Translator: Nox

18 - Chapter 18

At the same time, Julia was having tea in the Reception room at Blissbury.

Of course, she wasn't alone. Who would drink tea alone in a place that wasn't even their own home?

Julia smiled and looked at the man sitting across from her.

Sergeant Ryan Thornton. He was sitting right across from Julia.

Mrs. Parker had opened the terrace window, saying the weather was nice today, so a spring breeze carrying the scent of wildflowers blew into the Reception room.

The breeze lightly brushed past Sergeant Thornton's seemingly well-kept, damp hair.

'Indeed, he's really handsome, even when I see him again.'

Julia suppressed her fluttering heart and carefully put down her teacup.

For the past few days, Julia had become the happiest woman in Feltham. Among the many who had visited Blissbury, Julia was the only one Sergeant Thornton had invited to stay longer, offering her tea.

Of course, it was a stretch to say she was receiving special treatment based on this alone.

The reason others weren't offered tea was that Sergeant Thornton was absent from Blissbury at those times.

However, Julia was fortunate enough to encounter him returning from the river next to the mansion, soaking wet.

When she saw him walking nonchalantly, drenched, Julia couldn't help but swallow hard.

How many gentlemen had she met so far? Among the ladies of Feltham and Cambon who were of marriageable age, few had encountered as many gentlemen in this area as she had.

It wasn't as if she had engaged in scandalous encounters that would warrant finger-pointing. She had simply frequented refined social events.

In any case, thanks to that, Julia, to borrow Mrs. Ogilvy's expression, had 'raised her standards.'

It couldn't be helped. When you encounter many, it's only natural to develop a knack for distinguishing the good from the bad, isn't it?

That's why Julia had been suffering since her engagement was called off a while ago. In Julia's eyes, that man was the finest gentleman in Cambon society.

But the moment she saw Sergeant Thornton walking towards her, Julia even forgot what that man's name was.

Amidst the composed Sergeant Thornton and the flustered Julia, the one who was in a frenzy was Mrs. Parker.

"Oh my, when did you go out of the mansion again? And you went into the river again! Goodness, what is this floor?"

Mrs. Parker was horrified by the muddy footprints on the floor. Even so, she hurriedly went to find a towel.

If Mrs. Parker had been there, Ryan would have apologized and left to wash up.

But knowing how rude it would be to leave a guest alone in the current situation, he couldn't leave, even though he was still dripping water.

Ryan, unable to remain silent, started with a weather-related greeting that everyone exchanged.

"Is everything alright in Feltham?"

Thanks to him asking a question she could answer, Julia brought up the names of all the neighbors she remembered and conveyed their regards.

Sergeant Thornton, who had been quietly listening to her, opened his mouth after a while.

"How is Mr. Serverton?"

"Oh my, I forgot the most important person. Of course, he's doing well."

"Are his family also doing well?"

"Ah, yes..."

Julia's expression clouded over for a moment as she thought of Eloise.

It wasn't that she had disliked Eloise from the beginning. But at some point, she began to resent Eloise, who seemed to be leisurely enjoying herself, unlike Julia, who was focusing all her attention on marriage.

Then, the words grumbled by the man she had been talking about engagement with, saying that it would be difficult to continue the relationship, were etched in Julia's mind.

<If you could receive as much pension as Miss Eloise, this wouldn't have happened...>

After that, Julia felt a deep twisting in her heart whenever she saw Eloise.

She even went to church on weekends to pray to God to rid her of these feelings. But perhaps her earnestness was lacking? Those feelings only grew deeper.

So now, in front of Sergeant Thornton, who was asking about the Serverton family, a fragment of that twisted heart popped out.

"Everyone is doing well. But Eloise... no, Miss Serverton doesn't seem to be."

"Is something the matter?"

"Well..."

Honestly, nothing significant had happened. But she wanted to say something to continue this conversation. And she didn't want to talk about anything good about Eloise.

So Julia brought up the story of Eloise being confined by her father for some reason.

Before she knew it, the conversation had shifted to the topic of the big and small incidents Eloise had caused since she was young.

