Translator: Nox

23 - Chapter 23

“From Blissbury?”

Eloise accepted the letter with a puzzled expression.

Meanwhile, Lancelot, who was in the yard tending to his newborn pups, stealthily approached and eyed the boy warily.

Seeing this, Eloise quickly took out a few cookies from the cookie jar and placed them in the boy's hand. The boy, also noticing Lancelot's gaze, thanked her and quickly ran off with the cookies.

“What is it?”

Mrs. Suberton came out, having heard the boy's voice from inside.

In her hands, she held the embroidery frame she had recently bought from Cambon.

Half-embroidered on the frame was a yellow rose, symbolizing recovery in Albion. It was an embroidery to send to Mr. Suberton, who had not returned for over a month.

Her Ladyship’s health was still not good.

However, her mind was sharper than before, and she was said to be spending pleasant times with Mr. Suberton, reminiscing about old times.

Because of this, Mr. Suberton's return was being delayed.

“I don’t know.”

Eloise examined the envelope. As expected, it was a letter from Sergeant Thornton.

Seeing Sergeant Thornton's name, Eloise clicked her tongue inwardly.

The footsteps of the young ladies who had been rushing to Blissbury had now subsided somewhat.

This was because he had received more food than His Majesty the King, yet he had not returned a single word of thanks to anyone.

Of course, though he didn't say it, in return for the food they brought, they all received the most expensive silk handkerchiefs available in Cambon.

It was far more valuable than Julia's handkerchief, which she had been boasting about for a while.

But that didn't bring the young ladies much joy.

Even if it was valuable, it only shone when possessed alone; if everyone had it, it wouldn't be an object of envy.

Thus, Sergeant Thornton's affair ended as a happening that turned the handkerchiefs of the young ladies and wives of Feltham into valuable items.

The wives were offended that their cooking was not chosen, but they were satisfied that neither the other wives nor their daughters had succeeded in gaining his favor.

Then, when rumors spread that Sergeant Thornton had a fiancée in the capital, the young ladies quickly gave up.

Instead, stories of another gentleman who had recently come to Cambon spread, and those who had flocked to Blissbury were now flocking back to Cambon.

As visits to Blissbury dwindled, Eloise hadn't heard much about how Sergeant Thornton was doing lately.

'But why send a letter all of a sudden?'

He must know that Father isn't in Feltham; could it be that he's wondering if he's returned?

But Eloise's expression hardened as she looked at the bottom of the envelope.

She had thought it was a letter for her father, but her name was clearly written on it.

“Eloise?”

Mrs. Suberton called out to her, puzzled, as Eloise stopped walking.

“The letter is for me?”

“Sergeant Thornton to you?”

Mrs. Suberton also looked surprised. The last time Eloise had gone to Blissbury with books and apple pie, she had put the pie basket on the table and said that she thought it would be better to ask a local child to run errands to Blissbury from now on, and then she had rushed into her room.

Seeing that, Mrs. Suberton felt stifled.

'They seem quite well-matched, though.'

Honestly, Mrs. Suberton had mostly given up on Eloise's marriage.

Her daughter had been very ill as a child and became weak every time the seasons changed. Besides, she was well past her marriageable age, and if she were to run around trying to get Eloise married now, she would only be called meddlesome.

She could endure such words herself, but she couldn't bear the thought of her daughter being ridiculed for desperately seeking marriage so late in life.

'Well, according to the newspapers these days, there are more and more women in Newham who live alone, working their own jobs, so Eloise might be fine too.'

She didn't know what would happen in the future, but if there were more such women, Eloise might have some friends to interact with as she got older.

Even though she had made up her mind, it was difficult to completely shake off her lingering attachment to her daughter's marriage.

But she wondered if there was any man who could get along with her wild daughter.

The gentlemen of Cambon would smile wryly and shake their heads after talking to Eloise.

<Miss Eloise is truly knowledgeable.>

Mrs. Suberton knew very well that this was not a compliment. It meant that they didn't like Eloise, who left them speechless.

Besides, wasn't this countryside still a place where women were expected to keep their heads bowed as the greatest virtue, compared to Newham?

In that situation, Sergeant Thornton came here. And they had an argument. At that time, she thought that what was coming had come, but Sergeant Thornton's expression as he returned to Blissbury was different from the expressions of the gentlemen she had seen so far.

While Eloise was almost scolding him, telling him to understand Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave's feelings and talking about the Ingon Battle, he quietly listened to Eloise's words.

He even showed a faint smile after Eloise went up to her room.

'He seemed to be quite enjoying himself.'

Even though he had to keep his mouth shut at Eloise's words, he didn't seem displeased.

So she thought that someone like him might be okay to be with Eloise, but since then, the two had had no particular interaction.

In that situation, Sergeant Thornton suddenly sent a letter to Eloise, so she couldn't help but be concerned.

“What does it say? Have you been in contact with Sergeant Thornton separately?”

At Mrs. Suberton's urgent voice, Eloise sighed and drooped her shoulders.

“Mother, you know that's not possible. And I don't like him.”

“Because you dislike Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave? Since you were in the same unit, you might dislike him a bit. Just because he's a famous general doesn't mean he's friendly to his subordinates.”

Eloise shook her head as if to say she wouldn't listen anymore and opened the letter.

She didn't know why he had sent the letter, but she thought it would be better to show the contents of the letter right in front of her to clear up her mother's misunderstanding.

Taking out the letter, Eloise held it out in front of Mrs. Suberton as if to show off.

“He says he has something to ask about the Summer Ball. Since Father hasn't returned yet, he must have sent it to me.”

“I see… Send a reply quickly. And give my regards to Mrs. Parker.”

Mrs. Suberton replied, seemingly a little disappointed, and returned to her room.

Eloise took the letter to her room. Then she took out stationery.

'Usually, they would be worried about what happened and go to visit… but I have no intention of doing that.'

Besides, if he refers to the documents that she and her father had organized and the ones she had newly sent, it didn't seem like there would be anything particularly difficult.

Besides, he probably doesn't want her to visit either.

He's probably just asking for a visit out of courtesy.

So Eloise wrote a suitable letter of refusal for each other's convenience.

Please understand that I cannot visit due to my poor health. However, I will be happy to answer any questions you may have by letter, so please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

After writing the letter, Eloise called the errand boys and entrusted them with the letter.

Of course, this time too, the children received a handful of cookies.

She thought that it would take a few days for a reply to come since she had sent the letter.

A few hours later, a boy who had gotten off her father's baggage wagon rushed into Suberton House and handed Eloise a letter.

“He said it was urgent. He told me to deliver it quickly.”

“Is that so?”

Eloise received the letter indifferently. She didn't know what was going on, but it was Sergeant Thornton's problem that he was in a hurry.

So she was thinking of sending a reply slowly…

…Please come to Blissbury as soon as you receive this. -Not your Ryan-

“Aaaaaah!”

The moment she saw the last line of the letter, Eloise screamed without realizing it.

Why does this man know this phrase!

“Whoa, whoa!”

An hour later, Eloise arrived in front of Blissbury, panting.

Her hair was a mess and her clothes were disheveled because she had rushed, but it wasn't the time to worry about that.

Before even greeting Mr. Palmer, who ran out from inside, Eloise asked a question.

“Where is Sergeant Thornton!”

“He's here.”

The answer came from behind Mr. Palmer. When she looked up, Sergeant Thornton was standing at the entrance with his arms crossed, wearing a hateful smile.

“You had my letter…!”

“Wait, before we talk about the letter.”

Ryan raised his hand and pointed to the two men glaring at each other at the entrance.

“Miss Eloise, you need to sort these people out.”