Translator: Nox

Chapter 35

<35> Back to London (1)

He called Ramswick five minutes later. As soon as Ramswick entered, he ordered him to immediately summon the land agent he had interviewed yesterday.

The land agent arrived at Whitefield that evening. He was a stocky man in his forties with sagging flesh under his eyes.

Ramswick had already sensed a strong smell of fraud from his smooth talk and obsequious attitude during the previous interview. He wondered why his master had called him back and led the land agent to the study.

It was two hours later that Ramswick was summoned to the study. When Ramswick entered, Ian referred to him as the new land agent and told him to assist this person in the future.

Ramswick was greatly surprised. It turned out that Ian had been handing over the work to him for two hours.

Ian told Ramswick to call for a carriage immediately, and with a small travel bag that he had ordered a servant to pack, he left for the station to catch the train.

Watching the carriage disappear in a cloud of dust, Ramswick and the servants couldn't help but wonder what had happened in London.

Thanks to the night train service, he was able to arrive in London by the next morning. Ian immediately hired a chartered carriage in front of the station.

The carriage soon stopped in front of the Fairfax siblings' Townhouse. Ian paid the fare, got out with his bag, and went straight to knock on the door. The servant who opened the front door looked surprised to see who it was.

No, we haven't received any news that Lord Dalton of Whitefield was coming!

Ian strode inside, entrusted his luggage to the other servants who were also taken aback, and looked for William. The servants informed him that he was in the living room. Ian instructed them to take the bag to the guest room and went straight to the living room.

In the living room, the Fairfax siblings were enjoying a peaceful time after breakfast. Miss Janet was playing the piano, and William was sitting on the sofa, listening to the performance while reviewing documents. It was indeed a peaceful scene.

However, the leisurely morning was replaced with surprise when Ian entered. Miss Janet stopped playing the piano when she saw him, and Mr. Fairfax dropped the documents he was holding.

Ian nodded lightly to Miss Janet, who rose from the piano stool, her face flushed, and bowed. Then he turned his gaze to William, who looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"What brings you here? What about the Estate?"

"It's in the hands of a suspicious accountant. I need to talk to you for a moment."

Ian gestured to William and left the living room. William neatly arranged the documents on the side table, lightly kissed Miss Janet on the forehead, saying he enjoyed the piano, and followed Ian out of the living room.

The two moved to the study. As soon as Ian entered the study, he leaned against William's desk on one side and asked as soon as William closed the door.

"What's that guy's name?"

"What?"

"That, the nouveau riche financier from America, what's his name?"

William, seeing Ian's angry expression, realized what effect his letter had had on his friend.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm going to kick him out of England."

"What? On what grounds? He's originally British. He's lived in America for the most part, but he's still a British citizen. Besides, he hasn't committed any crimes here, has he? How are you going to kick him out?"

Instead of answering, Ian reached into his jacket pocket and took something out. It was a small pistol that fit snugly in his hand. William's face turned pale as soon as he saw the gun, and he looked back and forth between Ian and the gun.

"Are you, by any chance, going to request a duel?"

Instead of answering, Ian placed it on William's desk and took a cigar from the cigar box on William's desk and put it in his mouth.

"Are you crazy? Are you crazy, Ian Dalton? It's almost the 20th century! That kind of thing ended in our grandfather's generation!"

Ian took out a match and struck it on the striking surface. A flame flared from the end of the match. He put it to the end of the cigar and took a deep puff on the filter.

"The law still allows it. As long as there are witnesses, I can legally put a bullet in that man."

"So, you, who are so young, are going to send that old gentleman, who doesn't have much time left to live, to the afterlife? What kind of duel is that? It's elder abuse!"

"If you don't like it, tell him to get out of here to America right now."

Ian Dalton said firmly and smoked his cigar. William, in his absurdity, was convinced that this situation was due to the letter he had sent, thinking it wouldn't amount to much. The letter had struck the heart of a man in love, turning a cynic who had never mentioned honor in his life into someone on the verge of drawing a gun.

A duel, of all things. The day would come when Ian Dalton, of all people, would bring up such a relic of the past that only appears in novels.

"You, you really liked Miss Pendleton, didn't you?"

Ian, who was leaning against Mr. Fairfax's desk and exhaling smoke, narrowed his brows and asked back.

"Why else would I be here?"

"Well, it could be that your gentlemanly spirit as a friend of Miss Pendleton has been activated to fend off Mr. Price."

"Don't look for that gentlemanly spirit in me. I'm a man who lives without such childish wordplay."

Ian put out his ash in Mr. Fairfax's ashtray and continued.

"I didn't tell you, but I've had my eye on Miss Pendleton ever since I first met her in London. If the parish priest hadn't died, I wouldn't have gone down to Whitefield in the middle of it all. I was planning to have a wedding with her in London and go down together."

