Chapter 64

<Chapter 64> An Offer You Can't Refuse (1)

"Mr. Dalton, that's three times the going rate for a governess. You should think carefully before offering that. It's your sister who will be paying my salary..."

"The educational mentor we hired for Henry before he entered public school received that much."

"But I'm just a governess."

"Your role is that of an educational mentor. It doesn't make sense to differentiate the salary for different reasons when the subjects you teach are the same."

Laura couldn't say anything more. Frankly, she couldn't possibly object to the position with a salary of 150 pounds.

"My sister has given me a deadline, so I can't give you a long time to decide. You must give me your decision within three days."

"...Yes. I'll think about it, Mr. Dalton."

Mr. Dalton nodded and extended his hand to her. She placed her hand in his, as she was still in the habit of doing. He kissed her hand, encased in a plain navy glove, and then disappeared.

Laura returned to her room as she was. The 150 pounds he had offered swirled around in her head.

She was alone. She had to earn her own living and prepare for her retirement on her own. No matter how hard she worked, going back and forth between her main job and side jobs, her current governess's salary was far from enough to save for retirement alone.

For her, the conditions Mr. Dalton offered were perfect in many ways. Two boys were just the right number of students. If she worked five hours a day, she would have time to find side jobs during the remaining hours. Besides, there was a baby in that house. A baby born late in life, Ian Fairfax.

When the two boys entered public school, that child would also need a governess. That meant employment would be guaranteed for more than 10 years.

She was surprised at the calculator that was spinning rapidly in her head. But what was even more surprising was the opportunity that had come like a miracle in these difficult times. In every way, it was a job she desperately needed, a lifeline.

She paced back and forth in her room for a while, lost in thought. Should she take this job? But that house was near Mr. Dalton's. He cherished his sister and nephews. What would happen if her heart wavered?

Reality and emotion. She couldn't find her way between them. Because whatever she chose, there was a worrying problem.

Knock, knock.

How long had it been? The sound of knocking reached her ears as she was lost in thought. She was startled. Who was it? The maid coming to collect the laundry?

"Miss Pendleton!"

She jumped up at the familiar voice she heard from beyond the door. And she went straight to the entrance, unlocked the latch, and opened the door.

Miss Hyde was standing in front of the door.

"Miss Hyde! What brings you here..."

Miss Hyde looked at her with an expression of disbelief, then asked to be let inside. Laura took Miss Hyde into the room. And they sat facing each other in the chairs in front of the side table.

Miss Hyde looked around the room and then at the haggard Miss Pendleton, who was wearing mourning clothes.

"What on earth are you doing in a place like this? You should have come to me if anything happened!"

"Life here isn't so bad."

"It's dangerous. This is a place where all sorts of people are swept in and swept out. What if there's a bad person among the travelers? What if they know Miss Pendleton is staying alone and have bad intentions and break in?"

Laura smiled silently. To be honest, she was careful about locking the doors because of that possibility.

Miss Hyde sighed deeply.

"Come with me to my boarding house."

"Boarding house?"

"If you pay as much as you pay for a room here per day, you can stay as long as you want. These days, people keep leaving, so the landlady is short on money. Pack your bags. Quickly."

Miss Hyde got up and urged Laura on. In fact, Miss Hyde's worries were justified. This place was shabby, and all kinds of people came and went. The locations of the men's and women's rooms were also close. It was only natural that she was in danger staying alone.

Miss Pendleton thought that Miss Hyde's boarding house would be perfect for her current status. Laura soon got up and started packing. Miss Hyde helped her pack next to her.

The two of them carried the large trunk together and came out of the inn. Miss Hyde quickly went out to the main street and stopped a passing hired carriage.

The two sat side by side in the running carriage. Only then did Miss Pendleton have the leisure to ask how she had found her residence.

"Ian Dalton came to see me."

Laura was startled.

"Mr. Dalton? How did he know Miss Hyde's workplace?"

"He said he heard it from Mr. Fairfax. He told him you were here. That you were living in a place where public order was unstable. He asked me to let Miss Pendleton stay with me in my safe boarding house."

Laura was speechless. It was an unexpected kindness. He was worried about her situation and even went to Miss Hyde's workplace to ask her to take care of her.

He must have known too. That her residence was not safe. But instead of forcing her to go to Mr. Fairfax's house with him, he sent Miss Hyde. It was consideration not to ignore her decision.

She had known it before, but he was indeed a thoughtful man. He sometimes seemed rude because he was so direct, but that was just the appearance. She had known for a long time that he was a warm and considerate person. She was lucky to have made friends with him.

If it weren't for her own heart, she would be able to thank this luck without any pain.

The carriage drove through Fleet Street, a bustling commercial district crowded with large and small publishing houses and newspaper companies. Soon, ordinary houses began to appear sparsely in the street that had been full of offices, and the carriage stopped in front of a bed town crowded with three-story houses.

