Chapter 121
<121> Old Love (3)
Two days later, Laura carefully washed the borrowed clothes, placed them in a gift box, and headed to Mrs. Chelsea's house. She intended to formally thank Mrs. Chelsea in person and, while she was there, ask about John's whereabouts.
After retracing her steps, Laura finally found Mrs. Chelsea's house and stood before the red front door, reaching for the doorknob.
Just then, the door swung open, and Mrs. Chelsea, the homeowner, appeared. She was dressed in an old-fashioned outfit and carried a worn leather bag.
"Oh my, aren't you the young lady from the other day?"
She seemed quite surprised. Laura first handed her the clothes she had borrowed and expressed her gratitude.
Mrs. Chelsea burst into laughter.
"To bring these rags in a gift box like those from a handmade confectionery, you truly are a kind young lady! If it were any other time, I would have dragged you inside and treated you to my homemade walnut pie, but I was just about to leave..."
"It seems you have a patient to attend to."
"That's right. I'm on my way to see Mr. Ashton."
"...Ah, now that you mention it, Mr. Ashton is indebted to you, isn't he? Do you visit him often?"
"Yes. His daughter, Miss Cecilia Ashton, often suffers from a cough."
'His daughter?'
Laura was taken aback but then remembered hearing news of him having a daughter sometime ago.
"She has a weak heart and a frail constitution, so every year, as soon as summer ends, she comes here for Hot spring therapy to improve her health until spring arrives. But it doesn't seem to cure her. Anyway, it's quite pitiful. Her mother passed away, and recently, she suffered such a great shock..."
"...A great shock?"
"Oh my, don't you know? I thought you would, being a friend of Mr. Ashton's. He was badly injured the very night I brought you to this house and has been bedridden ever since!"
Laura covered her mouth with both hands.
"Good heavens, such a thing... Was it an accident?"
"I can't say for sure. He keeps his mouth shut and doesn't say a word. However, the maid says it looked like he had been in a fight. His appearance suggested as much. Can you imagine, young lady? It would take at least five strong men to do that to Mr. Ashton. Did he run into thugs in an alleyway..."
Laura became quite worried about Ashton. Her resentment towards him remained, but suffering from violence was a separate matter.
"How badly was he hurt? Is he still alive?"
"He's alive, which is why he called me instead of an undertaker. Though he's probably in so much pain he wishes he were dead. He has two broken ribs, his face is all cut up with scabs and bruises, and he's lost three teeth."
Laura gasped softly.
"Anyway, I don't have any more time to waste. The doctors in Bath are the type to poke and prod at the patient and then just leave with a prescription. Caring for Mr. Ashton is entirely my responsibility. Come visit sometime. Goodbye."
Mrs. Chelsea descended the steps in front of the door. Laura followed her.
"Excuse me, is Mr. Ashton in a condition to receive visitors?"
"Oh, are you going to visit him?"
"If it's not too much trouble."
"There's no particular problem. He lies in bed and talks, and he eats soup. However, his face is such a mess that he might not want to be seen by others."
Laura nodded and accompanied Mrs. Chelsea.
As she followed Mrs. Chelsea, Laura wondered if it was the right thing to do, to go and see John Ashton now.
Even if she owed him a debt of gratitude, rushing to see him as soon as she heard he was injured felt like an overreaction.
However, it was impossible for her to ignore someone who had helped her recently and was now in great distress.
Laura knew very well that if she didn't visit John Ashton in his sickbed and offer a few words of comfort, she would be plagued by a lingering unease for some time.
The two arrived in front of the Pulteney Hotel, located in the center of Bath. It was a luxury hotel she had visited when she was looking for a place to stay shortly after arriving in Bath.
John Ashton was staying in a room just below the suite level.
As they entered the room, they heard the sound of a little girl sobbing.
Mrs. Chelsea entered the room first. Soon, a thick voice spoke weakly from inside.
"You're here, Mrs. Chelsea. Before you check on me, could you see to Cecilia? She hasn't touched her breakfast and just keeps crying next to me."
"Oh, Cecilia, dear, stop crying. If you collapse, your father will collapse too. Hush now!"
Mrs. Chelsea's voice continued, soothing the child. It was a voice filled with affection, like a grandmother comforting her crying granddaughter. Soon, the child's crying subsided.
"Oh, Mr. Ashton, there's a visitor outside. May I let her in?"
He sighed wearily.
"Who is it? I'm in no condition to receive anyone..."
"It's the young lady who visited my house with you last time. The one who was being chased by some thug..."
"What? Laura...? Ugh...!"
"Oh dear, you just had your bones set! Don't try to get up!"
"...It's alright, Mrs. Chelsea. Please, bring her in here quickly. Though my face is quite a sight... Still, quickly...!"
Mrs. Chelsea's footsteps approached the door. Soon, the door opened, and Mrs. Chelsea ushered Laura inside.
He was lying on a huge king-size bed that seemed just right for his large frame.