William's mouth dropped open at the sound of marriage coming from his mouth.

This guy is really serious?

"Then, does Miss Pendleton know how you feel?"

"Yes."

"And she accepted your feelings?"

At William's question, Ian continued to smoke his cigar without answering. William frowned.

"You got rejected?"

Ian didn't say anything. But his expression was enough of an answer. William sighed.

"You're telling me that you proposed and got rejected, and now you're saying you're going to shoot and kill the friend of that lady's uncle?"

"Is there a problem?"

"The problem is that you don't realize there's a problem! Why don't you realize that Miss Pendleton will only be in trouble if you do that? What you're trying to do isn't love, it's a reckless crime of passion blinded by jealousy. If that situation happens, the one who will be in the most difficult position is Miss Pendleton. What will she say to her guardian uncle? How will society see Miss Pendleton?"

"There's nothing that would tarnish Miss Pendleton's honor as much as leaving this situation as it is, William."

Ian muttered as if spitting it out and crushed the cigar in the ashtray.

"If she had a father or brother, they would have acted the same way as me. They would have gladly drawn a gun for the sake of their daughter's, their sister's honor. No such senile old man would have even bothered her in the first place. That guy is preying on Miss Pendleton because he knows she doesn't have a man to protect her!"

William was dumbfounded by his friend's unfamiliar appearance, seeing his flushed forehead and burning eyes. He had never seen Ian so lost.

Ian, who had been an arrogant little gentleman since he first saw him as a child, had grown up to be cynical about everything. But now he was like a completely different person. Reckless, emotional, and slightly crazy.

"Okay, you're right. I agree. How unfair the situation Miss Pendleton is going through is. But strictly speaking, you're not Miss Pendleton's father or brother, are you?"

Ian silently took out another cigar from the cigar box.

"That doesn't mean I'm just Miss Pendleton's friend, William."

"Yes, you're a suitor. So, does that mean you have the right to threaten Miss Pendleton's guest with a gun for the sake of Miss Pendleton's honor? Isn't that presumptuous?"

"……."

"You know that in the world of nobles, the face of the head of the family is the face of the family. You're trying to tarnish the Pendleton family. Even if she falls in love with you because of this, which is unlikely, she will never see your face again. Because Miss Pendleton is Pendleton, as her name suggests."

"Because of the face of a head of the family who doesn't even protect her?"

"Because of the face of a head of the family who doesn't even protect her. I, who have been friends with her for six years, can say with certainty that Miss Pendleton is that kind of person."

Ian listened to his story without a word. Noticing that his momentum had subsided, William put his hand on Ian's shoulder.

"If you really want to win Miss Pendleton's heart, calm down first. I'll think about what to do. And put the gun back. It's scary."

Ian, who would not have even snorted at William's words normally, was different this time. He obediently followed William's words and put the gun in his pocket. William had several years of friendship with Miss Pendleton. Right now, he needed the help of someone who knew Miss Pendleton well more than anything else.

He was as angry as he could be at seeing Miss Pendleton being insulted, but he couldn't risk never seeing Miss Pendleton again.

William leaned against him like Ian and took out a cigar and lit it. The two exhaled smoke without a word.

William thought about the marriage between Miss Pendleton and Ian. It was a good match. It was a pity for Miss Pendleton, but Ian was a pretty good groom in terms of conditions, and given his personality, he wouldn't easily cool off the love he had fallen into, so he would devote his life to her.

Miss Pendleton had also acknowledged that Ian was a good groom, and above all, Miss Pendleton would be able to handle Ian's strange personality and live with him. It might be Ian's last chance not to die an old bachelor.

But why did Miss Pendleton, who thought Ian was pretty good, reject Ian's proposal?

"Ian, how did you propose?"

"I didn't propose."

"You said you proposed?"

"I said Miss Pendleton knows how I feel."

"How did you convey that feeling? Tell me about the situation in detail."

Ian didn't really want to tell his male friend about his affair with Miss Pendleton, but he readily confessed.

"During the picnic, we took a walk together while you were Stone skipping with Miss Hyde. We were walking through the forest when the story of Whitefield came up, and she said that if I got married, she would come to where I was and attend the wedding. So I said I wouldn't get married without you, and she went back with a straight face."

William stared blankly at him and then asked back.

"So, Miss Pendleton said she would attend your wedding? Hoping you would get married soon?"

"Yes."

"But you said you wouldn't get married without her?"

"That's right."

"You, even after hearing those words, that's what you said? Isn't it obvious that Miss Pendleton doesn't have any feelings for you at all?"

"If I could go back to that time, I would have bitten my tongue and endured it."