Miss Hyde paid the carriage fare herself, despite Laura's protests, and got out of the carriage first to unload the luggage in the back.

She took Laura up the stairs of one of the houses, a red-gated house. And she grabbed the metal ring on the door and knocked on the gate.

Knock, knock.

Soon, a middle-aged woman wearing a cute woman's hat came out.

"Miss Hyde, you're here. Oh, and who is this next to you?"

"This is my friend, Mrs. Keron. First, can we go in and talk?"

Mrs. Keron let the two ladies in.

"This is my friend Laura Pendleton. She's a very gentle and wonderful person. She's looking for a temporary place to stay before she finds a governess position."

Mrs. Keron looked Laura up and down. She had an aristocratic air, but her clothes were very shabby.

"Miss Hyde. You know. According to the rules of our boarding house, guests are not allowed to stay..."

"She'll be staying in my room with me while she's here. If you take care of her meals and laundry without adding anything else, I'll pay as much as my boarding fee."

"We always welcome gentle ladies in our house. You can stay as long as you want, Miss Pendleton."

The two went up to the second floor. As soon as they entered the room, Miss Hyde took Laura's hat and cape and hung them on the hanger, then went downstairs to bring something to eat.

Laura, who was left alone, looked around the room.

The room was spacious and had everything she needed. There was a small fireplace, a comfortable sofa and bed, a bookshelf and a desk. She realized that the books that were densely packed on the bookshelf were the books that had been piled up in a corner of the small room when she lived in the Hyde family in the past.

Laura thought of the room where Miss Hyde had lived with her family in the past. A small and bleak room. The current room was three times larger than that, and it had everything she needed. What made Laura most happy was the fact that Miss Hyde's room had a proper desk.

She approached the desk. Papers and pens were scattered messily on the desk. Miss Pendleton noticed the pile of manuscripts stacked on her desk. Laura picked up the pile of manuscripts and looked at it.

The pile of manuscripts was written by a person named Mary Rotis.

Mary Rotis. Laura had heard that name before. She was a travel writer who had visited the entire European continent, the United States, and Africa all alone.

Out of curiosity, she looked at the manuscript. But no matter how hard Miss Pendleton tried to read the letters, she couldn't read them. It was messy with ink stains, and the letters were a mess. The squiggly, strange handwriting was full of letters where the pen seemed to have gone astray and the strokes of the upper and lower lines overlapped.

Miss Hyde came into the room. She was holding a tray with simple refreshments such as cookies and tea.

"This is Mary Rotis's manuscript, right?"

"Yes. Have you read it?"

"No. I can't read it. Is it some kind of code?"

Miss Hyde smiled and put the refreshment tray on the table. Laura put down the manuscript and went to the table. The two sat side by side and drank tea.

"There are writers whose handwriting is seriously bad. People who scribble the alphabet like hieroglyphs, making editors' heads explode. Among them, Mary Rotis is unique. She originally had bad handwriting, but it got worse because she always wrote in ships and carriages."

Miss Pendleton realized why Miss Hyde was able to bring the manuscript of the famous writer Mary Rotis home.

"Miss Hyde can interpret it?"

Miss Hyde chuckled.

"It's strange, isn't it? I'm not particularly good at recognizing letters, but when I look at Mary Rotis's writing, I can understand the meaning. Thanks to that, I'm in charge of Mary Rotis's writing. The writer is always traveling, so the editors must be in a hurry because they can't ask her about everything. It's more work, but thanks to that, I can read Mary Rotis's writing first, so I'm lucky."

"That's amazing, Miss Hyde."

"No. What's amazing is not me, but Rotis. I just put correction marks on the writing that person wrote in the office, but that person goes everywhere, mountains, seas, everywhere. Alone as a woman. Isn't that great courage? And the writing is great too. These days, travelogues are pouring out like a trend, but Mary Rotis's writing is solid, fluent, and beautiful. She's a true writer."

When it was dinner time, the meal came up. It was richly prepared with veal stew, oatmeal, bread, and fruit jelly. The taste was excellent. Laura, who had been eating strange food at the inn for the past few days, felt like she had had a proper meal for the first time in a long time.

After the meal, the two sat on the sofa and talked. The things that had happened after leaving the Pendleton family. The difficulties experienced while looking for a job and life in the accommodation. The first few days of independence, which were shabby yet peaceful, and anxious yet free.

Miss Hyde sympathized with all of that. And she encouraged Laura, who had not yet found a suitable job. Laura gained confidence through Miss Hyde, who had become independent and built a stable life before her.

The seeds of kindness that had been sown to Miss Hyde a few months ago had grown rapidly and returned to Laura as a bumper crop.