotions were new to Laura's life.
If she were to meet him again, she would be unable to resist. She wouldn't dare say no to his proposal, and even if he forced the ring back on her finger, she wouldn't be able to take it off. Even without threatening to kill himself, a single request from him would be enough for her to wear a wedding dress and vow to be his wife in front of the pastor.
'I can't make him happy.'
If she became his wife, she would be happy. Receiving his love, tending to his beautiful home together, and sharing her life with him. It would be like a miracle.
But he would only lose by taking her. He would be pointed at. His children would be pointed at because of her.
If she had something to offset the insults and inconveniences he would have to endure, she might have been able to muster some courage. Something that mattered in reality, like a vast fortune or the status of a Duke's daughter. But all she had was a humble body.
In the end, he would regret marrying her.
'He's only human. No matter how much he loves me, if his passion cools and the inconveniences continue, and if the benefits he gains are minimal, he will eventually regret it. He will want to turn back time to before the marriage.'
Love is a dream, but marriage is reality. This was Laura's conclusion after seeing hundreds of couples in London.
Never before had she hated her own unremarkable circumstances as much as she did now.
Feeling dejected, Laura shook her head and straightened her back. Then, she looked out the window. They were just passing a gentle hill where sheep were grazing among rocks and dry grass.
In two hours, she would arrive at the train station. She would be busy in Bath. She would always eat hearty meals, read many books, and take frequent walks.
Out of sight, out of mind, Mrs. Fairfax had said. Laura hoped that saying would apply to her as well.
Laura sighed and was about to turn her gaze to her pocket watch to check the time. But just as she was about to look away from the window, a Four-wheeled carriage led by a slender black horse caught her eye beyond the hill.
"Ah..."
Laura covered her mouth with her hand. Although it was a long distance away, Laura saw the Whitefield family crest painted on the carriage.
With her heart pounding with anxiety, Laura watched the receding carriage. Through the window, she glimpsed him, his elbow on the windowsill, propping up his chin.
The carriage seemed to be heading towards Dunville Park. The reason for the visit was obvious. To propose again. It was a stroke of luck that he hadn't seen the carriage Laura was in.
As he disappeared, Laura breathed a sigh of relief. She felt at peace. Or, she believed she felt at peace.
Even though her heart was pounding and the sensation of his kiss was reviving on her lips, Laura wanted to believe it.
It continued even as she arrived at the train station and boarded the train to Bath. Even as she ate two plates of lamb in the dining car and forced herself to talk to other passengers to forget her stray thoughts, a strange blush spread across her face.
She felt as if Mr. Dalton was right in front of her. As if he was embracing her waist, pulling her face close, and kissing her.
She tried to forget him, but it was no use. Laura's heart had already become his entirely.
* * *
The carriage stopped in front of the Dunville Park mansion. Mr. Dalton, who had been sitting in the seat, adjusted his tie. Dressed in a dark green suit and cleanly shaven, his face was radiant, with no trace of the fatigue he had shown in recent days.
It was the face of a man who had received his first kiss from the woman he loved and confirmed her feelings.
He smoothed back his neatly combed hair and once again murmured the words he had been repeating to himself lately.
'Laura loves me.'
Pleasure swept through his entire body. His heart grew warm, and his stomach felt satisfied, as if he had eaten a warm meal after being starved.
The coachman opened the door and lowered the footstool.
He hummed a tune and picked up the luggage he had placed beside him. It was an enormous bouquet of flowers and a rosewood box embossed with morning glory patterns.
After all the guests had left yesterday, he had picked flowers blooming in the greenhouse to make this large bouquet. Perhaps thanks to the power of love, the bouquet exuded a harmonious beauty, even though he had never learned the art of arranging flowers.
The wooden box contained a set of keys that could open every room in Whitefield. Only Ramswick, the butler, and he himself possessed them, and Mr. Dalton had brought his own to give to Laura.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten the rejected diamond ring either. It was safely tucked away in his chest pocket.
Ian got out of the carriage with gifts for his beloved woman in both hands. And with a smile on his face, he walked quickly into the mansion.
He first went to the living room to find his sister. But there, Daniel and George, who should have been playing outside, were sprawled on the sofa with their faces swollen.
"What are you doing?"
The nephews jumped up and sat up straight at the sudden appearance of their uncle. Ian noticed that the children were tearful.
"Didn't your mother give you snacks?"
They shook their heads.
"Then?"
George suddenly started crying, "Hngh." Daniel bit his lip tightly and barely managed to hold back his tears, but tears were dripping from his eyes.
They weren't the type to cry like this unless something serious had happened. He became anxious, wondering if his nephews had contracted some terrible disease.
"Daniel, what's wrong?"
When his scary uncle frowned and asked, Daniel opened his mouth, which he had been keeping closed to swallow his sobs.
"...Hic, h... Hngh, Sheldon Teacher..."
"Sheldon Teacher?"
His face immediately contorted.
"Speak clearly. What about Sheldon Teacher?"
Daniel couldn't continue speaking because he was sobbing. He immediately rushed to Daniel and shook his shoulders.
"Tell me! What's wrong? Is she sick? Is she hurt?"
"Hngh, she left! She left us... she left us!"
Daniel couldn't hold back and burst into tears even louder than George.
He threw away the bouquet and the wooden box he was holding and ran out of the living room. Reaching the second floor, leaping up the stairs four at a time, he ran straight into his sister's private room.
His sister was sitting in a rocking chair, warming herself by the fireplace. She was only lukewarm even when she saw her brother suddenly burst in.
"I was wondering when you'd come."
"Laura left? Is it true?"
"Yes."
He looked at his sister in dismay.
"Why didn't you stop her? No, you should have told me when she was about to leave in the first place!"
"What would telling you have done? Would you have actually brought a pistol and put it to your temple to put on a full-blown suicide show? You pull something like that and expect the woman not to leave, you pathetic fool."
"...No. She wouldn't have left... She loves me..."
"What are you talking about now?"
"She loves me! I confirmed it in the carriage from Whitefield to Dunville Park. She accepted my kiss!"
Mrs. Fairfax looked at him suspiciously.
"Didn't she respond because you threatened her?"
"She stroked my hair. She said she was hurting too when she saw me crying!"
"Oh, that's a bit more believable, I suppose?"
Ian was on the verge of going crazy. They had confirmed each other's feelings, and yet she had left. Why, when all that was left was for them to live happily together?
He strode towards the rocking chair and grabbed his sister's shoulders, which were wrapped in a fox fur shawl.
"Where did Laura go?"
"What if I know?"
"I have to bring her back."
Mrs. Fairfax frowned.
"Are you going to drag her back by force?"
"I have to persuade her. Even if I have to beg and plead..."
"And if that doesn't work, you'll threaten to kill yourself again?"
"I won't do that again."
"Even if you don't, I can't tell you."
"Why!"
Mrs. Fairfax grabbed Ian by the collar.
"Because you keep hurting the best woman in the world. You stupid idiot!"
She shook Ian by the collar. The tie he had neatly adjusted became disheveled, and the buttons on his shirt fell off.
"Sheldon Teacher ran away because of your reckless pursuit! She shed buckets of tears while burning with heartache! I told you to get married, not to torment a poor woman, huh?"
Ian pushed away his sister's hands.
"She's blaming herself? Why?"
"Because she, as a governess, won your heart. If she likes you, she'll feel a considerable amount of guilt about her own feelings."