In the meantime, Mrs. Parker had found the towel. Sergeant Thornton, who received the towel, wiped his still dripping hair and said to Julia.

"I apologize for greeting you in this state. If you don't mind, would you visit Blissbury again?"

At his suggestion, Julia nodded without even remembering the etiquette that a lady should gracefully decline once.

"Of course! It would be an honor."

Fearing that he might change his mind, Julia even made a date. And that second meeting was today.

All the way here, Julia had been telling herself not to get too excited.

Even though she wasn't engaged, people in Cambon society already treated her as if she were a woman who had been jilted.

Their eyes, while expressing sympathy, also seemed to look at her as if she had one flaw compared to them.

'I can't make the same mistake as last time.'

If she talked about it arbitrarily when nothing was confirmed, like last time, she would be pointed at twice if it didn't work out. She wanted to avoid that at all costs.

But even so, she had brought her best outing dress to wear here.

Other friends hadn't even seen Sergeant Thornton's face and had returned. But she had met him once by chance, and he had even invited her to come again.

This was definitely a good sign. So she couldn't rush things and ruin them.

But this conversation was not flowing smoothly.

Sergeant Thornton seemed very interested in the Serverton family and asked many questions about them.

Although her sister and Eloise were close friends and the wives had been interacting for a long time, Julia honestly didn't know very much about the Serverton family.

At best, she vaguely remembered what her sister Abigail had said during meals, so there was a little bit of conversation, but even that ran out, and she had no idea what else to bring up to continue the conversation.

Because of that, the conversation had now reached its umpteenth silence.

Julia noticed that he was gradually getting bored with the conversation with her.

'What should I say?'

Anxious about the awkward atmosphere, Julia came up with a topic of conversation to bring up.

"Come to think of it, the Blissbury ball will be beautiful again this year, won't it? Everyone in Feltham is looking forward to that day. Has the date been decided yet?"

At Julia's words, Thornton, who had been looking outside for a moment, turned his head.

As Julia had noticed, Ryan was starting to feel bored with the conversation with her.

In fact, the reason he had made another appointment with Julia was because he thought he should meet someone appropriately since he couldn't keep sending all the visitors back.

So it didn't matter who the other person was, and he just happened to run into Julia.

But there was another reason he invited Julia.

"Eloise is originally... a bit unique. She seems to get along well with everyone, but in fact, it's no exaggeration to say that she doesn't have any close friends except for my sister. Perhaps it's because she came down from the capital, so she has many differences from us."

Julia tried to speak politely, but Ryan, who had been dealing with sly old men in the military every day, couldn't possibly fail to read the hidden meaning in her words.

'She's saying that she's a lady from the capital, so it's difficult for them to deal with her.'

But they couldn't openly ostracize her, so they seemed to be getting along moderately. And she seemed quite envious of Eloise.

Ryan, who had been listening to Julia's words, chuckled inwardly.

He couldn't even understand why he was asking so much about the Serverton family. He also felt himself focusing when Eloise's story came up.

He thought it was probably because she was annoying, so he was paying more attention to her, and Ryan was thinking of sending Julia back soon.

Just as he was wondering if there was any excuse to end this meeting appropriately, Julia brought up a new topic of conversation.

"The Blissbury ball? What is that?"

"Oh my. Didn't you know? Every summer, a large ball is held at Blissbury, inviting all the residents of Feltham. Lord Stanford started the event a long time ago out of consideration for the townspeople. Mr. Serverton has been in charge of the ball as the Lord's representative all along."

Then, Julia looked at him with eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"But this year, Sergeant Thornton will be in charge, so everyone in the town is even more excited. I'm sure you'll show us the wonderful things that are currently popular in the capital, right?"

But Ryan's expression hardened at Julia's words full of expectation, and he said firmly.

"No, Mr. Serverton will be in charge again this year."

The next day, William, the postman, rushed to Mr. Serverton's house from the morning.

"Huff, huff... An urgent telegram has arrived for Mr. Serverton!"

Then, William read the contents of the short telegram.

It said that Mrs. Courtney, Mr. Serverton's godmother, had been bedridden due to old age and wanted to see him one last time, so he should come quickly.