Translator: Nox

Chapter 29

<29> Dunville Park (2)

"...I think I came here for nothing."

Mr. Dalton turned to leave the room immediately. However, Mrs. Robert Fairfax, who was extremely reluctant to move due to her weakened health, could move as quickly as lightning when it came to grabbing her younger brother who was trying to escape.

She nimbly grabbed her younger brother, who was young enough to be her child, and sat him on a stool next to her with the authority of a sister. Mr. Dalton had no choice but to sit down, fearing that his sister might collapse if he rashly shook her off, all the while cursing William in his mind for being so meddlesome.

Mrs. Fairfax grabbed the collar of her brother's jacket as if seizing his throat.

"It's definitely that Miss Pendleton, isn't it? Am I right? Oh my, Ian Dalton. I knew something was different about your expression from the start. A man with a lady in his heart can't hide it. I recognized it."

"Recognized what? Let go of me. You'll wrinkle my clothes."

"Tsk, don't squirm. Your old sister is losing energy. Now, tell me quickly. What kind of person is that Miss Pendleton? Hmm? William's letter only said she was a gentle and caring lady. But she must be very beautiful and intelligent, right? How old is she? Twenty-one? Or twenty-two?"

"Don't try to dig up her personal information. She and I are just friends."

"Just friends?"

"Yes."

"Then, can I send her the letter you gave me the day before I got married right now?"

"What?"

"The letter you came to my room with on the eve of my wedding, sobbing and crying. 'Even if you go far away to get married, Ian will always love his sister.' Blah blah blah."

"Oh, really, Sister!"

"The handwriting was all crooked, the spelling was all wrong, and even that was smudged with tears. Do you know how much I cried when I saw that? My eyes were so swollen that I couldn't even open them when I walked into the wedding hall. I always keep that letter at the top of my letter box as a precious memory. If I send that letter to William right now, wouldn't he be very touched and show it to Miss Pendleton too?"

Ian's face turned pale. Mrs. Fairfax was joking, but Ian thought she was the kind of person who would actually do such a thing if she felt like it.

Mrs. Fairfax saw her younger brother's stiff expression and was convinced that her guess was correct. She inwardly cheered and gripped Ian's jacket even tighter.

"Now, little brother, tell me quickly. What kind of person is that Miss Pendleton? What kind of family does she come from?"

Ian kept his mouth shut and stared at the floor. But when his sister threatened him with the letter again, he had no choice but to open his mouth.

"I can't say. Not for her sake."

"Why?"

"I haven't won her heart yet. And there's not much chance I will."

"Does she dislike you?"

"......"

"Huh?"

"We're just friends."

"......Wow, you're in unrequited love? Our Ian is in unrequited love. Isn't he?"

"Is it fun to make fun of me?"

"N-no, how could I make fun of our poor Ian? How could I, as your sister, do such a cruel thing?"

"It sounds like you're making fun of me."

"I'm not. I think you've become sensitive. Well, I understand that the heart of a bachelor who hasn't won the heart of the woman he loves is full of sorrow. Oh, our poor Ian. Poor Ian!"

I shouldn't have said anything.

Ian regretted his confession as he looked at his sister, who was making fun of him with a pitiful expression and eyes that showed she was enjoying herself to death. He should have just kept quiet and found his sister's letter box and burned that embarrassing history of his childhood himself.

Mrs. Fairfax teased Ian for a while longer, then stopped just before Ian couldn't stand it anymore and was about to jump up from his seat. Then, she quickly became serious and muttered.

"Capture the lady's heart, Ian. Capture it and get married this year. I'll push you."

"It's not something that will work just because you push me."

"Why?"

Ian closed his mouth. He couldn't explain this issue to his sister. Aside from not wanting to confess his love problems in detail, this issue was closely related to Miss Pendleton's personal affairs.

It wasn't polite as a person to reveal her birth, dowry, or personality to his family, who weren't even close to her.

Ian made that point clear to his sister. Fortunately, Mrs. Fairfax was someone who knew how to control her desire to satisfy her curiosity by digging into other people's personal lives. But that didn't mean her desire to push her younger brother's romance had subsided.

She put her arm around her younger brother's shoulder, preventing him from escaping, and fell into thought for a moment. Then, after a while, she asked.

"Does she have any feelings for you?"

"As a person, yes."

"But she'll never accept you, right? For some reason?"

Ian nodded.

"Then, stay friends for a while. Don't try to approach her rashly. Until the lady lets her guard down and creates an opening. You've seen your brother-in-law hunting, lying in the bushes, holding his breath for hours, right? Do exactly that."

