55 - Chapter 55
“Who do you think he likes more…….”
At their question, Eloise recalled Ryan with them.
Until now, Ryan hadn’t asked about any of the young ladies he had met.
If he were interested, he would have asked about their family, relatives, or hobbies.
Come to think of it, she had rarely seen him ask about others. If he did, it was only about Eloise or Mr. Suberton.
Other than that, he only asked for essential information like who the forester was or who the vicar of the neighboring parish was.
“Still, you assigned them to that spot because you thought there was something between those two, right?”
That was true. Julia had tea with Ryan twice, and Mrs. Greenwood had Patricia sit right next to him and introduced her first.
So, she hoped it would be easier for Ryan to converse with them.
But if she had to say which of the two Ryan was more interested in, she really had nothing to say.
“Honestly, I don’t know. Can’t you just watch and judge for yourselves today?”
At Eloise’s answer, a hint of disappointment crossed her friends’ eyes.
It was the disappointment of losing a story they could excitedly chatter about before the Banquet began. But there was one among them who wore a different expression.
“Isn’t it that you don’t want to know, rather than ‘I don’t know’?”
“Sophia?”
Suddenly, one of them spoke with a barbed voice.
Her friends were flustered and lightly nudged the waist of the woman called Sophia. It was a signal to shut up.
But Sophia continued to speak, disregarding her friends’ warning.
“If Sergeant Thornton gets married and stays here, he won’t be able to work as a manager anymore, you know.”
Her voice was so full of mockery that everyone present couldn’t hide their surprised expressions as they looked at Sophia.
Eloise was the same.
Although she was friends with Sophia, they weren’t very close. They were just among the young ladies of Cambon who had known each other since childhood.
Not all the young ladies of Cambon were awkward with each other. Although not as much as Abigail, they met often and maintained a mostly friendly relationship.
But she hadn’t been able to do that with Sophia.
Before the Suberton family had fully settled in Feltham, there was an occasion to greet each other when they briefly stayed in Cambon.
The adults greeted each other and introduced their children as well.
The girls all smiled brightly and welcomed Eloise. Eloise was particularly noticeable among the children.
At the time, Eloise was so frail that Mrs. Suberton wrapped her in only the lightest and warmest clothes.
The girls’ eyes quickly scanned the clothes Eloise was wearing, the hat she was wearing, and the small accessories. And soon, envy filled everyone’s faces.
Even though Cambon was the largest city in the area, there were no clothes prettier than Eloise’s, who had come from the capital wearing only the best.
Envy briefly flashed in the children’s eyes.
The adults moved to another room, and the children also moved to a room with a tutor.
After taking some medicine for a while, when Eloise returned, she heard the girls whispering.
<Did you see Eloise? She looked like a doll.>
<Yeah. Her clothes and everything were so pretty.>
Their voices were full of envy and excitement. Feeling embarrassed for no reason at their words, she tried to approach them quickly when she heard a sharp voice.
<Even so, they’re just a family that came down here from the capital. They say it’s because of illness, but who knows if that’s true? Maybe they came down here because they were caught up in a scandal in the capital. Like they had a huge gambling debt or something.>
<Sophia, it’s rude to say such things.>
<That’s right. My father said that Mr. Serverton is a very respected professor at Newham University.>
<And did you see the clothes Eloise was wearing? I’ve never seen clothes with so much delicate lace. My mother says that Mrs. Suberton’s taste is really excellent.>
<And what about Eloise’s hat? The flower decorations were imported from abroad. I’ve never seen such delicate decorations.>
Then Sophia said again.
<Everyone’s heard the story, right? Don’t you remember the con artist who caused a stir a while ago? That person also said that they were a great person from the capital. And we can’t know if Eloise’s clothes are hers or if she borrowed them from a relative, can we?>
Eloise could tell from Sophia’s voice, which was obviously making excuses.
That child is envious of me.
And she also realized that they could never be close friends.
After that, the relationship with Sophia continued as she had initially guessed.
She didn’t say much in situations where she had to save face and be mindful. But in situations where she felt she could reveal some of her flaws, she invariably showed her thorns.
‘I thought she had gotten a little better after the wedding.’
On her wedding day, Sophia had said to Eloise, who had come to congratulate her.
<Thank you for coming even though it must have been a difficult occasion for you.>
A difficult occasion? At first, she wondered what she meant, but she soon realized the meaning of her words.
It was a way of saying that it must be heartbreaking for you, who had difficulty getting married, to come to such an occasion, but you managed to come.
After that, whenever she went to Cambon for tea and ran into her, she would boast about her married life in front of Eloise, as if for her to hear.
Eloise laughed it off.
She had envied her all her life since childhood, so she thought it would be enough if that made her feel better.
Besides, getting angry at Sophia’s words would only hurt herself in the end.
People would think that Eloise was envious of Sophia, who was ‘married.’
Anyway, after she got married, the chances of running into her decreased, so she didn’t pay much attention to her anymore, but to think she would say something like this again today.
Just as Eloise was about to say something, Mrs. Suberton’s voice was heard from the hallway leading to the Banquet hall, along with the sound of a bell.
“It’s time for everyone to go to the Banquet hall now.”
At that sound, people who had been scattered around chatting gathered in the hall.
Because of that, the friends who had brought Eloise also hurried back to their husbands. Sophia was the same.
She looked at Eloise, raised the corners of her mouth, and turned around.
In the past, she would have laughed at her, thinking, ‘That personality, similar to Julia’s, is starting again.’
<Isn’t it that you don’t want to know, rather than ‘I don’t know’?>
Sophia’s words kept lingering in Eloise’s mind.
The reason she guessed was wrong, but the words themselves were right. If Ryan were to develop feelings for someone among the two…….
‘I don’t want to know.’
If so, she hoped that Ryan would never ask her about that woman.
She didn’t want to know what he was curious about regarding the other person, or what expression he made when he thought of her.
“…….”
Eloise, who had been biting her lip for a moment, hurried back to Mrs. Suberton’s side.
Ryan was the host of today’s event, and Mrs. Suberton was playing the role of the hostess.
Mrs. Suberton first called out the names of the couples. Then Mr. Palmer led them inside, and inside, trained servants guided them to their seats.
The people who entered the Banquet hall sat down one by one, checking the names on the cards placed on the table.
Everyone looked at the names of Julia and Patricia across from Ryan with expectant faces.
Then the last people to enter would be those two.
Everyone’s attention would be focused on which of the two Ryan would take by the hand and guide.
‘Who will it be.’
Thinking that, Eloise glanced at Ryan.
In fact, she had casually asked Ryan this morning who he would escort last.
But Ryan just smiled without answering and passed by. So Eloise was also in a state of not knowing whose hand he would take.
As Mrs. Suberton continued to call out names, the number of people remaining in the hall gradually decreased.
Everyone glanced back as they went inside. They seemed to be looking forward to the conclusion of the matter that everyone in Cambon and Feltham was curious about.
Finally, Julia and Patricia were the only unmarried women left in the hall.
Eloise clenched her fist without realizing it. She was as curious as the others about whose hand Ryan would take.
Of course, she couldn’t be sure that he had feelings for the other person just by escorting them.
Still, she didn’t want to see him choose someone among them.
It was when Mrs. Suberton was about to call out the name of the woman who would enter first.
Suddenly, the sound of someone running from the entrance was heard. Then a stranger appeared and said in a loud voice.
“Ryan Thornton! I’ve arrived!”
