Chapter 83
<83> My Dear Miss Laura (5)
Immediately after lunch, Miss Pendleton departed with the two boys for their lesson in the woods. Ian asked Olivia if she would spend some time with him.
The two sat in the small dining room, drinking tea. Olivia sat across from Ian, her heart pounding.
Her Uncle Ian, sitting across from her, was as handsome as ever. His beautifully sculpted face had lost some weight, giving him a sharp air. Olivia drank her tea, her heart racing.
"Olivia, you seem more ladylike than usual lately."
"Oh, do I?"
Ian smiled and nodded. Olivia giggled.
Ian gazed at his adorable niece. Olivia was the niece he cherished second only to Henry. Intelligent since childhood, Olivia had always followed him around, and he, in turn, had cared for her as if she were a much younger sister.
"You've become noticeably more mature since the new governess arrived. I've noticed you two seem to get along well."
Olivia nodded.
"What do you think of Miss Pendleton?"
"She's a good person. There's much to learn from her. She's kind, knowledgeable, and very diligent."
Ian smiled softly.
"She's too good for me to aspire to."
Olivia simply looked at Ian without a word. Ian set down his teacup.
"Actually, I asked you to have tea with me because I wanted to ask you a favor. Olivia, I know you've heard from your mother that I want Miss Pendleton as my wife, and that's why I recommended her as a governess for this house."
"..."
"But there are several problems between her and me. I think she's too good to be my match, but she thinks the opposite. I want to open her heart. To do that, I need your help."
Ian saw Olivia's face stiffen with a serious expression. She seemed confused.
"No."
Olivia shook her head and said.
"Uncle, I can do anything you ask. But not that."
"May I ask why?"
"If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said it's because you and Miss Pendleton don't suit each other. I thought so even before she came, and that thought became completely fixed when I heard about her birth. I didn't want such an aunt. But… it's different now."
Olivia bit her lip.
Ian didn't press her, waiting for Olivia to speak again. After a moment of silence, Olivia continued.
"Miss Pendleton is a kind person with a gentle nature. But there was one time she showed a firm side. It was about the issue of marriage. She said, with a solemn expression like a Supreme Court Justice, that she wouldn't budge an inch from her position. Perhaps, if she knew your feelings, she might even give up her position as a governess and leave this estate… I…"
Laura's face contorted as if she were about to burst into tears.
"I don't want her to leave Dunville Park, Uncle!"
Ian stared at Olivia's face. Olivia looked surprised at her own words. It was as if she was realizing for the first time that such sincerity was hidden within her.
"Olivia. We share the same fear."
"Yes…?"
"The worry that she might leave. I feel it every day."
Olivia stared blankly at Ian. His jawline was sharper, and his complexion was pale. She had only thought he had become more handsome, but it seemed it was due to heartache. Olivia felt sorry for her uncle.
Ian approached Olivia. He knelt halfway and took Olivia's hand.
"I promise. I won't let your Miss Pendleton leave. I will take her as my partner, if only to avoid my own unhappiness. So…"
Ian smiled as he looked at Olivia.
"Help me. Lady Fairfax."
Olivia hung her head.
"I'll think… about it."
Ian politely kissed his niece's hand, as he would a Lady he met at a Ball.
* * *
That evening, Olivia went up to her room first after dinner. After the maid had changed her into her nightgown and finished brushing her hair, she sat quietly alone in front of her dressing table. She replayed her uncle's story from earlier.
If she had received her uncle's request in the past, she would have flatly refused. And she would have become even more angry at Miss Pendleton for the very fact that her uncle had made such a request to her, increasing her hatred for Miss Pendleton. But now she felt no displeasure at all. She was even conflicted. Conflicted!
Olivia shook her head vigorously. She had firmly decided that Miss Pendleton and her uncle could never be together, so why had her mind changed now?
No. It wouldn't work. It couldn't happen. It was impossible. Mr. Dalton, the wealthiest and most respected gentleman in Yorkshire, marrying Laura Pendleton, a penniless spinster and a bastard. That was something she should not help with, but rather step forward and stop.
