Translator: Nox

Chapter 41

<41st Episode> A Third-Rate Play (2)

Miss Pendleton knocked on the door with a pounding heart. Silence. She entered her grandmother's room.

The scene that unfolded inside the room startled Miss Pendleton for a moment. Uncle Gerald was crouching beside the bed where her mother lay. And he was holding Lady Abigail's hand, burying his face in it.

A faint sob could be heard. Miss Pendleton, flustered and frozen, suddenly became aware of Charles standing aside in one corner. Her cousin, standing like a folding screen with a face that clearly showed his boredom. She, too, stepped aside into a corner of the room, like her cousin.

Soon, Uncle Gerald made a sound between sobs. Miss Pendleton strained her ears.

"Mother... Please, forgive me... This unworthy son..."

Miss Pendleton watched in surprise. Soon, her grandmother placed her hand over her son's, patting it.

"It's alright. It's all alright..."

Uncle Gerald's sobs and her grandmother's comforting words continued for a long time. Miss Pendleton felt strange. All she had ever seen of the two of them was fighting and sarcasm. She had never seen them holding each other's hands like this, nor had she ever imagined it.

Soon, her uncle gestured to his son, who was standing to one side. Charles erased his indifferent expression, put on a tearful face, and approached them.

"Grandmother, it's me, Charles. Your grandson. I heard you named me when I was in my cradle."

At Charles's tearful voice, her grandmother nodded with difficulty.

"My grandson. Let me see your face."

Charles brought his face closer.

"You've grown up well. Really well."

Charles burst into tears in an instant and hugged his grandmother.

Miss Pendleton stood alone, watching the scene.

It was a touching family reunion. Miss Pendleton should have been relieved by this situation. If she ignored the suspicious Charles, wasn't it a perfect scene of reconciliation? It was a miracle that the two of them had reconciled so smoothly.

But Miss Pendleton's intuition bothered her. Everything felt unnatural. It felt like watching an awkward melodrama performed by amateur actors.

"Laura, are you there?"

Her grandmother soon called Miss Pendleton. Miss Pendleton approached the bed where her grandmother was.

"Gerald, dear, take our granddaughter's hand. She has been faithfully taking care of me."

Uncle Gerald looked at his niece with a tear-stained face. And awkwardly took his niece's hand.

"Yes, you've worked hard."

He shook his niece's hand slightly. Miss Pendleton still remembered the contemptuous look she had received earlier. But she smiled.

"It's nothing, Uncle. I'm glad you came all this way."

Miss Pendleton said kindly, suppressing the urge to quickly pull her hand away from her uncle's grasp.

For a while, they stood around her grandmother's bed. Miss Pendleton became part of this fake melodrama. The good granddaughter, happy about the mother and son reunion after more than a decade, was the role she played. She played the role faithfully.

In fact, it didn't matter much to her whether this situation was a fake play or not. All that mattered to her was that her grandmother achieved everything she wanted in her lifetime and closed her eyes peacefully.

She focused only on that one goal. Her uncle's contempt, compared to her grandmother's happiness, was something she could endure.

That evening, the Formal dinner party at Pendleton Estate was a perfect family gathering. Lady Abigail, who had struggled to come downstairs for her son, Gerald and his son, Miss Pendleton, and in addition, Miss Jenson, a guest, and Mr. Price, who had crossed the threshold of Pendleton Estate after a long time.

They enjoyed the course meal prepared by Mr. Germain, the Pendleton Estate's exclusive chef, and had a warm and enjoyable time. In every way, it was a heartwarming occasion.

With the energetic godfather and goddaughter adding to the liveliness, Gerald Pendleton boasted of his filial piety to his mother.

He kept whispering to his mother and personally cut the barbecue, placing it on her plate first. Lady Abigail, not to be outdone, gently scolded her son, who was asking for his third glass of sherry, not to drink too much.

Mr. Price, who was seeing the mother and son together for the first time, praised their relationship to the skies. He said that there was no mother and son relationship as affectionate as the two of them. Miss Pendleton, who had been silently eating all along, had to struggle to swallow a bitter smile.

Lady Abigail was curious about how her grandson Charles had lived while she was away. Charles proudly began to list his life as the second son, which he had diligently pioneered.

He had followed the elite course of entering Eton School and Oxford University according to his father's wishes. And after studying law at university, he got a job at a law firm.

But he thought that law was rigid and snobbish, and he found office life stifling. He soon lost interest in law. Eventually, he left that path and, after several 'job explorations', was currently studying to become a pastor.

He said that if he received ordination, he would immediately receive a Sinecure at the church on the Pendleton Estate and be appointed as a pastor. He said that although it was a path destined for poverty, he would endure it with a firm heart.