Laura was speechless at the sight of him. The charming young gentleman she had met two days ago was gone. Half of his face was bruised purple, and the other half was covered in scabs.
He was lying straight on his back with a bandage around his waist, his face turned towards Laura. Mrs. Chelsea quickly folded a pillow and placed it behind his head.
"Laura, how did you get here..."
Laura bowed slightly.
"I went to Mrs. Chelsea's house to thank you for the other day. And I heard about your injury. I'm sorry to hear that. Are you in a lot of pain?"
He smiled awkwardly.
"It would be a lie to say I'm alright. You're not blind, after all. I'm not doing well, Laura. Until yesterday, I couldn't even stay awake without painkillers."
Laura instinctively felt sympathy.
"How did you get hurt like this?"
"I'll tell you about that later. First, let me introduce you to Cecilia. You haven't met my daughter before, have you, Laura?"
He turned his head towards the girl sitting on a stool next to the bed.
"Cecilia, this is Miss Laura Pendleton. An old friend of your father's."
The child stood up and bowed slightly to Laura.
Laura gazed at the child. She was a pretty girl with a mass of red curly hair and blue eyes. Her face was as red as her hair from crying so much.
Laura roughly estimated the year she had heard about John Ashton having a child. It was before she turned twenty. That meant the child must be at least ten years old. But her physique made her look no more than seven.
Laura smiled gently at the child.
"Hello, Cecilia? It's nice to meet you."
The child only stared at Laura with a hesitant expression. Laura felt sorry for her and her heart ached. John Ashton's condition was a serious injury even for an adult to witness, so how much of a shock must it have been for the young child? Especially since she was relying solely on her father without a mother.
John Ashton gestured to Cecilia. Cecilia approached her father. He stroked the child's hair with his torn and scarred hand.
"Cecilia, your father is much better than yesterday. And he will continue to get better. The dream you had last night wasn't real. Don't be sad. The sadder you are, the more my heart aches, and the slower I recover. Understand?"
Cecilia nodded at her father's gentle voice.
"Then, go to your room and play Mozart for Mrs. Chelsea, the one you learned this summer."
"Yes, Father."
He put the tip of his finger to his lips and then pressed that finger firmly on Cecilia's small forehead.
Cecilia took her father's large hand and kissed the back of it. Then, she politely greeted Laura before leaving the room with Mrs. Chelsea.
With the sound of the door closing, only the two of them remained in the room.
"Cecilia had a dream last night."
He frowned and sighed.
"Her mother, who became an angel, appeared and took me away. She's been crying all morning. If Mrs. Chelsea had been late, she would have collapsed by now."
"Mrs. Chelsea seems like a good nurse."
"She is. She's very precious to us, father and daughter."
He offered Laura the chair that Cecilia had been sitting on. Laura approached the chair and sat down.
"Thank you for coming. Seeing you makes me feel better."
A bright joy appeared on his face as he looked at Laura. Laura could feel that his feelings for her were still there.
'How can that be? How?'
Laura had thought he would have completely forgotten about her. That must be why there hadn't been a single letter of explanation in the past twelve years.
But now, his expression was as radiant as it had been back then, when they had reluctantly parted ways at the Ball last night and then accidentally met in Hyde Park the next day.
"...I'm glad that my visit has been of some help. It's like I've repaid you, even just a little, for the help you gave me last time."
"Don't think of it that way. I don't want my kindness to become a debt."
Laura nodded.
A moment of awkward silence passed.
Originally, Laura was the type of person who would bring up any topic to break the awkward atmosphere whenever silence fell. But at this moment, she couldn't think of anything to say. And frankly, she didn't really want to talk.
Laura forcibly rummaged through her mind, piecing together the right words.
"I hope you recover quickly. So you can make good memories with your daughter in Bath... You told me not to worry about it, but I'm not the type of person who can be indifferent to the help I've received. Once again, thank you for your help the other day."
He stared intently at Laura. He could sense that there was no sincerity in her voice.
Laura couldn't find any reason to sit here any longer. She slowly got up from her seat.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes."
"So soon? Won't you have a cup of tea?"
Laura sighed. He was asking her to have tea with him now? To the woman he had broken off their engagement with and disappeared without a word, whom he was meeting again after twelve years?
"I don't think that's a good idea. You're not in a condition to drink tea."
"You can drink it alone. Just stay a little longer."
"I don't want to sit face to face with you for long."
Laura said in a dry voice.
"If we sit face to face, we'll have no choice but to talk about the past. And in the past, there's a woman who was deceived and betrayed. I don't want to dredge that up. And I don't want to get angry at you either. So, I'll be getting up now."
Laura bowed slightly to him, turned around, and walked towards the door.
"Laura."
Laura didn't stop walking.
"Do you know that a man named Ian Dalton is after you?"
Ian Dalton. Laura felt her heart drop to the floor.
She turned around to look at him.
"How do you know him?"
"Because Ian Dalton is the one who did this to me."
