Translator: Nox

Chapter 120

<120> Old Love (2)

Laura prayed for him every night. For his business to prosper, for peace to settle in his home and health. Even though her already difficult life had become even harder because of him, she wished only for his happiness.

It was a kind of discipline. A discipline to become someone who could forgive, overcoming resentment and betrayal. Like the saying, "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade," Laura was practicing the most rational way to overcome her hurt.

But when she actually faced him after 12 years, Laura couldn't stop the resentment from sprouting.

Her change wasn't just today. She had recently stopped praying for him. When she received a letter through Ann that John was looking for her, Laura realized she hadn't fully forgiven him. The betrayal she felt from him 12 years ago had been hidden deep in her heart, but it hadn't disappeared or changed.

Laura knew that the point at which she became aware of her emotions was similar to the point at which cracks began to appear in her tightly closed heart for Mr. Dalton.

It wasn't just affection for Mr. Dalton that began to flow uncontrollably from her heart. It was the entirety of the human emotions she had been suppressing.

But her attitude of not easily revealing her inner thoughts was still strongly protecting Laura. Instead of demanding an explanation for the past from John Ashton, she calmly took his arm and walked. From the outside, they would have looked like a friendly young couple visiting Bath.

Given the situation, Laura needed his help.

Regardless of her hatred for him, Laura felt relieved walking with him. He was a burly man. During his growing years, he had grown up hitting hot iron with his blacksmith father, and after he grew up, he had become unusually strong by learning horseback riding and fencing with the support of Mrs. Granchard.

12 years ago, she always felt secure just being by his side. Even if rocks rained down from the sky, she felt like she wouldn't get hurt at all if she was with him. It was all a delusion, though.

"I can feel eyes on us. They're still following us."

He muttered.

"That guy's fearless. Not giving up even though there's an escort. His affection for you must be terrible."

"It's not certain that I'm the target. Maybe they're following us to find another lady who's staying with me."

She replied in a calm voice.

"No. The target is definitely Laura, you. No matter how charming the ladies who are staying with you are, they can't be more beautiful than you."

Laura said nothing. A moment of silence passed, and soon he spoke again.

"There's a nurse's wife who I used to employ living on the outskirts of Bath. She'll help you escape safely. Can you walk more?"

Laura nodded.

How long had it been? The street scene, lined with silk-draped shop windows and luxury hotels with doormen guarding the entrances, gradually changed to a shabby appearance with peeling gates and run-down pubs huddled together.

The two stopped in front of a red-gated house. He grabbed the doorknob and knocked on the gate. Soon, a gaunt middle-aged woman wearing a bonnet came out.

"Oh my, Mr. Ashton."

He took off his hat and greeted her.

"Hello, Mrs. Chelsea. May I come in for a moment?"

"Of course."

The two went inside.

John told her the general situation Laura was in. The woman looked at Laura with a very sympathetic expression.

"Mrs. Chelsea, as an old friend, I must safely return this lady home. It will be impossible without your help."

"Just tell me what to do. I'm ready to do anything for a gentleman like Mr. Ashton."

Mr. Ashton told Laura and Mrs. Chelsea his plan.

Laura would borrow Mrs. Chelsea's clothes and leave the house. If she walked slowly like an old woman with a basket in her hand, she would probably look like the housekeeper of this house.

Laura followed her into Mrs. Chelsea's dressing room. Indeed, it was a great plan. Mrs. Chelsea's clothes were all old-fashioned, as if the fashion was at least 50 years out of date. A frumpy line that didn't accentuate the waistline and fabrics with tacky patterns. Moreover, the hat was just an outdated bonnet that even old women didn't wear.

Laura put on a navy blue dress, draped a tattered gray shawl over her shoulders, and wore a large brown bonnet on her head. And she carried a market basket as if she were going grocery shopping.

Laura left the front door. And pretending to be hunched over, she lowered her head to cover her face and slowly began to move away from Mrs. Chelsea's house.

For the ten minutes she walked down the street, Laura didn't feel anyone behind her. She had finally shaken off the man.

Laura took a rented carriage she met on the main street. Only then did the tension in her whole body ease. She took off the old, heavy bonnet she was wearing on her head and leaned back against the back of the chair.

'John. I met him. After 12 years.'

The person she saw fleetingly through the bookstore glass was John Ashton. Laura took a deep breath and calmed her unpleasantly throbbing heart.

'Since I received help from him, I have to meet him again once. I have to say thank you. That's the last time. I'll never see his face again.'

The carriage stopped in front of the hotel. Laura paid the fare and got out of the carriage.

Laura mentally reviewed Miss Rotis' schedule. Today, she was scheduled to read a book at a countess' salon. The meeting would continue until the evening, so she wouldn't have to make excuses for her attire.

Laura went up to the suite without much thought. But when she opened the door to the room, Miss Hyde and Miss Rotis were in the living room.

Laura was embarrassed.

