Chapter 78
<78> A New Life (9)
Daniel threw his arms up and cheered.
George, who returned late, was frustrated by the news that his brother had won first place and slumped down in his seat. Laura helped George up and kindly encouraged him. George was frustrated for a while, but he didn't try to punch his brother.
He didn't want to show such a sight in front of the teacher, and with Uncle Ian sitting next to her with his eyes wide open, it was something he couldn't even dream of doing.
After the word-finding game, it was soon time for dinner again. The four walked towards the Estate, passing through the fields where the shadows cast by the grass were growing darker, towards the Estate bathed in orange light.
Laura sat across from him at the Formal dinner and ate, then naturally moved to the living room with the family. Mr. Fairfax had gone down to the basement to clean the guns he had used while roaming the hunting grounds today, but the rest of the family gathered in the living room.
Olivia was energetically playing the piano she was practicing, and Ian was teaching George and Daniel billiards. Laura held up the embroidery frame next to Mrs. Fairfax. It was a peaceful evening filled with the sound of the piano and the occasional clatter of billiard balls.
Laura asked Mrs. Fairfax, who was moving the needle by the light.
"Does Mr. Dalton come to sketch often?"
Mrs. Fairfax glanced at Mr. Dalton and nodded.
"It's been his lifelong hobby."
"Since when has he been painting?"
"Probably since right after I got married, so when he was eight years old. He could come to Dunville Park to play whenever he wanted, but he couldn't come every day. Being left alone at Whitefield Hall, he had nowhere to turn, so he focused even more on painting. Thanks to that, he was able to get along well even after I left. Did he show you his sketches?"
"Yes."
"He's quite good, isn't he?"
"It didn't feel like a hobby at all."
"That's right. He could have become a painter if he wanted to. He had artistic talent since he was young. If he had been born as the second son, he would have become quite a famous painter, but unfortunately, he was born as the eldest son of the Dalton family, so he only gets to do the most talented thing as a hobby. Well, he's doing a pretty good job of managing the Estate in his own way."
"Since he loves Whitefield so much, it's not a great misfortune that he didn't become a painter."
Mrs. Fairfax looked at Laura.
"I always feel like you understand Ian quite well."
"Rather than understanding... I'm just saying what I feel. Ever since I was in London, whenever he talked about Whitefield, he looked very happy. It wasn't just about showing off his wealth. It was like..."
Laura chose her words.
"I felt pride and love. Like you would feel for a child. Living in a place you love and building it up is a life's task. I thought Mr. Dalton was very lucky."
"He's lucky in that respect. Most of the aristocratic rabble are indifferent to their Estates except when they're showing them off to others. They spend money to decorate and manage them to improve their reputation. But for Ian, Whitefield is like his own blood. It's his root, his parent, his comfort, and his happiness. Maybe it's like the destiny of someone born in Whitefield. Once you fall in love with the white forest of Whitefield, you can never escape that love."
* * *
That night, Laura came into her room and sat in a chair. After thinking for a moment, she took out a trunk and rummaged through it. Inside the trunk was a square object wrapped in a white lace shawl. Laura carefully took it out and went to the desk. She took off the lace shawl. There was a painting of Whitefield that he had once given her as a gift.
Laura looked at the painting quietly by the lamp light. She wanted to see how much he loved Whitefield by looking at the painting.
She had never really looked at this painting so closely. After receiving the painting for the first time, she had only hung it in the drawing room, and whenever she glanced at it, she would quickly turn her gaze away due to complicated feelings.
So, this was the first time she was seeing this painting properly. She stared at the painting quietly for about 20 minutes. The meticulously depicted forest and Estate. The wave of dazzlingly beautiful colors painted over it.
She saw the colors and shapes with her eyes, thought about them with her head, and then accepted them with her heart. Then, she easily realized what kind of emotions he had used to paint it. The emotion beyond the excellent technique. It was love.
A clear realization arose in Laura's heart.
'Mr. Dalton really loves Whitefield.'
As soon as Laura realized that, her heart fluttered. As if his love had been transferred to her as well. She even felt like she was about to fall in love with Whitefield, which she had never seen before.
She had a good eye for painting due to the art education that was richly provided to ladies. She had seen paintings that accurately depicted objects, and she had also seen many paintings that beautifully depicted natural objects as if in a dream.
