Chapter 26
****
She succeeded in getting Dana out, but Celeste didn't want to go back either.
Even for her, it was too much to keep dealing with the aristocratic masters who had set their sights on the young maid.
"Oh my god, look at my spirit...."
She muttered aloud, even though no one was listening.
"I have a message for the maid... something Mr. Brugge left behind."
Celeste turned back in the direction Dana had disappeared.
Thankfully, Theodore hadn't caught her.
Celeste walked deliberately slow, as if nothing was wrong. But as soon as she passed the pillar, her pace quickened several times.
The drawing room was stiflingly silent without her.
Edwin stared down at the man he had called 'friend' for ten years.
He was already well aware that he had given too much away in front of Theodore.
He wasn't sure what the nature of this simmering emotion was, but at least he couldn't let it continue to provoke Theodore.
After all, wasn't it Vincent who had been tricked?
"Theodore, I can't forget what happened, and I can't help but wonder if that girl is the new Vincent, and you can't completely deny it either."
All Edwin could think of was that he had to fix the situation.
"Grab any of your team members and ask them. No one will think you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart. You're the one who taught her to write, who gave her a fountain pen, who encouraged her, and you who told me that a servant is a broom that sweeps the floor, nothing more, nothing less?"
Edwin ran a hand over his forehead and let out a long breath.
"You've found another Vincent, and don't think I don't know it."
But contrary to Edwin's expectations, Theodore didn't waver.
"And you think it's because of that weakling fool that you've suddenly turned up here and made a scene?"
Edwin swallowed hard as he watched the corners of Theodore’s mouth twitch upward through his cigarette.
"...I want you to remember one thing. You're engaged to my sister, and that girl is the one my sister likes."
"Edwin Laner Hastings."
With a low crackle, the lighter ignited. It crackled and flared, burning the end of his cigarette.
"Why are you acting like such a hypocrite today?"
Edwin's face clouded at once.
"Just be honest with me, you can't stand the sight of the girl next to me."
Theodore tossed the lighter away, took a long drag, and made a languid face.
"You can't stand her to be around another man."
A puff of acrid smoke billowed toward Edwin, who stiffened coldly.
****
Dana burst into uncontrollable sobs as soon as she saw the head maid. As she stood there, soundlessly sobbing, Rosi’s heart sank.
"...So it was you...!"
"No... No...."
Dana shook her head, just as she had done in front of Master Edwin. She continued to explain about the teacup, even as she sobbed nervously.
Rosi wiped a hand across her chest. But listening to the sobs, she was worried that she might as well have broken the teacup.
"What's wrong, is something wrong?"
Dana pressed her palms firmly into the hollows of her eyes and looked up. Through her blurry vision, she could see Rosi’s surprised face.
Would the head maid know?
That Belvida belonged to the MacMilans after all?
That the man had just spoken so openly and dismissively of Master Edwin?
"Are you being harassed?"
Dana shook her head again, fighting back the sobs that were rising.
"So does Ms. Celeste give you a hard time? Is she too hard on you?"
"...No."
It must be frustrating for the maid who knew nothing. But Dana couldn't tell the truth.
Family secrets were not to be divulged lightly, and most of all, Master Edwin would want to keep everything a secret.
Her eyes burned at the thought of him carrying such a heavy burden alone. Dana forced a smile through her tears.
"...It's just that I'm so glad to see you... After seeing the master and the maid like this... I'm so... ...."
The maid looked surprised for a moment.
It had only been a month. It was not like she's always been very close to her...
And yet, as soon as she saw her, she cried like she's found her lost mother, and Rosi felt very sorry for her.
This was MacMilan territory, where people have done bad things, if not outright evil, then certainly unknowingly.
Rosi also remembered that Dana had come to Belvida six years ago, a loner who had lost her only grandfather.
For such a child, Belvida must have been a home and a second home.
She hadn't left it for a single day in the past six years, had she?
....wasn’t that homesickness?
Rosi looked down at Dana’s wet face.
"You can just be honest with me. You’re just overwhelmed... You had to come here without any time to prepare yourself...."
The sympathetic words seemed to trigger another sob. Dana's lips twitched, and then she let the tears spill out.
"I'm sorry... I'm so... I tried to hold it in...."
The maid patted Dana's back and waited for her shaking shoulders to calm down.
