53 - Chapter 53
Abigail stared at the dress for a long time before getting up and putting it in the closet. Looking at it seemed to upset her all day.
But just because the dress was out of sight didn't mean her mind was at peace. Of course not. She had skipped the festival she had been waiting for all year, so how could she be comfortable?
The Blissbury Summer Ball was the biggest event of the year for her.
Of course, even if she attended the Summer Ball, it would be difficult for her to walk properly without crutches. So she had never danced.
Normally, her mother would have paid attention to her, but on that day, she was focused on the social activities of Julia and her other siblings, so Abigail usually sat quietly alone in a corner.
Sometimes, people would look at her with pity. Their eyes seemed to say they felt sorry for her, just sitting there after coming all this way.
But Abigail didn't care much about how others saw her.
It was enough for her to enjoy watching people eat, drink, and dance happily.
Besides, during the ball, Eloise would sometimes come to her side and talk about various things.
What was difficult about preparing for this year's ball, who seemed to be on bad terms with whom at the Banquet. She would tell her various gossip she had heard and share news from other places that Abigail didn't know.
That's why she wasn't lonely.
Abigail's face clouded over as she thought of Eloise.
She remembered Eloise coming to pack her things to go to Blissbury a few days ago.
Last year, only the Mr. Serverton family was busy, but this year, another man stood in place of Mr. Serverton.
Sergeant Ryan Thornton, with his tall height and handsome appearance.
She knew it was him as soon as she saw him from afar. It matched exactly the description of his appearance that Eloise had grumbled about but still described in detail.
He and Eloise seemed very close. When Eloise brought out something heavy, he would naturally reach out and take her luggage for her.
Of course, that was a gentleman's natural virtue. But Abigail saw it. Eloise comfortably handing her luggage to Sergeant Thornton, who reached out his hand.
Abigail knew she was her oldest close friend. Eloise had never comfortably asked others for help like that.
<After my parents are gone, I'll be alone anyway. I have relatives living far away in Newham, but I don't really plan to go there and live with them, so I'll probably keep living in Feltham forever. So I think it's better to practice doing everything alone from now on.>
Eloise had said that once while talking about the future.
It was natural for the neighbors in Feltham to help each other, but she would try to do everything herself as much as possible.
That way, even in moments when it was difficult to receive help, she could practice doing things on her own without panicking.
Others would scold her for thinking such things, but Abigail could understand Eloise's feelings.
Unlike others, they were two people who were not thinking about marriage.
So they said they would grow old together, and even when they were old and their eyes were dim and they couldn't see well, they would remain friends who continued to drink tea together.
That's how it had been until now, and that's how she thought it would continue to be, but at some point, Eloise started talking about Sergeant Thornton.
At first, it was only complaints about him. But as time passed, her evaluation of him gradually softened.
Eloise hadn't changed. She was still a cheerful and pleasant friend. Except that she complained about Sergeant Thornton a little more, and now she sometimes smiled while talking about him.
But even that made Abigail uneasy.
She felt like her friend, who she thought was walking the same path, was slowly drifting away from her.
But she couldn't tell Eloise what she was thinking. What could she say about this anxiety and faint resentment?
If a friend finds a new relationship and feels joy there, she should support her as a friend...
In the end, confused and anxious, Abigail locked herself in her house.
At first, Julia tried to tease her for acting out of character, but when Abigail glared at her silently, she realized that this was not the time to mess with her sister and quietly retreated.
In the meantime, Eloise began to go to Blissbury morning and evening.
In the past, she would have felt strange that Abigail hadn't come and would have come to find her first, but it seemed she was too busy to even notice.
According to her mother, who had visited Suberton House during the day, Eloise was in charge of most of this year's Summer Ball, so she was very busy.
'If that man came as a manager, he should do something about it.'
Abigail's resentment naturally turned to Ryan.
Wasn't it all because that man had come that she couldn't see Eloise often and that she seemed to be drifting further and further away?
So when he came to Suberton House, she kept staring at him with Eloise through the window.
Then, suddenly, as if he had noticed she was watching, he quickly turned his head and looked directly at her, and she was so surprised that she drew the curtains.
She was looking through the gap in the curtains anyway, so there was no way he could have seen her, but she still felt like their eyes had met exactly, and her heart was pounding.
'Are all soldiers like that?'
In any case, she didn't like that he was even perceptive.
After moving her luggage to Blissbury like that, Eloise didn't send a single letter. Frankly, it was the same last year and the year before.
She knew that she was very busy preparing for the ball, so she didn't have time to write letters.
But still, a resentful feeling towards Eloise kept welling up.
In the end, that unresolved feeling turned towards herself.
<I'm not going.>
When she said yesterday that she wouldn't attend the Summer Ball, her family looked at Abigail as if it was a big deal.
But that was only for a moment. Everyone went back to their rooms to check the clothes they would wear to the Summer Ball and practice dancing. Even young Andrew neatly organized his clothes and looked forward to how many cookies he could get.
Amidst the quickly indifferent family, Abigail thought. Even her family is like this, so would Eloise even care if she didn't come?
No, would she even know that she wasn't coming?
She knew that these feelings were petty. She wasn't a child, and she had said she wouldn't go herself, but she was upset that they weren't taking care of her.
But for her, who had never asked for anything, this was the most she could express herself.
After sitting alone in her room for a long time, Abigail grabbed her crutches and went downstairs.
The housemaid was asleep on the table. It would be a sweet rest for her since it was the day everyone was going out.
Abigail deliberately muffled her footsteps and carefully grabbed her hat and went out the front door.
If the maid knew she was going out, she would definitely say she would go with her, so it seemed better to go out without waking her.
She also hoped that the maid would get a good rest, but she didn't want to be with anyone else right now.
Abigail headed towards the entrance of the village. She wanted to go to the river flowing south of the village and soothe her frustrated heart a little.
It wasn't like everyone had gone to Blissbury, but the village was unusually quiet today.
As she walked towards the entrance of the village, Abigail reflected on her petty feelings.
She should be supporting and encouraging her friend who had found a good relationship, but she was upset because she felt like she was leaving her side.
She felt regretful belatedly. If she had sorted out her feelings a little earlier, she could have gone to the Banquet with her and seen Eloise's face.
'It's too late to go now.'
Her family had taken all the house carriages and even the horses.
Only those who were invited would go to the Banquet, let alone the day of the ball, so there was no one else in the village who was going to Blissbury.
Abigail was regretting her actions when she was just outside the entrance of the village.
She saw two horses that looked like they had fallen into the Swamp on the west road, and two men riding on them.
Their faces were so covered in mud that she couldn't recognize them well, but she was sure they weren't from the village.
'Then who are they?'
There are several Swamps on the west road, but the people who live around here know the locations, so they wouldn't fall in like this.
They must be strangers from far away.
Suddenly, she remembered the deserter incident a while ago. So Abigail unknowingly took a step back.
"Ah!"
Then her feet got tangled and she fell with her crutches.
"Ugh..."
As she was trying to get up, one of the men on horseback hurriedly got off and picked up Abigail's crutches that had fallen next to her. Then, kneeling on one knee, he said in a polite voice.
"I'm sorry to have startled you. My name is Phillip Osborne. The friend behind me is Richard Cameron. Would you be kind enough to tell us how to get to Blissbury?"