But in her heart, she kept picturing her Miss Pendleton in the living room. Her kind Miss Laura, playing chess with her father or playing cards with her younger siblings. As her image became vivid in her mind, Olivia sighed.
If she only felt pity for her, she would have given her other kinds of help besides marrying her uncle.
But, to Olivia, Laura was no longer an object of pity. She admired her, respected her, and, at some point, even felt something close to love.
Olivia tried to think of suitable grooms for Miss Pendleton to persuade her heart. The middle-class grooms she had once said she would introduce to Miss Pendleton. Apothecaries, tailors, merchants,
Olivia shuddered. She felt as if she had insulted Miss Pendleton by pairing her with them. They were all decent people in their own right, but they couldn't hold a candle to a woman like Miss Pendleton. How could a Lady as elegant and beautiful as Miss Pendleton become the wife of such ordinary men?
'No matter how I think about it, the only man who suits Miss Pendleton is my uncle.'
Olivia buried her face in the dressing table. If she married her uncle, Miss Pendleton would face difficulties. The Dalton family, which had been the most prestigious family in Yorkshire for hundreds of years, would become the subject of gossip for the first time, and even her uncle's children would be targeted for rumors.
But, her uncle would overcome that easily. And what was most attractive…
'If Miss Pendleton marries my uncle, she'll be my aunt?'
Olivia was immediately captivated by that thought. Every year on her birthday, Miss Pendleton would come with her uncle to celebrate with gifts. Every Christmas, they could have parties at Whitefield Hall, and in the spring, they could go strawberry picking together. If Miss Pendleton and her uncle had a child, she could attend the christening and birthday parties. And maybe… maybe…
'If they have a daughter, I can ask them to name her after me!'
That thought decisively moved Olivia's heart. A beautiful little girl held in Miss Pendleton's arms. People would look at the child and exclaim how pretty she was, and ask what her name was.
The Miss Pendleton holding the child would smile with an angelic face and answer.
'Olivia. Her name is Olivia Dalton. I named her after Miss Olivia Fairfax, a Lady from my husband's in-law family and my special friend.'
The next day, she wrote a letter to her uncle at Whitefield. The letter was very short.
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Uncle. What do you want me to do?
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* * *
"Miss Pendleton, would you like to go to my uncle's house with me?"
One late summer morning, Olivia, who had followed Laura on her morning walk, suddenly asked.
Laura, who was taking in the cool air mixed with the scent of fir trees and mentally planning her day, looked down at Olivia in surprise.
"…To your uncle's house?"
"There are many books on the new reading list that you made for me that we don't have at home. It will take more than two weeks to order them from the bookstore."
Laura tilted her head.
"Can't you ask a servant to send them?"
"That wouldn't be fun."
"Ah, you're suggesting we go for a visit?"
Olivia smiled brightly and nodded.
Laura tilted her head and smiled ambiguously. The desire to see the beauty of Whitefield with her own eyes had been a wish she had cherished since she was in London. But now that she was closer to Whitefield than ever since coming to Dunville Park, Laura was not happy about the opportunity to visit Whitefield.
Whitefield was sure to be beautiful. She could feel it just by looking at the landscape paintings he had drawn. But it was Mr. Dalton's private property. No, it was Mr. Dalton himself. The land where he was born, raised, and loved like his own child. If she became fascinated by it, her heart would lean even more towards him.
It was like shining sunlight on the feelings she had locked away in the most remote and cold place in her heart.
Laura frowned without realizing it. She disliked herself a little when she became aware of the presumptuous feelings within her.
When Laura didn't seem very willing, Olivia, who looked anxious for some reason, began to urge Laura earnestly.
"Miss Pendleton, please. If I try to go alone, my mother won't lend me the carriage easily. She says that every time I go, I don't come back for several days, so she can't use the carriage when she needs it."
"Would she allow the carriage if I accompanied you?"
"Definitely. It's impossible to stay there if you accompany me."
Olivia took Laura's hand (this level of physical contact was now natural between the two) and begged her to go with her.
Laura found it difficult to refuse when she saw Olivia clinging to her. Laura decided to try asking Mrs. Fairfax to let Olivia go alone first.