“I know it's hard, but hang in there. Lady Liana is looking forward to seeing you."
Wiping her wet face, she turned to face the maid, a little surprised.
"It's true, she sent me a letter. She's always wanted a personal maid, and she's happy that it's you."
The girl had always smiled brightly at the mention of Lady Liana, but strangely, her face darkened.
The maid shook her head, but reached out and patted her shoulder.
"Hang in there, dear. For your own good."
Dana gulped and smiled hard again.
"...Yes...and...I'm sorry."
Rosi patted her gently on the back.
***
Just before she and Master Edwin climbed into the carriage, Rosi turned toward Celeste and said something in a low voice.
It was strangely upsetting. Her voice grew angrier and angrier, as if she were the child's mother. Rosi tried to put on as much of a smile and euphemism as she could. Luckily, Celeste didn't seem too offended and nodded.
"Don't worry, maid. I'll put in a good word for her."
The two women laughed and hugged lightly.
As soon as the carriage pulled away, Celeste's smile quickly faded.
Her weak hand pressed firmly against her temple. As if she didn't already have a headache from being between two men like ham in a sandwich.
Maid Rosi hadn't been wrong, but it made her head throb even more.
The headache grew worse and worse as the hours passed. Celeste finally fell ill, and the blending session had to be canceled.
At the end of an eventful day, a ground spider landed on the Shore's roof.
Celeste was hit with a migraine that caused her to skip dinner, but she managed to pull herself together. She had a second visitor after Master Hastings.
She grabbed her tea tray and hurried to the parlor.
Theodore and a man had already arrived in the art-filled room.
It was Benjamin Gottlieb, an art dealer Celeste knew well.
The two exchanged pleasantries. The art dealer unwrapped the painting from the foam that had wrapped it, saying that tea could wait. He was as nervous as Nicola Richter himself.
"How do you like it?"
Theodore stared down at the painting for a long moment, unmoved. Celeste could tell at a glance. The art dealer had failed...
"You said it yourself. There's a difference between novelty and grotesqueness, so how can you bring in scribbles like this as art?"
As expected...
Benjamin's face grew thoughtful.
"I'm... sorry to disappoint you."
"Sorry? I'd accept it if you knew nothing, but incompetence is different, and that's not something you can apologize for."
Perhaps it was better if he was angry...
His calm, emotionless tone made even Celeste fidget next to him.
Benjamin had no choice but to storm out of the cottage without having tea. Theodore buried himself deep into the couch. Celeste sighed and stirred the tea. His jaw was set, and his expression was too impassive to tell if he was in a good or bad mood. She continued to stare at him, and then she said,
"Honestly, I was a little... surprised to see Master Edwin today."
"..."
"Taking a lowly maid who knows nothing, giving her clothes, a desk, an expensive education... You're harassing her."
Despite her words, Celeste was hot under the collar. Master Edwin was not entirely wrong.
Her master had just given one of Peron's most prominent art dealers a severe dressing down.
He must have done something similar to Dana while teaching her to write.
It made sense that Master Edwin would mention Vincent out of the blue. She didn’t know exactly what happened, but she knew one thing.
The Hastings were a family of men who know the highest values of honor and responsibility. They considered it a noble duty to look out for the weak.
But the Macmilans were different: they used the terms underdog and loser interchangeably.
The hostesses of the family were well-connected, but the sons were not. The two men, no matter how much they tried, could never mix, like water and oil.
And then there was Dana Bordon, stuck between them like a sandwich...
Celeste resisted the urge to press her temples together and thought back to Rosi’s request.
"She must have cried a lot."
As soon as she finished speaking, she glanced at the Master. But he was still staring at the paintings on the wall with an unreadable expression on his face.
"I'm a little worried... I'm afraid he’s going to say something untoward to Countess Hastings. Actually... I'm sure you have a sense of entitlement in this situation. Oh, and the fact that Master Edwin was talking about compensation for that teacup today..."
Celeste looked him over once more. An expression had formed on his otherwise indifferent face.
The moment she saw it, her jaw dropped. It was the same face she'd seen before when she'd asked him, "Why are you so grumpy today?”
"Oh, it's all in the eyes."
Celeste quickly changed the subject.
"It's your favorite Earl Grey straight."
She never got around to telling Dana that Maid Rosi wanted to take her to Belvida for the weekend.
***
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