Chapter 82
<82> My Dear Miss Laura (4)
"When I was young, my father used to tell me this story. And as he told it, his eyes would always fill with tears. He said that if he had been just a little wiser, my mother wouldn't have left like that. And he wouldn't have brought dishonor upon me. I think so too. Actually, they were both too young and too foolish. That kind of marriage isn't right."
Olivia wanted to object to Laura's cold assessment.
"But Miss Pendleton, it must have been because they loved each other so much. It ended in tragedy, but still, you were born."
Laura only smiled silently.
"I wish they had made it safely to Gretna Green. Then the three of you could have lived happily ever after."
"Thank you for accepting it that way, Miss Fairfax. I sometimes think that too. If they had been a little wiser, my mother and father would be by my side. I don't deny that they loved each other. I sometimes look at my mother's portrait and think of the mother who might have been by my side. She decided her fate before she matured, and that's why she met such a tragedy. I used to resent my mother, but I don't anymore. And neither do I resent my father."
"What happened to your father, Miss Pendleton?"
"I don't know. He left me with the Pendleton family when I was young, and when I grew up, I searched for him, but there was no painter with my father's name anywhere. He must have returned to his home country."
Laura finished her story calmly, closed the pendant, and put it back inside her clothes. Then, she silently gazed at the open riding path of Dunville Park. As quiet as a wildflower. Olivia felt an indescribable emotion from Laura's appearance.
How can Miss Pendleton tell such a story so honestly and plainly? And how can she be so at peace after speaking? Olivia felt awe for her teacher for the first time.
After that conversation, Olivia's attitude toward Miss Pendleton gradually changed. Until now, Olivia had pretended not to see her except during French class, and only acknowledged her if Miss Pendleton greeted her first.
But now, Olivia greeted her first when they met, and she was polite even outside of class. Moreover, one of her friends returned from touring the spa town of Bath and gave her lace as a gift, which she generously cut and gave to Miss Pendleton to decorate her hat.
Miss Pendleton was surprised by Olivia's change. Until now, Olivia had only reluctantly obeyed her during class, and in her daily life, she had almost treated her as if she didn't exist. But she soon realized that Olivia had learned about her origins and felt sympathy for her.
Being the object of pity for a young student wasn't exactly a pleasant thing, but Laura decided to be grateful that Olivia had opened her heart to her, even now. And she gladly accepted Olivia's kind heart.
Laura decorated her plain black hat and muslin handkerchief with the lace Olivia gave her. And as a thank you, she played Mendelssohn's pieces, which Olivia loved, all evening. Olivia sat beside Laura, turning the pages of the music and listening to Laura's performance.
Laura created melodies so elegant that they couldn't be compared to what came from her clumsy fingertips. Olivia wasn't upset by that fact at all. There was no jealousy. She simply watched Laura's fingers flutter over the keys like a white butterfly and only felt the desire to play the piano so wonderfully herself someday.
After that day, whenever Laura played the piano, Olivia would always sit beside her, watching her fingers or turning the pages of the music.
It was only natural for friendship to blossom between the ladies who sat side by side every day, concentrating on music. Laura began to find Olivia, who looked at her skills with admiring eyes, adorable, and she became as fond of her as she was of the two boys who played in the forest every day.
But Olivia's feelings were deeper and more sincere than Laura's. Olivia had always coveted Laura's outstanding qualities, wanting them to be her own. But now, she had even come to love her teacher's outstanding qualities. Olivia no longer needed to suppress or ignore the love she felt for the object of her admiration.
She wanted to know what books she read, what dances she could do, how many musical scores she had in her head, and what poems she liked. Olivia asked her honestly. And the answers Laura gave only fueled her admiration for Laura, rather than disappointing her. Her level of knowledge was ahead of any Lady she had ever met. Among the governesses, there was no one as knowledgeable and cultured as she was. Laura Pendleton was the perfect Lady she had always wanted to be.
Olivia wanted to become a perfect Lady like Laura. She had found the perfect role model she had always been looking for.
Olivia began to follow Miss Pendleton around. So much so that Mrs. Fairfax told her to stop bothering her teacher.