'Why did they come back so early?'

Only now did Laura think about how to explain her outfit. It seemed difficult to hide about John Ashton. It would sound strange to say that she received help from a strange gentleman on the street and borrowed his acquaintance's clothes.

But after a moment of thought, Laura noticed that the two were not paying any attention to her clothes at all. Miss Hyde had a serious face, and Miss Rotis had her eyes lowered as if lost in thought.

Laura approached them.

"Is something wrong...?"

Miss Hyde stared at Laura. It was a look that was both difficult and worried.

"Miss Pendleton."

Miss Rotis opened her mouth.

"I heard a rumor at the salon today. I came back earlier than expected because it was deeply related to you."

"What..."

Miss Rotis turned her head to look at Miss Hyde. It was as if she was passing the ball to a teammate. Miss Hyde bit her lip and hesitated before sighing and saying.

"The Pendleton Estate in Cornwall and the mansion are going to be auctioned off. The Pendleton Estate's London Townhouse has already been put up for sale."

Laura sat down on the sofa for now. And she calmly placed her interlaced fingers on her knees.

"Did you hear how that happened?"

"I heard that the construction order business that the eldest son started had problems in the middle. There are rumors that the second son, Charles Pendleton, touched the investors' money to pay off his gambling debts."

"If that fact is the talk of the town, then Charles Pendleton must not have been able to pay off his gambling debts after all."

Miss Hyde nodded.

"He won't be able to dream of liquidating his gambling debts because he's paying for the lawyers' fees for the lawsuit filed by the investors. The debtors handed Charles Pendleton over to the debtor's prison because they were afraid he would flee abroad."

After finishing speaking, Miss Hyde carefully looked at Miss Pendleton's face.

The wide-brimmed bonnet cast a shadow on Laura's face, making it difficult to see her complexion. But looking at her expression, she didn't look sad or shocked.

Just a face that was calmly thinking.

Soon Laura opened her mouth.

"Miss Joan Jenson has lost her fiancé. She liked the Pendleton Estate's Townhouse, so it's a pity."

Miss Hyde blinked in surprise. Laura continued.

"I hope an owner who can manage the Townhouse and the mansion in Cornwall well will appear."

Laura closed her mouth as if she had finished speaking.

"Miss Pendleton, are you okay?"

Laura looked at Miss Hyde as if asking what she meant.

"I thought Miss Pendleton would be very shocked. The Pendleton Estate in Cornwall is one of the most prominent aristocratic families, and it must have been a great pride for Miss Pendleton as well... Of course, I know that the family was cruel to Miss Pendleton..."

Laura smiled faintly.

"Miss Hyde, I was just a Pendleton by name and never belonged there. I am the daughter of Dolores Pendleton, who abandoned the family, and the American painter Louis Sheldon. And that is my real pride. I respect my mother, who decided to leave in search of love, and I love my father, who was worthy of being my mother's husband."

Miss Hyde was surprised and stunned. It couldn't be helped. Miss Hyde, who had once been involved in high society, knew exactly how aristocrats thought.

For aristocrats, the family was their identity itself. The attachment to the noble blood that had been passed down for hundreds of years created a huge ego, and there were many cases where they even committed suicide when the family lost its power.

That's why she was worried about Miss Pendleton's heartbreak and persuaded Miss Rotis to leave the salon in a hurry.

Suddenly, Miss Rotis slammed the floor with the end of her cane.

"That's it, then."

Miss Rotis got up from her seat.

"Tonight's dinner is at Beatrice's. I made a reservation on the way back from the salon, so we don't have to spend time in the hot spring hall like last time."

Thanks to Miss Rotis, the atmosphere was refreshed. Laura smiled at her brightly.

"Was it to comfort me, kind Miss Rotis?"

"Of course not. I was going to pop the champagne. I heard about how the Pendleton family treated you from Jane."

The three slowly walked down the sunset street to Beatrice's. And they ate a lot of huge pizzas with fresh cheese stacked in layers and various kinds of pasta, and drank champagne. It was an evening full of jokes and laughter.

After dinner, Laura bought a box of chocolates from a nearby dessert shop. The three shared the chocolates and walked back to the hotel along the streets of Bath, which were lit up by gas lamps.

That night, Laura took a shower in warm water, put on fluffy pajamas, and fell asleep comfortably.

She knew what kind of time the members of the Pendleton family were spending now. Charles Pendleton would be cowering in fear in the dirty and damp prison he had never been to before, and the eldest son, John Pendleton, would be drunk and crying alone, as weak as he was.

And Gerald Pendleton, who had lived arrogantly all his life with the pride of being the head of a prestigious family, would be fiddling with a pistol, wishing for death instead.

Even though Laura was easily sympathetic to the misfortunes of others, she didn't say a single prayer for them.

Gerald Pendleton's wickedness was so deep and ugly. Enough to make even the most generous person not shed a single tear for the tragedy of their blood relatives.