Chapter 58
<58> Lady Abigail (2)
Lady Abigail stared intently at her son. Though she couldn't see clearly through the narrow keyhole, his sullen expression was obvious.
"If Laura comes back from the Ball today and says she'll marry Price, I'll tell her this: if she doesn't want to see me hang myself before I've even lived out my days, she'll break off that engagement immediately. Does she think I raised her like a precious jewel just to send her off to some pot-bellied old man?"
"Mother!"
"Quiet, Gerald Pendleton. Don't you dare raise your voice at your mother!"
Ann's eyes widened. It was the loudest rebuke she'd heard from Lady Abigail in recent times. Gerald Pendleton stared blankly at his mother, then began pacing around the room, trying to cool his temper. But his face only grew redder.
"Mother, is that perhaps… the reason you reconciled with me? To leave your estate to that child, Laura Pendleton?"
Lady Abigail remained silent.
"So you had an ulterior motive all along? You welcomed me so kindly to give Laura even a few coins of what was meant for Charles! Mother, that's too much. Even on your deathbed, you wanted to deceive your only son like this?"
"You're no different, are you? Weren't you here to protect Charles's inheritance? The sight of you and Charles fawning over each other was so artificial I couldn't bear to watch. But still, a promise is a promise. Thanks to that promise, I was able to raise Laura as a Pendleton, so I'm satisfied. And you, too, can give all my wealth to your son, so it was a satisfactory deal for you."
"Yes, it 'was' satisfactory! Very satisfactory! If only you kept your word, Mother, I wouldn't be using the past tense like this!"
"Yes, I'm sorry to hear about your past tense, my dear."
Lady Abigail sneered.
"You're toying with me now, with the estate that's already been promised. You're threatening me with the will!"
"So you know I can change my will at any time, according to my wishes? Yes, that's why you came running the moment you sensed I was near death, showering me with all sorts of flattery. But my dear, I have no intention of taking money away from Charles."
Lady Abigail sighed.
"To be honest, I was tempted. No matter how I look at your son Charles, I can't find a single useful thing about him. Giving money to such a fellow is like throwing it away on the street. But well, a promise is a promise. I won't change the will. I'll leave my estate to Charles. However, I'll only ask that you give five thousand pounds to Laura. Five thousand pounds out of three hundred thousand."
"Laura Pendleton has already received more than her due. Living lavishly in a noble family until now…!"
"That was only natural as Dolores Pendleton's daughter."
"Mother!"
"You act as if Laura isn't your own flesh and blood. As if she didn't come from Dolores Pendleton. But just as surely as Dolores came from my womb, Laura came from Dolores. Even if you are the head of the Pendleton Estate, you can't sever the bloodline between mother and child!"
"You're always like this, Mother. How can you be so unchanging?"
Gerald huffed.
"You've been like this since I was a child. I was locked in the nursery for over half a day for playing with your golden thimble, but when Dolores lost that thimble, she was forgiven with a single whimper. 'Our Dolores,' 'Cute Dolores.' I heard it endlessly. Endlessly! Now that Dolores is dead, it's changed to 'Our Laura,' 'Cute Laura.'"
"So, you're resentful because I never called you 'Our Gerald,' 'Cute Gerald'?"
Gerald said nothing.
"You probably don't remember. The mother who nursed you every night when you fell from the tree and dislocated your shoulder. You've probably erased from your memory the fact that after you entered Eton School, your mother sent you a letter every week for five years without fail. I've never stopped loving you. But you've always liked to compare. In your calculating eyes, your mother's love was never enough. Rather than pitying your younger sister, who was six years younger and physically weak, you envied and hated her."
"……."
"From a very young age, Dolores's body was always covered in bruises from your beatings. There was a reason she ran away with an American man. If you had returned home and become the head of the family, you would have surely taken revenge on the child who had taken your mother's affection. Rather than being sold to a man she didn't even know for money, she chose love."
Silence fell between the two. Lady Abigail's face was as white as a corpse from speaking at length. Gerald Pendleton glared at his mother, then chuckled.
"I've always thought you weren't my real mother since I was a child. It's easier that way. But now I understand. You are my biological mother. Where else would my calculating nature come from? I've lost. Five thousand pounds, give it to Laura. I don't know what she'll do with it, but with that money, she might be able to marry a merchant or apothecary, something befitting her station."
Gerald Pendleton added sarcastically.
"But, watch what I do to Laura immediately after you die. Watch closely from heaven. She won't even get to see your corpse. I won't let her scatter a handful of dirt when you're buried. I won't let her come near your funeral, let alone your grave!"
