Chapter 97
He stared at Laura without a word.
“I’ve tried to live as someone different from them. I’ve always tried to face reality head-on, to think with reason and judgment first. I never allowed myself to follow my emotions. That effort was so consistent that it’s become a part of me, like Mr. Dalton’s smoking habit. Now, I am completely different from my mother and father, as I intended. When I feel strong emotions, I freeze up. I immediately analyze and discern them and respond accordingly.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad trait.”
He spoke in a soft voice, one he rarely showed even to those closest to him.
“I respect Miss Pendleton’s rationality. Anyone with the right kind of sense would feel the same. Always calm, gentle, and fair. You are gentle because you are wise, and kind because you are strong. Your parents in heaven would be proud of these qualities in you.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course.”
Laura smiled. Mr. Dalton looked up at her smiling face with a warm gaze.
Receiving that gaze, Laura felt a languid warmth spread through her body, as if she had drunk wine. The affection she had always secretly harbored for him raged within her, wanting to burst out.
She wanted to express her feelings to him with her eyes, her expressions, her words, and her gestures. She wanted to become the cigarette case he held, to be caressed by him, to be close to his body like the shirt he wore, to warm him like the flames of the fireplace he basked in.
Crack, crack—the lid on her heart continued to shatter. At the same time, a blush of a lady in love gently spread across her face.
Mr. Dalton’s gaze toward Laura became strange.
Laura flinched. Could her true feelings have been written on her face without her knowing? Had she revealed an inappropriate affection that would make her a laughingstock and embarrass Mr. Dalton?
Terrified, Laura unleashed the reason that served as her weapon in every crisis. She quickly found the most appropriate words to escape the predicament.
“A lady who can recognize Mr. Dalton’s true nature and love him without reservation should fill that empty space soon. How far has she come, Mr. Dalton?”
Mr. Dalton’s gaze sank into a dark abyss.
Laura’s heart fluttered with relief.
With a shadowed expression, he replied somewhat curtly, “Very far away.”
‘He must be talking about London.’
Laura thought of Miss Lance. Ah, so that’s it. The two of them must already be promised.
‘Yes, Mr. Dalton wouldn’t do anything that could cause misunderstandings without a plan. He’s not such a scoundrel. My worries about Miss Lance were just unfounded fears. Thank goodness.’
But why was her nose tingling and her chest aching?
Laura smiled brightly.
“Distance is nothing these days. We have trains, after all. I don’t know which lady lives where, but it shouldn’t take more than two days to meet her.”
He chuckled, a self-deprecating laugh.
“There are greater obstacles than distance preventing her from coming to my side.”
“What?”
“She doesn’t know if I love her.”
“Ah…”
Laura rolled her eyes. Miss Lance, whom she had seen before leaving London, was head over heels for Mr. Dalton. Had Mr. Dalton not noticed her feelings?
‘Could he have another lady in mind besides Miss Lance?’
Laura couldn’t figure it out at all. She had always prided herself on her ability to sense others’ affections, but it didn’t work with him. But she couldn’t openly ask him who he liked. Such a blatant question was against etiquette.
Unable to bear his gloomy expression, Laura asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“How can I gain that love here that I couldn’t gain in London?”
“A letter to her… Ah, that wouldn’t work. Or how about visiting London again?”
“I can’t be away from Whitefield for long.”
He looked out the window. He looked forlorn. His face revealed the painful feelings of a man who had not won the heart of the woman he loved.
Laura grew increasingly depressed. And the more she did, the more desperately she tried to ignore her emotions. She worked hard to find a way for the man she had a crush on to win the heart of another woman.
The clever woman quickly found an answer.
“Then, how about hosting a hunting party?”
“A hunting party, you say?”
“Yes. If you host a hunting party, you can gather all the gentlemen and ladies from London to Whitefield. Send invitations to everyone you met in London. Hunting, of course, but also dance parties and Formal dinner, card games, concerts, picnics. All the pleasant amusements can be enjoyed at Whitefield. Everyone will rush to take the train. Among them will be the lady Mr. Dalton loves. If she sees Whitefield, she will surely fall in love with Mr. Dalton.”
Laura emphasized the last sentence. She thought he would be tempted, but he looked as if he had been told to bring a swarm of rats into the house. Well, he was the famous Miss Havisham, after all.
“Since you enjoy a reclusive life, you might not be inclined to do so. But at least you can keep the lady at Whitefield for a week. It should be easy to win her love in the meantime.”
Hearing the duration, the discomfort disappeared from his face. If he could spend such a long time in the same house with the woman he loved, it would surely be a welcome thing.
