Translator: Nox

Chapter 141

#<Episode 141>

"I will pray that my Albatross can fly far away without getting caught in human nets or hurting its wings, that it can flap its wings to places no woman, no human has ever been. You are a symbol of a changing world. I hope you succeed. I hope many women in the world see you and break free from their cages. I truly hope so."

Miss Hyde bowed her head and began to cry. Laura patted Miss Hyde's shoulder, comforting her.

Eventually, when Miss Hyde stopped crying and wiped her face, someone knocked.

"Come in."

Miss Rotis entered the room. She was wearing a black fur coat, a black velvet dress, black boots, and a black Russian fur hat.

In her hands, she held a cake box and a document envelope.

"I have good news. The contract with Delson Publishing has been finalized. With a killer advance. They're bragging about it being the biggest advance since their founding. We're leaving this country in March. Now, let's have a celebration party and a Christmas party!"

Before Laura could offer her congratulations, Miss Hyde burst into tears, hugging Miss Pendleton.

Laura patted Miss Hyde's back, glancing at Miss Rotis. She had heard that Miss Rotis's jealousy was immense.

But Miss Rotis simply clicked her tongue, as if she had expected it.

"Honestly, my love is such a mama's girl."

* * *

The living room, with its blazing fireplace, was bustling with Christmas cheer.

The table was laden with goose dishes, cakes, wine, pudding, and cookies, all ordered in advance through room service. Miss Rotis was delighted with the contract, and Miss Hyde was alternating between crying and laughing, drunk on alcohol.

Laura bustled about among them. She tasted the meat and cake that Miss Hyde cut for her, drank warm wine, and comforted Miss Hyde whenever she cried.

Near midnight, the party broke up. Miss Rotis took the inebriated Miss Hyde to her room. The two had been sharing a room since confirming their feelings for each other.

Laura slowly walked to her own room. As she closed the door, Laura was alone.

At the same time, the smile she had worn on her face while with her friends vanished without a trace.

Laura had appeared happy throughout the party. But it was just acting, squeezed out because it wasn't a situation where she could honestly express her emotions.

Today's party was a happy Christmas and a celebration for Miss Rotis, who had landed a wonderful contract. For the sake of her beloved friends' joy, Laura hid her emotions with all her might. The acting skills she had acquired in society shone once again.

Once alone, Laura took off her mask. The real face hidden beneath the smile.

Laura looked up at the ceiling with watery eyes. She looked as if she would burst into tears at any moment.

Mr. Dalton's recent news, which she had learned through the letter, had created a storm in Laura's heart. The storm was growing stronger, and Laura's reason, aboard a small boat, was on the verge of capsizing.

For the past two months, Laura had been lying in bed, longing for him. Bath was now meaningless without him. She wanted to run to Yorkshire, where he was, immediately.

She could no longer bear her love for him.

What had comforted her was the fact that he had stopped wandering around Bath and returned to Whitefield. Laura was sure that he was doing well. There, he had work, family, and beauty to fill his heart. Laura endured her sense of loss by imagining him walking in the forests of Whitefield and playing with his nephews and nieces in Dunville Park.

But Laura's certainty was completely wrong. He was not doing well.

As Laura pondered Mr. Fairfax's letter, her heart reeled with worry. A pale, gaunt face. Occasional coughing. And a listless, depressed emotional state.

'A face that looks like dying would be better.'

He was unhappy. He was deeply heartbroken.

Laura's arms and legs lost their strength. Her head was spinning. Laura, who had been leaning against the door, slid down and collapsed to the floor.

At the same time, the tears that had welled up in her eyes streamed down her cheeks.

'Ah, Mr. Dalton...'

The news that he was unhappy shook everything in Laura. Not only her heart, but also her reason, her soul, and even her body.

The news that Mr. Dalton was depressed plunged her heart into despair. The news that he was ill caused her condition, which had been improving with sufficient rest and care, to deteriorate on its own.

"Mr. Dalton... Mr. Dalton... Mr. Dalton..."

Laura murmured in a dazed voice.

"...What are you doing now? How are you feeling... How is your health...? Are you better? It's not still the same as it was two months ago, is it?"

The air was silent. Laura felt utterly helpless. She covered her face with her hands and began to sob.

"Ah, Mr. Dalton... My..."

She muttered to herself without realizing it.

"...My Ian..."