But Laura didn't mind at all. She was happy to have won Olivia's heart, and she was even more pleased that the reason she liked her was because of her high desire to learn. Laura also used to follow her favorite teacher around when she was thirteen, trying to learn as much as possible.
Laura began to pay attention to Olivia's level and characteristics, and soon realized that Olivia was having a hard time studying on her own, despite her enthusiasm. As a result, she wasn't achieving as much as she wanted in subjects other than those taught by Miss Pendleton. The most representative area was reading.
Olivia had been reading on her own, based on a list of books she had asked her eldest brother at university to make. Laura asked her to show her the list, and Olivia quickly brought it to her.
Laura clicked her tongue inwardly as she looked at the titles. They were all books that were too difficult for Olivia to read. As expected, Olivia had only read the beginning of most of the books on the list before giving up.
Laura made a new list of books that were interesting and nutritious for a thirteen-year-old to read. And she promised to read one book a week and talk to her about it.
* * *
While the two were sharing friendship, autumn began to come to Dunville Park. The relationship between Laura and Olivia grew stronger day by day, becoming like sisters, beyond teacher and student or friends.
Mrs. Fairfax was watching that scene with pleasure. She thought that Olivia and Laura's friendship was entirely necessary for her daughter. Olivia, who pretended to be all grown up but was still young and immature, could mature and make up for her shortcomings by interacting with a mature and wise Lady like Laura.
And Mrs. Fairfax wasn't the only one watching their friendship. Ian was also watching their friendship with interest.
He visited Dunville Park at least once a week. Ostensibly, it was to ask about the well-being of the Dunville Park family and to sketch. People who didn't know his true intentions were easily fooled. He hadn't increased the number of times he visited Dunville Park, nor did he stay longer, nor did he show any other changes.
But Mrs. Fairfax and Olivia knew his intentions, and especially in Mrs. Fairfax's eyes, it was clear that Ian was secretly burning inside, even though he pretended not to be.
Ian was making every effort to get closer to Laura, being careful not to set off alarms in Laura's quick-witted and cautious nature.
Thanks to that, Laura and Ian were sharing a much closer friendship than they had in London. They were learning more about each other than before, and they were much more honest in sharing their thoughts and feelings.
But even so, an invisible line always existed. The line between man and woman. The line between gentleman and governess. The line between landowner and worker. Both Laura and Ian were clearly aware of it. Laura to keep that line, and Ian to try to cross it at all costs.
Ian was being as careful as possible to achieve his goal. Because if the rejection was repeated again, it would be a farewell to her forever.
In the meantime, Laura and Olivia becoming friends was like an opportunity opening up for him.
Ian looked down at Laura and Olivia sitting on the bench under the cedar tree, putting their heads together and reading a book, and said to his sister sitting on the sofa.
"I'll have to ask Olivia."
Mrs. Fairfax, who was putting away the cards and doing embroidery in preparation for Miss Pendleton coming up, asked.
"Ask what?"
"To help me get closer to Miss Pendleton."
Mrs. Fairfax was surprised.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Honey, even if it was six years ago, she was the one who proposed to you once."
"That's a happening. Now she's reading poetry with the woman I love so dearly. If you hadn't brought it up to tease Olivia from time to time, it would have been forgotten by all of us long ago."
"I don't think so, Ian. You don't know how long a woman's love lasts. Besides, Olivia has a childish side. If you ask her for such a favor and Olivia's mood turns sour and she confesses your tricks to Miss Pendleton, it will be impossible to fix the situation."
"I don't think Olivia is that immature. You have a harsh side to your only daughter."
"You have an overly generous side to Olivia. If you had shown half of that attitude to George and Daniel, they would be less afraid of you than they are now."
"And by now they would have become uncontrollable hooligans. Until four years ago, when they started playing with fire in the forest, I was a pretty good uncle."
"Ah, if that's the reason, I have nothing to say. They almost burned down half of the Dunville Park forest... Anyway, I'm a little worried. Even if Olivia has come to like Miss Pendleton, it's because she thought there was no possibility of you and Miss Pendleton getting together."
Ian silently looked down at the lower floor. At some point, the two ladies were putting their heads together and whispering something, and they were laughing at what they were saying. Ian looked at Olivia and Laura, who were bent over and laughing, and said.
"Olivia will listen to me. Definitely."
