Chapter 6
Miss Laura Pendleton (5)
The argument inside continued for a while. Miss Pendleton stood quietly in front of the door, listening to the story. Soon, Mrs. Macklin stormed out of the room. And looking at her friend standing in front of the door, she lowered her eyes as if she felt sorry.
"Laura... I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea to see you today."
Miss Pendleton smiled.
"It's okay, Rosemary. Don't worry about it."
Mrs. Macklin, seeing that Miss Pendleton didn't seem particularly upset, felt even worse and lowered her head.
Of course, it would be a lie if Miss Pendleton wasn't upset at all. But Miss Pendleton knew very well how she looked in other people's eyes since she turned twenty-five.
An unmarriageable old maid. The worst fear for mothers with daughters.
She thought that this was inevitable since she had given up on marriage.
She patted Mrs. Macklin, who was embarrassed because of her, on the shoulder to tell her not to worry, and quickly went up the stairs.
Knock knock-
Miss Pendleton knocked on Miss Hyde's door on the 5th floor. There was no sound from inside. Was she sleeping, or was she holding her breath and waiting for them to leave, thinking that her family was looking for her? Miss Pendleton put her mouth close to the door and said softly.
"Miss Hyde, it's me, Laura Pendleton. Are you asleep?"
Soon, a rustling sound was heard from inside the room. And then the sound of splashing water, the sound of fabric brushing. Before long, the sound of slippers approached the door, and with a click, the door opened.
Miss Pendleton was speechless. Miss Hyde, who was usually thin, looked incredibly haggard. She had been sending all the food back for the past few days, so it seemed she hadn't eaten anything for a while.
Miss Hyde brought Miss Pendleton into her room. And after giving her the rocking chair, she sat on the bed.
Miss Pendleton had to try very hard to control her expression as she entered the room. It was difficult to hide her bewildered heart.
The Townhouse in London was much smaller and simpler because it was where the nobles living in each Estate stayed only during the social season. There were often no studies or halls, and everything from the drawing room to the master bedroom, guest room, and nursery was less than half the size of the Country house on the Estate.
Therefore, in the case of a large family, unmarried ladies shared rooms, and if they were to use one alone, they had to stay in a relatively small and cramped place.
But Jane Hyde's room was even worse. The room was full even though there was only a bed, a small wardrobe, and a chair. All of her books were not even placed on the bookshelf and were piled up in one corner.
And most of all, what was heartbreaking was the pile of papers and ink bottle placed on the windowsill. The windowsill, which was only the height of a chair, was her desk.
Miss Hyde, conscious of Miss Pendleton's gaze reaching the pile of papers, approached the windowsill and knelt on the cushion placed underneath. And she closed the ink bottle and turned over the scattered papers after organizing them.
"If I use it in the living room, my mother always tries to read it."
Miss Pendleton, looking at Miss Hyde's kneeling back, realized that this was Miss Hyde's usual posture when writing. It was a heartbreaking sight.
"I heard you weren't eating, so I stopped by. Your sister is very worried."
"Ah."
"No matter how upset you are, you shouldn't ruin your body. I brought raspberry cookies. At least eat some of that."
Miss Hyde said nothing. Miss Pendleton had a servant bring the cookies.
Miss Hyde, sitting on the bed, stared at the cookies on the plate, then looked out the window without even touching them.
"If you feel guilty about Mr. Fairfax, don't worry. When I stopped by to visit Miss Janet Fairfax a while ago, she said he went hunting on his brother's Estate. At least he wasn't starving himself."
Miss Hyde only looked out the window, avoiding Miss Pendleton's gaze. Miss Hyde seemed lost in thought as she looked at the streets of London outside the window. A hint of depression emanated from her profile. But there were no emotional traces such as tears or heartbreak on that face.
What emotions were in Miss Hyde's heart?
Miss Pendleton stood up from her seat and sat next to Miss Hyde. And she took Miss Hyde's firm and slender hand, her hand accustomed to holding reins and pens.
Miss Hyde did not pull away from Miss Pendleton's hand, nor did she reveal her feelings, but remained as she was.
After a while, Miss Pendleton opened her mouth.
"Are you perhaps regretting it?"
Miss Hyde hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.
"It was the best for both Mr. Fairfax and me."
"Do you really think so?"