Gerald Pendleton stormed out of the room. Ann, holding the tray, quickly stepped aside. He glared at Ann, who was standing by the door, and then stomped downstairs. His shouts ordering a servant to prepare the carriage echoed loudly from the first floor.
Ann carried the tray into Lady Abigail's room. Lady Abigail was sitting propped up in bed, her face pale. Ann approached her. Her face was covered in cold sweat.
Ann quickly tried to wipe the sweat from her face with the handkerchief in her pocket. But Lady Abigail grabbed Ann's wrist and said,
"Go downstairs and tell John to go and bring my lawyer and my agent, Mr. Nayes, immediately. As soon as possible. Before I die……."
Lady Abigail couldn't finish her sentence. She lost consciousness.
* * *
"The lawyer had already left the office, so I couldn't bring him, and Mr. Nayes visited earlier but returned after you didn't regain consciousness. Both of them will visit early tomorrow morning."
Miss Pendleton said nothing. She had been shocked and surprised countless times during the story, but in the end, the remaining emotion was sadness. Miss Pendleton buried her face in her hands.
She thought her grandmother was spending the last of her life happily. That she was reconciling with her uncle and preparing to leave peacefully. But her grandmother was spending the most frail and difficult time of her life fighting. For her.
"……Ann. You really heard everything from beginning to end."
Ann and Miss Pendleton looked at the bed. Her grandmother, her eyes squinting, was looking at them. Miss Pendleton quickly approached her grandmother.
"Grandmother, when did you wake up?"
Her grandmother stroked her tear-stained cheek with her weak hand.
"You went and showed off your beauty enough, didn't you?"
Miss Pendleton nodded with a sad smile.
"Yes. Good. Good."
Her grandmother reached for her granddaughter's hand. Miss Pendleton took her grandmother's hand and caressed it.
"As you heard, you'll get five thousand pounds, Laura. It's a large sum if it's large, but a small sum if it's small."
"Is that why…… you've been trying to get along so well with Uncle until now?"
Lady Abigail only smiled without answering. It was a face that contrasted with her granddaughter's tearful expression.
"Why such a face? You don't want five thousand pounds? Is it too little?"
Miss Pendleton shook her head.
"Grandmother, I'm going to be a governess. I'll earn money with that."
"A governess? You won't be able to buy a house even if you work your whole life. With five thousand pounds, you may not be rich, but you can take care of yourself. Open a small shop, or meet a man who loves you as you are and marry him."
"……Grandmother always said. That she wasn't afraid of death at all. That she could meet Dolores waiting in heaven, so what was there to be afraid of? But Grandmother, it's a farewell to another child on earth forever. Is it okay to end things like this? Even if you can't reconcile with Uncle forever?"
"Laura, I'm sorry, but there's no true reconciliation with him. If he truly wanted to reconcile with me, he would first tell me to spit on Dolores's grave. And then he would tell me to abandon you forever. To kick you out of the house before I die. I can't do that even if I die. So it's impossible. I knew that from the beginning. That it was impossible while I was alive."
Lady Abigail squeezed her granddaughter's hand with her trembling hand.
"Bringing your uncle into this was solely for your sake. I was afraid that if I changed the will recklessly, he would harm you. If I gave you all the property without his agreement, he would surely take your life to seize the property. I wanted to give you even a small portion with his consent."
Tears were already streaming down Miss Pendleton's face. They continued to flow without stopping. Miss Pendleton began to sob, her body trembling.
"I'm finally seeing you cry to your heart's content. I'm glad I get to see this before I go. You've turned into an emotionless doll since some time ago. A gentle smile. Thoughtful actions. Dignified demeanor. As if you couldn't do anything else……. By the time I realized I had made you that way, I was already too old. I'm sorry, Laura."
Miss Pendleton couldn't stop crying. She had to say something to stop the tears and ease her grandmother's burden, but the crying wouldn't stop. When the truth she had tried her best to hide came out through her grandmother's mouth, she could do nothing but cry.
"When I first debuted you into society, it was as if the dead Dolores had come back to life. When you hosted parties, played the piano in front of people, wore dresses, and danced with gentlemen, I thought you were enjoying everything Dolores would have enjoyed if she hadn't died. I was happy with that."
Lady Abigail shook her head.
"I was foolish. I was too foolish. You're not Dolores. I was blinded by the desire to revive my daughter, and only belatedly did I realize the sadness that had settled in your heart. The neglect you received in society. The time of endurance you lived, killing everything about yourself to survive in society. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. I'm sorry for making you live an unhappy life because of my greed."
Lady Abigail held her granddaughter tightly.
"Laura. Live as you please now. You are now free."
