Translator: Nox

Chapter 122

<122> Old Love (4)

Laura's breathing faltered. He, Mr. Dalton, was in Bath? The person who had been following her was him? And he even did that to John Ashton?

Her feet moved toward John on their own.

"After safely sending you back to Mrs. Chelsea's house, I stayed there for about two hours before heading out into the street. I was walking past the shopping district and under a bridge where there weren't many people when someone grabbed my shoulder. It was a gentleman with black hair and a pale face."

Laura slumped into the chair she had just been sitting on.

"He said he was Ian Dalton, a major landowner from Yorkshire, and told me to give up on Laura Pendleton. He said the two of you would be getting married soon, so I should get out of the way. I knew instinctively that he was the man who had been following you. So I gave him a few words of warning about that. He didn't like what I said and suddenly threw a punch."

Laura covered her face with both hands and bowed her head deeply.

"...Good heavens. Good heavens... I can't believe it..."

Laura was numb with shock. Ian Dalton had hit John Ashton. He had broken two of his ribs and completely disfigured his face.

Laura didn't want to believe it, and it wasn't easy to believe. He was certainly emotional and couldn't stand unpleasantness. But that didn't mean he was the kind of thug who would throw a punch at someone without hesitation. At least, the Mr. Dalton that Laura knew wasn't that kind of person.

But it was also hard to believe that John Ashton was lying. The very fact that he knew of Mr. Dalton's existence gave credibility to his testimony.

Laura lowered her hands and looked at John Ashton. Facing his bruised and torn face, guilt overwhelmed her resentment.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, John."

He shook his head.

"I'm not telling you this to get an apology. There's danger lurking around you. You need to be careful, very careful. Otherwise, next time, you might end up like me..."

Laura shook her head.

"He wouldn't do that to me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I know him. He wouldn't do anything to harm me. He's always grumpy, makes ridiculous demands, and tells lies, but he's..."

Suddenly, Laura stopped talking, realizing that she was defending Mr. Dalton.

John Ashton, who had been staring at Laura, nodded.

"Well, I don't know much about your relationship, so I have no right to comment. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know this."

"...So, is that why you asked me to have tea with you?"

He nodded.

"I'm sorry for getting angry without knowing the facts."

"When did you get angry?"

He smiled brightly. Deep dimples appeared on his bruised cheeks. Even with his injured face, his smile was handsome.

"You know what? You're exactly the same as the seventeen-year-old I last saw. No, you're even more beautiful than before. The past twelve years have only given your face intelligence and dignity instead of wrinkles."

Laura expressed her gratitude calmly. She thought it was flattery, but she felt she had to be polite to the man who had been beaten to a pulp by her suitor.

"Will I ever see that face of yours again?"

"..."

"Sometimes... would you come visit me?"

Laura thought for a moment and then nodded.

"...If it's only about once a week."

"Thank you. You'll help me recover more than any doctor."

Laura smiled awkwardly and got up from her chair.

"I should go now. I hope you have a speedy recovery."

"Okay. Be careful on your way back."

Laura shook his hand lightly and left the room.

Laura walked down the street, feeling listless. As soon as she left John Ashton's residence, her thoughts of him vanished as if washed away, and her mind was filled only with thoughts of Mr. Dalton.

'He's in Bath. He's... he's...'

While in Bath, Laura had often thought of him. What was he doing at this moment? Was he working in his office? Was he strolling among the apple trees in the garden, enjoying the cool autumn breeze? Or was he having tea with Star and her husband at the Parsonage?

But he, whom she had no doubt was in Whitefield, was in the same city as Laura herself.

Laura didn't want to admit it, but her heart was pounding wildly. Once again, her five senses were trying to return to the moment of the kiss in the carriage on the night of the Ball.

Laura shook her head violently. But she couldn't help her cheeks from turning red.

'You idiot. Stop thinking about that day. Please stop! He hit someone. He hit someone so hard that he broke their bones. That's a terrible thing to do. You should be disappointed in him... But, fistfights between men are common. And there's no way John would have just stood there and taken it... Wait, then Mr. Dalton must have been hurt too.'

Laura stopped in her tracks.

'John is big and strong. He must have hit Mr. Dalton. Oh my god. How badly was he hurt? Were any bones broken? Was his skin torn? What if he hit his head on the ground and got a concussion...!'

She felt panicked and wanted to scream.

'No, no! Stop thinking about it. Come back to your senses, Laura Sheldon, please. Why are you doing this? Why have you become such an extreme idiot?'

Laura quickened her pace again. But no matter how fast she walked, the worry about him that clung to her mind wouldn't go away. The pleasantly blowing fresh autumn breeze couldn't cool her flushed cheeks.

Laura shook her head.

'Even if he was hurt, it wouldn't be fatal. There's no way a lawyer would have beaten Mr. Dalton to death. Calm down, Laura. And think about what you need to do next. Um... Ah, first I need to tell Miss Hyde and Miss Rotis that the person who was following us was Mr. Dalton.'