However, it was not easy to see a painting that made the viewer fall in love with what they had drawn. If that were possible, it would fall into the category of outstanding art.
'Mr. Dalton is an outstanding artist.'
Laura thought so and placed the painting on one side of the dressing table. His painting was too valuable to be kept in a trunk.
* * *
Dunville Park was getting greener day by day. Laura took a walk with Olivia in the morning and sat on a cool bench, talking in French. Olivia spoke haltingly in French, and Laura gently corrected Olivia's grammar.
Olivia was a docile student only when she was studying French with Laura. At first, she tried to act haughty, but as soon as she saw that Laura spoke French as fluently as Jeanne, who was French, she abandoned her arrogant attitude.
Olivia was a childish girl, but she knew how to suppress her temper in front of someone who had what she needed.
Olivia knew that Laura had many excellent qualities, and she decided to put aside her childish jealousy and learn everything she could. And Olivia was a smart girl enough to know that what she could learn from Laura was not just French.
About forty days after Laura arrived, Olivia received an invitation to her friend Lydia's birthday party. Olivia, who had been neglecting social events for the past month due to her studies, was excited and dressed up early in the morning and headed to her friend's mansion.
Olivia's friends were very surprised to see her after a month. Olivia's gait had become calmer than before, and her speech and expression had become as elegant as those of an aristocratic lady. The friends each noticed that there was a reason for Olivia to change.
And then, when Olivia played Chopin for her birthday friend Lydia and recited a poem in French that was more skillful than ever before, the surprise grew even greater.
Olivia felt the awe-filled reactions of her friends and was secretly pleased. Observing and imitating the every move of her new teacher Laura for the past month was for this kind of reaction.
Olivia continued to dominate the atmosphere by telling stories about high society that she had heard from Laura. All of her friends were amazed and listened to Olivia's stories. Lydia, the protagonist of the birthday party, was left behind.
Lydia, a young lady who was no less vain than Olivia, was upset and her cheeks puffed out. But her friends didn't know about Lydia's condition. The stories of London high society that Olivia was telling were so interesting.
For young ladies who were a few years away from their debut, there was no topic that attracted more attention than stories of high society. And until now, that topic had been monopolized by Lydia, whose cousin had debuted in London high society.
However, Miss Christine Salmon enjoyed interacting with Lydia before her debut, but after going up to London, she was so engrossed in that high society that she only communicated with Lydia by letter. The information Lydia knew about London high society was limited to a few lines of updates that Salmon sent her every two weeks.
Compared to Lydia's information, Olivia's stories were specific and things they had never heard before. Olivia told them about the habits and tastes of people they had only encountered by name in the newspaper, and she told them in detail who the real power brokers were in high society these days and how they were making their own people behind the scenes.
Olivia's friends were just listening with their mouths open. Then, when Olivia sipped her tea to quench her thirst for a moment, Rebecca, who was next to her, asked.
"Olivia, where did you hear all these stories?"
Olivia said honestly to add credibility to her story.
"I told you last time, didn't I? The new governess who came to our house. That person is Miss Laura Pendleton of the Pendleton family."
"Ah, the Pendleton family, the great aristocrats of Cornwall? The daughter of that family is your governess?"
"Yes."
"To have a lady from such a great family as a governess, that's amazing!"
The girls exclaimed. But then, Lydia, who had been silent on one side, said.
"Ah, that Miss Pendleton who was friends with our cousin?"
"Friends? When I told Miss Pendleton about Miss Christine Salmon, she said she was just one of the ladies who came to have tea sometimes?"
Olivia's answer was unintentional, but Lydia was upset by the words that seemed to look down on her cousin. Lydia retorted with thorns.
"Well, you could say that. Our cousin doesn't need to know Miss Laura Pendleton. There's no need to become friends with such a person and damage her reputation, is there?"
Olivia was surprised by the words that suddenly belittled Miss Pendleton, and strangely, she felt upset.
"Why? What's wrong with Miss Pendleton?"
"You know, about Miss Pendleton's birth."
Olivia obviously didn't know at all, but it would be embarrassing to pretend not to know here. She hid her agitation and quickly retorted.
"What's wrong with that?"
"'What's wrong with that'? Wow, that's amazing. I honestly think it's a great courage to hire such a person as a governess. Your parents are really open-minded."