For a long time, only the sound of sobbing echoed in Laura's room. Laura couldn't stop crying. She was worried about him, she missed him, she resented him, and...

"...I love him... I love him... I love him... I love him so... so much!"

Laura finally burst into tears.

The truth she could no longer hide. Laura loved him. She loved him with all her heart, with all her soul.

Laura realized that it was no use resisting her heart any longer. It was a foolish war. Trying to turn away from him. Believing that it was possible. She had been a fool.

He and she could not live different lives. They were a pair destined to be cogs that meshed together from the beginning. That was Ian and herself.

She had to be where he was. She had to breathe the air he breathed. She had to feel the pain he felt.

'One destiny divided into two bodies. That's the two of us.'

Laura finally accepted her fate. What some call providence, and others call God's will.

Laura's crying gradually subsided. Once she made up her mind, her worries and sadness were halved.

She wiped her face and got up. She had to stagger several times to stand up. Her body, not fully recovered, was exhausted by the tears of heartbreak.

But she moved her body with a firm heart, and soon she was able to stand straight on the floor.

She slowly walked to the window.

It was a full night, past midnight. The streets, brightly lit with gas lamps as befitting Christmas, were crowded with carriages and pedestrians.

She shifted her gaze from the chaotic scene and looked up at the sky. The round moon shone brightly, illuminating the black outlines of the graphite-colored clouds.

The moon that would be in the sky of Bath, and also in the sky of Whitefield. Perhaps Mr. Dalton was also looking up at that moon.

Looking at her moon, she caressed the pearl necklace around her neck. As she rolled the pearls one by one with her fingers like prayer beads, her fingertips touched the silverwork ornament.

Once a shield of love, but now a symbol of great love, her mother's legacy. Laura clenched the ornament tightly in her hand. At the same time, strength began to flow through her body. Passive sadness, such as sorrow or longing, disappeared, and courage welled up in its place.

Laura gritted her teeth.

'I'll go to him when I get better.'

Her heart began to beat rapidly. Excitement and fear shook her at the same time.

All sorts of thoughts flooded her mind. Pessimisms. Her status as an illegitimate child, poor and insignificant. Would he really not regret marrying someone like her? And what about the children they would have in the future?

But Laura was no longer wavering.

'I'll make him so happy that he won't have time to regret it. If children are born between us, I'll teach them how to fight. So that they don't shrink in the face of pointing fingers that are not their fault. To do that, I, as a parent, must be confident. Yes. I will live confidently. As a confident wife, as a confident mother.'

Laura took a deep breath in and out. Her body and mind were filled with spirit. In the face of a future with the one she loved, Laura became as huge and solid as a fortress built of steel.

Laura looked up at the moon, and as if the shining satellite were the face of her beloved, she whispered tenderly.

"Just hold on a little longer. I will give you all of me, this Laura Sheldon. I will become the brightest key among the many keys you possess and make you happy forever. So."

Laura finally smiled.

"Wait for me, Ian."

* * *

Tap. Tap.

The cold sound of shoe heels hitting the marble stairs echoed through the wide staircase of Whitefield Hall.

Ramswick, the butler with a small stature, neatly combed white hair, and a white mustache trimmed to match his hair, was carrying a silver tray up the stairs.

A uniformed maid, who was wiping the stairs in a sweater, stopped what she was doing when she saw him and bowed politely. Ramswick, who usually acknowledged his subordinates with a light nod, passed by the maid as if he hadn't even seen her.

The maid watched his retreating figure with a sad face. The old butler's worried expression aroused concern rather than embarrassment.

The maid was not the only one worried about the old butler. The stablemen and gardeners, the cooks in the kitchen and Mr. Philip, who directed them, and even the bookkeeper Mr. Noel, who was not on good terms with him, were all watching the old butler with troubled hearts.

But even all their worries and troubles combined were nothing compared to Ramswick's heartbreak.

On the tray he carried were steaming soup, easily digestible wheat bread, and a murky-colored herbal liquid. It was a typical patient's diet.

It had been four months since he had been carrying this tray.

It had also been exactly that long since Dalton had returned from Bath.

The day Dalton returned to Whitefield after his long journey, Ramswick almost didn't recognize his master. He thought that the man who got off the carriage, staggering with a haggard face, covering his mouth with a handkerchief and coughing repeatedly, could not possibly be his master.

But the man gave orders in the same strict tone as Dalton.

"Summon a doctor."