Laura tried to think further. But with Mr. Dalton's face flickering before her eyes, Laura could no longer think rationally. She wasn't even aware of what was happening around her. The countless people passing by, the cool autumn breeze.

That's why Laura didn't realize it even after arriving in front of the hotel. That a man was endlessly staring at the hotel entrance from the top floor window of the large hat shop directly across from the hotel.

If Laura knew that the man's face was as messed up as John Ashton's, but that no part of his body was broken or caved in, she might have burst into tears of relief.

Also, if she could have seen how welcoming and sad his expression became when he spotted Laura, she wouldn't have been able to suppress the urge to hug him.

* * *

Laura, entering the hotel, realized that she really needed to pull herself together. Miss Rotis would be in the room. They had no schedule today and had promised to rest at the hotel and then go out for dinner together.

Laura stood in front of the fountain in the lobby for a moment to calm herself down before going up to the suite.

Miss Rotis was sitting alone in the living room of the suite. A sight that never suited her usual self.

She was sewing.

Laura was so surprised that she forgot about Mr. Dalton's face that had been filling her mind. Laura went and sat next to her.

"Miss Rotis, why are you sewing yourself? There's a repair shop in the hotel."

Miss Rotis replied, sticking the needle into the fabric.

"The repair skills at this hotel are terrible. I asked them to fix a torn silk stocking the other day, and what came back was a piece of cloth ruined by a twelve-year-old who had just learned to sew. Miss Pendleton also does her own repairs or asks me to do them for her if she has anything to fix."

Laura nodded and quietly watched Miss Rotis sew the garment. The garment was a dark magenta autumn jacket. Laura tilted her head.

Miss Rotis's clothes were all black. Jackets, blouses, coats, scarves, gloves, stockings, hats, even pajamas.

Laura stared at the garment intently and then recalled that this was the autumn coat that Miss Hyde had been wearing yesterday.

"Is this Miss Hyde's coat?"

"That's right."

Miss Rotis replied without taking her eyes off the sewing.

"She didn't realize the hem was caught in the door and kept walking, tearing it. Jane is always causing accidents. Spilling food, tripping over stones, falling off her horse and spraining her neck, dropping one glove and making the other one useless. She's so adorable."

"Miss Hyde has been like that since she was a child. I once asked her why she was so careless. Miss Hyde replied, 'Thoughts are constantly running through my head. All sorts of interesting and fun ideas. It's like reading a storybook all day long.'"

"That's a typical trait of creative people. I bet the novel Jane writes will be interesting."

Laura was surprised.

"You know that Miss Hyde is writing a novel?"

"Of course. She told me herself."

"Did she show you the novel, Miss Rotis?"

"No."

"That's strange. Miss Rotis is the writer Miss Hyde respects the most."

"I know. No matter how many times I ask, she just says no. It's so disappointing. I even sew her clothes for her."

Miss Rotis said with a sigh, but there was a faint smile on her lips.

Laura quietly watched Miss Rotis's hands sewing the garment. They were delicate hands filled with care.

As if sewing the clothes of a precious person.

Laura shook her head at the thought that suddenly came to her as she watched those hands.

"Miss Rotis, where is Miss Hyde?"

"She went to the post office to mail a letter."

"When will she be back?"

"Well, she said she was going to stop by the bookstore on the way back, so she won't be back for a few hours. She likes books as much as Miss Pendleton does."

Laura wondered when she should talk about Mr. Dalton. It was a story that didn't suit a pleasant dinner at all. Laura decided to talk to Miss Hyde separately first and then confide in Miss Rotis.

"Miss Rotis, I found out the identity of the man who was following us a few days ago."

Miss Rotis's hands, which had been sewing, stopped abruptly. She looked up and stared at Laura with a questioning look.

Laura explained simply. His name and residence. The friendship she had with him and the good job she had gotten because of it, the affection that had blossomed between them, and the ensuing proposal.

Laura omitted the reckless behavior and lies so that he wouldn't appear to be a bad person. But Miss Rotis was a writer, and therefore knew how to read between the lines and make inferences.

As Laura's explanation continued, Miss Rotis's brow furrowed.

"So, he arranged a fake job to keep you by my side so you couldn't leave, and when he realized you knew how he felt and left the area, he followed you all the way here, circling around you and scaring you?"

"Well, it's not exactly like that..."

Laura tried to deny it, but Miss Rotis was already very angry.

"How can there be such a terrible person? If a woman doesn't like you, that should be the end of it."

Laura regretted it. She should have explained it when Miss Hyde was by her side. Miss Hyde would have been able to convince Miss Rotis that Mr. Dalton wasn't such a bad person.

Miss Rotis tied off the thread, cut it with the small scissors, and put the garment down next to her.

"Where is that guy staying now?"