Gerald was very proud of such a son. Lady Abigail, who had only been listening to Charles's words, wished Charles well, saying that he would become a good pastor.

Miss Pendleton, who was listening, quietly ate her meal, hoping that Charles's glance at the young maid earlier was a one-time mistake in his life.

As the night deepened, Mr. Price and Miss Jenson took the carriage back again. Charles and Gerald Pendleton offered to personally escort Lady Abigail to her bedroom, and Lady Abigail leaned on her son. They slowly disappeared upstairs.

Miss Pendleton remained on the first floor to instruct the cleaning up. However, another perfectly strange thing happened that was fitting for this strange day.

Knock, knock.

Miss Pendleton was instructing the servants on how to dispose of the leftover food in the dining room when she heard a knock at the entrance. Soon she heard a maid going out, and then someone strode into the dining room. It was Mr. Price.

Miss Pendleton turned pale and looked at Mr. Price. He took off his hat and bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry. I forgot my gloves."

Miss Pendleton quickly looked around. A pair of gloves was placed on the chair where Mr. Price had been sitting. They were placed so neatly that it was more appropriate to say that he had deliberately left them behind rather than forgotten them. Miss Pendleton quickly returned them to him.

"Miss Pendleton."

He opened his mouth, sweating.

"I would like to ask you to take care of our Joan."

"Pardon?"

"Please pave the way for her into London society. That's actually what I came to ask."

"...That's not difficult. But my connections are nothing special, and I don't know if Miss Jenson will be interested in British society."

Mr. Price shook his head.

"The reason she came to London is actually that. Miss Pendleton will know as she gets to know her. She is not evil in character, but she is ambitious. She has the blood of a conqueror. Joan has conquered American society for the past three years and acted as queen. This conquest is London society. Perhaps, starting with London, she will try to take all of European society into her hands."

"Miss Jenson is a very motivated lady."

"As expected, you interpret it well. A person like Miss Pendleton is a model of a British lady. As expected, Miss Pendleton is the only one who can help Joan adapt to London society. Please."

"As long as Miss Jenson is Charles's fiancée, I will do my best for Miss Jenson. Don't worry."

"I know. Miss Pendleton's integrity. You are a good and conscientious woman. I can trust you. Of course, I trust you."

Mr. Price muttered. Cold sweat ran down Miss Pendleton's back. She hoped he would leave before the other family members saw him. But he crushed that hope and took a step towards Miss Pendleton. And, embarrassingly, he tried to bend one knee again.

Miss Pendleton was horrified and quickly grabbed Mr. Price.

"Mr. Price, please. Please stop."

"But, Miss Pendleton!"

"Stop it! If you propose again, I will never come to Formal dinner again. Even if it means ignoring my duty to my uncle and Miss Jenson!"

At Miss Pendleton's firm cry, Mr. Price awkwardly straightened his bent leg. And he stared at Miss Pendleton's disgusted face for a moment, then sighed.

"If you clearly tell me what I lack, I will actively adjust to it. But ladies never tell that directly. I know that it is the way of women to get what they want through twenty questions with their suitors. But, wouldn't it be okay to give me even a little hint?"

Miss Pendleton was beyond embarrassed by the old gentleman's words and became genuinely curious. She had never given him any false hope with any hint so far. But he was acting as if she had seduced him and then dumped him.

Miss Pendleton opened her mouth to tell him her feelings clearly once again. But before any words could come out, he put on the hat he was holding and bowed his head.

"Please don't forget that I am always waiting eagerly for your disposal, Miss Pendleton, with just one word from you, I am your man."

He said that and immediately turned around and ran out. Miss Pendleton watched him leave through the dining room window. He hurriedly got into the waiting carriage.

Through the carriage window, Joan Jenson was seen holding her stomach and laughing. The carriage left, with Mr. Price wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief as the last sight.

Miss Pendleton drooped her shoulders. His love confession was unfortunately just a perfectly embarrassing end to an embarrassing day.

She sighed and went up to her room. But on the middle of the staircase from the first floor to the second floor, she ran into the person she least wanted to meet. Uncle Gerald Pendleton.

Gerald Pendleton was wearing a Frock coat and holding a cane and hat, as if he was about to go out. Miss Pendleton bowed lightly and tried to pass her uncle. But her uncle stopped her. Miss Pendleton turned around. Her uncle stared at her silently.

"You were very skilled at entertaining today, Laura Pendleton."

Miss Pendleton said nothing. Judging from his tone, expression, and the past, it was not a compliment. If anything, it was criticism.