Miss Hyde looked at Miss Pendleton. And she nodded.
"Yes."
Miss Pendleton smiled faintly.
"Then that's good."
Miss Hyde stared intently at Miss Pendleton's face, then opened her mouth as if to say something. But her lips trembled and then closed. Instead, tears welled up in Miss Hyde's eyes.
Miss Hyde lowered her head. Tears flowing from her eyes soaked Miss Pendleton's gloved hand. Miss Pendleton held Miss Hyde's hand tightly without saying a word.
Just as Miss Pendleton's suede gloves were getting wet, Miss Hyde raised her head. A tear-stained face. Miss Pendleton wiped Miss Hyde's face with her other hand.
"Miss Pendleton."
Miss Hyde called her in a cracked voice.
"Miss Pendleton, do you have a future in mind?"
Miss Pendleton thought about Miss Hyde's words for a moment before nodding.
"Are you inheriting an inheritance?"
"I won't get any inheritance. That was the condition for being recognized as a Pendleton."
"Me too. I won't get any inheritance either."
Miss Pendleton wiped Miss Hyde's face and looked closely at her face. All sorts of emotions were mixed up on Miss Hyde's face. Things like anxiety and guilt. Base emotions that make people feel endlessly small.
"Are you not eating because you're afraid of the future?"
Miss Hyde was silent.
"People can live in some way or another."
"...I don't want to live in just any way."
Miss Hyde shook her head.
"Since my father passed away, our family has been sinking. None of my family members admit it, but it's clear when I see what John is doing. If we lose this house, we'll have to move to a country house, and I, since I'm not married, will have to live alone with my mother. Forever."
Miss Hyde shuddered.
"I'd rather starve to death now."
"There may be other ways, Miss Hyde."
"What way is there for me, who missed the last chance at twenty-five? A governess? I haven't even attended school for a year, and I've never properly learned French or art? Or a maid? I'm the type to lose the hat I took off next to me, so I'll probably be kicked out in less than a week. I'll probably live with my mother and die of frustration, or I'll run away and become a vagrant. I'd rather die safely at home now."
Miss Pendleton stared at Miss Hyde.
She felt a sense of déjà vu. Ah, the age of twenty-five was amazing for a woman. She herself was having the same worries as Miss Hyde when she was exactly twenty-five. As an unmarried woman with no possibility of receiving an inheritance, with the last train for marriage moving further away, she was threatened.
The fact that she would live a lonely life forever was not really a problem. The most frightening thing was poverty. And the wretchedness that always came with poverty.
The fear that the environments that protected her every night would disappear completely the next morning and that she would fall into a state that could not be compared to the present. How much that fear tormented her.
It was quite a while before she could sleep properly.
Miss Pendleton smiled at Miss Hyde, who had a gloomy face.
"Miss Hyde, you can be anything."
"What can I be?"
"Well, a gypsy, or a fortune teller, or a witch."
"Pardon?"
"A medicine peddler, or a bullfighter, or a fairy."
Miss Hyde looked dumbfounded at Miss Pendleton's sudden joke.
"Miss Pendleton, are you making fun of me..."
"Or a typist."
Miss Hyde stopped talking.
"I once bought a typewriter with the intention of becoming a typist. That was before I realized it was better to become a governess. A typewriter is quite expensive, so I had to use some of the savings I had saved up. It's still in the study, but it hasn't been used in a while. It's too good to just give away, so I'll lend it to you."
Miss Hyde blinked.
"Come to my house to practice typing for two hours a day, from six to eight in the evening. In three months, Miss Hyde will be the best typist in London. You'll be able to work in any office that needs paperwork, and then you'll be able to live with girls your age in a boarding house instead of your mother. Okay?"
Miss Pendleton picked up a cookie from the tray and handed it to Miss Hyde.
Miss Hyde looked at the cookie for a moment, then crunched it down. And she started eating the remaining cookies on the tray. Miss Pendleton looked at Miss Hyde and thought.
Twenty-five. A harsh age for an unmarried lady. But for a lady who has a way to make a living, it was an age when a new life could begin.
And a month later, Mr. Fairfax, who had overcome the pain of heartbreak by shooting dozens of partridges at his brother's hunting grounds, returned to London.
Together with his in-law's young man and close friend, Ian Dalton.