“…But I don’t know how to prepare such a social gathering at all. Neither does the butler. The last large Ball held in our family was during my great-grandfather’s time. If dozens of gentlemen and ladies from London come, the servants will feel like they’ve been struck by lightning.”
“Ah, that’s a problem. There’s a lot of work to be done from start to finish, from selecting the menu to arranging the tables, and the butler, who has to take the lead, has no experience.”
“How about Miss Pendleton helping me?”
“Me?”
“Yes. Miss Pendleton has attended countless Balls and Formal dinner in London. You’ve also hosted excellent Formal dinner and tea times at your Townhouse. There is no one as capable as you to execute such a large-scale event.”
“To do that, I would have to go back and forth to Whitefield countless times, which would greatly disrupt the children’s lessons.”
“That’s alright. My marriage problem is considered more important than the children’s studies even at Dunville Park. If I explain the situation to my sister, she will surely send you. Daniel and George will also get a vacation.”
The gloomy look from just now had completely evaporated, and he looked full of life. He seemed very much looking forward to the opportunity to have the woman he loved stay at his mansion.
Laura felt a sudden wave of nausea. It was an emotion she was feeling for the first time. Laura couldn’t immediately find the word to describe that feeling.
“Alright. I’ll help you.”
Mr. Dalton smiled broadly and reached out his hand to Laura. Laura placed her hand on his. He bowed his head and kissed the back of Laura’s hand.
“What could I ever do alone without you?”
He murmured softly after taking his lips away. Laura smiled and tried to withdraw her hand. But he didn’t let go of Laura’s hand. His gaze was fixed on Laura’s small, gloved hand.
She felt a tingling sensation where his gaze touched.
Laura felt her face flush and deliberately made a joke.
“What else are you going to ask me to do, Mr. Dalton?”
He slowly raised his gaze to look at Laura.
“Please attend the gathering, Miss Pendleton.”
“……Yes?”
“Like the other invited nobles, enjoy the gathering with us.”
It was an unexpected request, and an impossible one for her. She was no longer a noble. She was a worker who had given up everything and was working as a hired hand in someone else’s house. There was no way she could dare to set foot there again.
“Mr. Dalton, I really appreciate the invitation. But I’ll just accept your kind thoughts.”
She expected the question ‘Why?’, but he knew what she was thinking.
“I don’t want my most precious friend to hide and work like a housekeeper.”
“Please forgive my refusal, Mr. Dalton. I really can’t accept. It doesn’t serve the purpose of helping Mr. Dalton. Mr. Dalton, as the host of the party, must introduce guests to friends who are of the same status. Inviting me there would be neglecting your duty.”
“I think inviting you would elevate their status.”
“They won’t think so. Neither will the lady you love.”
“Then I will be very disappointed in that lady. If she ignores the daughter of the benefactor who saved my childhood with nothing but blood and class, I will dislike her as well.”
As Laura was about to reply, he raised his free hand, covered Laura’s hand that he was holding, and pressed down firmly. Laura’s hand was completely trapped in his large hands.
A subtle pressure tightened around Laura’s hand. Laura lost her voice as if she had been gagged.
“I can’t do anything without you. Without your help. My tongue will stiffen, my eyes will freeze, and my feet will stick to the ground. Embarrassingly, I am relying on you for everything in the matter of love.”
Laura’s eyes wavered.
“Please, stay by my side. Teach me and guide me. I will follow only you like a sheep guided by a shepherd.”
Her heart was a jumble of all sorts of confused emotions. Pity for Mr. Dalton, who was so attached to her, the pain that his love was directed at another woman, the fear that she might have to watch him court another woman.
But the greatest emotion of all was the joy that she was such a necessary presence to him.
Even if she was no more than a friend, the fact that this man could trust and rely on her, the fact that she had the ability to do something for him, made Laura sadly happy.
Laura nodded.
He smiled broadly. He seemed pleased to have won her surrender repeatedly. He gently stroked Laura’s small hand in his and said in an excited voice, “I never thought I would look forward to a social event in my life, but you can never be sure. I’ll leave everything to you. Spend the execution costs generously. Think of everything as my house, my servants, my livelihood. Do whatever you want as if you were the mistress of Whitefield.”
Laura struggled to maintain her usual gentle demeanor.
The rain had stopped. Their clothes had long since dried while they were talking by the fire. The two left the cabin.
They passed through the dark chestnut forest and entered the white birch path where sunlight was beginning to seep in. Mr. Dalton, walking beside Laura, held Laura’s shawl in one hand and put the other in his pants pocket, whistling softly. He seemed to be in a very good mood.
Laura held her father’s sketchbook tightly and looked up at the sky.
She felt like she was going to cry, but she held it back.