"Sister, you're comparing a lady to prey right now."

"I know. It's not a polite comparison. But you're not going to shoot that lady with a gun. Now, stay by her side as a friend for a while. And be nice to her appropriately. Always be kind and look like a comfortable and harmless person. At the same time, be friendly with other ladies."

"What?"

"If you only stick to that lady, she'll be wary. So be nice to other ladies too."

"What are you teaching me right now?"

"I'm teaching you how to steal a woman's heart. If you keep doing that, the lady will let her guard down in front of you and won't close the lock on her heart even if you keep approaching her. You have to create a relationship where you share even the most intimate feelings with her. Make her attached to you. The most vulnerable thing for a woman is attachment."

"......"

"When you think she's become very attached to you, pretend to give your heart to another woman. Give her love advice too. She'll pretend to be okay on the outside, but she'll be jealous and realize her feelings through that. Eventually, that lady will get lovesick because of you."

"You have a talent for telling long jokes. But it's not funny."

"I'm serious, Ian."

"Then that's a shame. It's a shame that you're seriously advising me to play with the heart of the woman I love. I'm going to go now. Rest."

Ian released his sister's arm, stood up, and walked towards the door.

"Ian! Wait a minute!"

He left the room as it was. Mrs. Robert Fairfax, left alone, clicked her tongue as if she had expected her younger brother's fastidious reaction. And then she looked at the cards laid out on the table again.

Still, well. This is a completely marriageable fortune.

She decided to believe in the love fortune the cards were telling her and happily imagined the mistress who would come to Whitefield.

* * *

Miss Lance was the most surprised person in London about Ian's sudden disappearance. She had sent an invitation to Mr. Dalton, but received a polite letter of refusal from Mr. William Fairfax. It said that he had left for Whitefield and could not attend the Formal dinner.

Miss Lance read the letter, which did not state the exact reason, several times. And she invited Miss Janet Fairfax to find out the exact reason.

Miss Fairfax, who had always admired the beautiful and cultured Miss Lance, was very excited and spent the morning styling her hair and wearing her prettiest outfit before visiting the Lance residence.

Miss Lance was chatting with her about everyday things when she casually asked why Mr. Dalton had returned to Whitefield. Miss Fairfax ate a cookie and replied that the parish priest of Whitefield had died, so they were appointing a new priest.

"Oh my, dear. That's terrible... Then what happens after you appoint a pastor? Will he stay there?"

"I guess so?"

"But he might miss life in London."

"Hmm... I don't think so? Ian oppa said he hates London. He said it's not a place for people to live."

Miss Janet watched Miss Lance's expression.

"You don't understand either, do you, Miss Lance? If London isn't a place to live, then where is? Anyway, once Ian oppa goes down to Whitefield, he won't come back for years."

"Did Mr. Dalton say that? That he wouldn't be back for years?"

"No. I just think so, Miss Lance."

Miss Lance was relieved to hear that. The fact that he would not return to London was just the opinion of the fledgling Janet Fairfax. Miss Lance did not trust Miss Fairfax's observational skills, so she lightly dismissed the thought.

Miss Lance waited leisurely, believing that Ian would return to London soon after he returned to Whitefield. But the news that he had returned did not come for several days.

Miss Lance began to feel uneasy. She was worried that while he was staying in Whitefield, he might forget Dora Lance, the beautiful lady he had seen in London, and fall in love with a lady from his hometown. Out of sight, out of mind, wasn't it?

Seized by anxiety, Miss Lance began to invite Miss Fairfax to tea parties and gatherings with friends more often. She praised her, saying that she wanted to become friends with the cute Miss Fairfax, but in fact, it was to hear news from Whitefield.

But Miss Fairfax did not satisfy Miss Lance's expectations. This was because she herself was not very close to her cousin Ian Dalton.

Miss Fairfax was born late and raised by relatives after her parents passed away, and grew up in a boarding school, so she had only met Ian recently. Miss Fairfax admired Ian, but she was afraid of the aloof man, and Ian was not interested in Miss Fairfax.

Because of these circumstances, Miss Lance's plan to remind him of herself by including her regards in her letter through her exchange with Miss Fairfax was shattered.

She would have liked to send him a letter herself while he was in Whitefield, but in British high society, it was a public taboo for unmarried men and women who were not engaged to exchange letters. Of course, there were many men and women who broke the taboo and exchanged letters freely, but Ian and she had not yet developed into such a relationship.

Miss Lance was disappointed, but she did not give up. There was William Fairfax, Miss Fairfax's brother.