Chapter 31
***
This chapter is dedicated to Virginie and Shipwrecklover. I especially thank Virginie for your many donations ❤️
****
At the end of the straight driveway of the cottage, through the rain-splashed landscape, she could see the figure of a man on horseback.
When she realized it was not one, but two, Celeste hurriedly unfurled her umbrella and ran down the stairs. Wimfred did the same.
Clop, clop, the light hooves of a horse drew closer and closer, until it stopped in front of them. Theodore stopped the reins as the horse snorted and whinnied.
"I'm glad you made it back safely."
Celeste bowed to Theodore, who had just dismounted, and Wimfred quickly placed his umbrella over him. He had to stand on his tip toe to match the Master's height.
"Come on in, I'm afraid you've caught a cold."
Theodore nodded and removed his hood. His hair was wet from the rain and shining black.
"I've got hot water ready for you."
Following Wimfred to the front door, Theodore paused in front of Celeste.
Their eyes met, and Celeste could tell at a glance.
The Master was very angry.
No, not just angry, but completely crushed by a much larger, heavier, hotter emotion.
...Why?
Her gaze naturally turned to Dana at the same time as her question.
Dana had not yet dismounted from the horse.
Theodore’s cold, heartless pupils bored into Celeste's, dazed with shock. He glanced behind him to where Dana was.
"...You take care of her."
Celeste stood dumbfounded and walked over to Dana.
She, too, was just getting off her horse. Her tiny body clung to the saddle handle, threatening to fall, but thankfully she landed well. The moment her waterlogged shoes hit the ground, her large hood came off.
Shivering, wrapped in a large raincoat, she looked impossibly small, slender, and pitiful.
"...I've...been...away."
"Huh? Uh...."
Celeste scrambled to her feet and quickly put the umbrella on her head. It was only a slight tilt, but Celeste's other shoulder was drenched. Dana smiled.
"I'm... It's okay...."
"You're fine, but let's get dressed first. You're going to catch a cold."
Celeste clutched Dana's side as she continued to advise. Then they walked toward the maids' quarters.
"Thank you...."
There was a faint trace of tears in her expression and eyes. There was also tension and fear.
Her first thought was to pry into what had happened. But Celeste didn't say a single word.
***
In the hot, steamy bathroom, Wimfred kept glancing at the tub.
"Can I... open the window?"
There was no answer from the master again.
"If only it would stop raining today... I hope so...."
Wimfred opened the window slightly. The fog was slowly beginning to clear.
"If it stops raining... I suggest you start practicing your shooting early tomorrow morning. The day after tomorrow is the day you finally face Master Edwin."
Wimfred glanced at his master again.
It had only been a day or two since he had parroted himself in front of his reticent master.
But now, Wimfred was feeling a strange sense of gravity.
The unexplained anger that had made Celeste so nervous had spilled over into Wimfred.
"Well... I'll have the shooting range ready as soon as it stops raining, and if the weather is good, why don't you have breakfast there? I've made some new traps, and you might want to try them out."
The master remained silent.
Wimfred resolved to say no more as he opened his towel.
He was mopping up the water on the floor when suddenly there was a splash.
Theodore had risen to his feet. Water trickled down his naked body.
Wimfred approached with a thick bathrobe. Theodore, who had been staring into space, suddenly turned his head.
"When do maids usually get married?"
"You mean 'maids'?"
Wimfred couldn't help but ask one more time.
"Yes."
Wimfred blinked for a moment, then opened his mouth.
"...It varies from person to person, but it's usually around eighteen. Not just maids, but most women in general."
Theodore put his arms through the sleeves of his robe.
"What kind of men do they usually do it with?"
Wimfred's hands paused as he draped the gown over his broad shoulders. His mouth worked diligently, though.
"...A soldier, a farmer, a butcher's son, a widower...."
He couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
"That's too broad."
Theodore quickly tied his robe. Leaving the bathroom, he headed for the barber chair.
Wimfred quickly grabbed a dry towel and stood behind him. Just before he reached for the towel, a thought flashed through his mind.
"Most people marry who their parents choose for them. Maids are no different from noblewomen in that respect."
Wimfred began rubbing his master's hair with the towel. With each stroke of the thick washcloth against the dark locks, the hair came back to life.
It was also Wimfred's job to apply perfume and prepare his skin.
He selected one of the dozens of glass bottles, uncapped it, and handed it to him.
"...Would you like to smell it?"
As someone who enjoyed the tea ceremony, he was usually very sensitive to scent. But today, for some reason, he didn't even turn his head.
Wimfred glanced at him through the mirror.
Theodore lowered his eyes slightly, lost in thought.
He was as impassive as a mask, but the rage seething within him baffled Wimfred to no end.
Just pretend he didn't know.
He remembered what Nordstrom had told him before he left for Peron.
He'd told him that if the master was upset about something, he should just let it go.
He had also said that the Master was a man who did not share his emotions, and that he was much easier to deal with than other masters, as long as the crisis was handled well.
Wimfred picked up the thin gauze, trying not to think about it, but then he stopped himself again.
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
This moisturizer had been handmade for the master by the gardener's wife.
She was a former maid here on the Shore. When she accidentally became pregnant with the gardener's child one night, it was Wimfred who arranged their marriage. His mouth fell open.
"...Well, it's not uncommon for women to marry men who work at the same place. Especially the resident maids, like Shore and Belvida here."
Theodore’s cold, glowing eyes pierced Wimfred in the mirror.
"How lonely it must be for a woman to be away from her family."
He tipped the bottle against the gauze. A viscous liquid oozed out, wafting a faint scent.
“It’s easy to see eye-to-eye with male workers in similar situations. In the worst cases, they allow themselves to be taken advantage of by older men, such as the gardener or butler, and become unwillingly pregnant."
Wimfred added reassuringly.
"Of course, I'm always very careful to make sure that there are no such unsavory incidents on the Shore, especially with younger maids."
He began to gently rub Theodore’s smooth face.
***
At dawn the next day, the rain finally stopped. The sky was still thick with dark clouds, but the Shore's maids threw the shutters wide open.
"So, did she walk all the way alone, all the way up the mountain, in the rain?"
"No, the Master himself picked her up halfway."
"Master?"
The maids' eyes widened even more.
"I suppose he wanted to make up for it. It's not one of those 'walks' you take when you're bored, is it?"
"It isn’t...."
"Besides, it rained so hard yesterday...."
The maid, who had come to tell the story, was even more excited by this rather serious response. She wiped the saliva around her mouth and continued.
"Tilly said it was hard to ride the horse in that condition. It was too dangerous, so the master had to come and get her himself. Who else here can ride a horse as well as him?"
The maids looked at each other with open mouths.
"But what was the matter with him? What did she do wrong to make him do that?"
"I don't know, but when Tilly left, the master was already angry as hell, and she was about to cry."
Ugh...
A sigh escaped her.
"How could he do that? How dangerous is that road?"
"It is very dangerous."
"He’s so mean. How could you even think of leaving her alone?"
"That's not the only problem. Punishing servants is a bad practice that's long gone."
Everyone was indignant, but only one, the freckled maid, shook her head.
"No, I think I know why the Master did it, and I can understand."
Wide eyes turned to her at once.
The freckled maid took a step forward, seemingly unperturbed.
"Ms. Celeste told me... that the Master disliked that maid terribly from the beginning. He had no intention of making her Lady Liana's maid."
"Ah, nonsense."
Someone waved a hand at her.
"It's not like he’s some kind of fool... Why would he bring a person he doesn’t like all the way here to start her education? How much is Celeste's cost?"
"That's right," the maids nodded in agreement. The freckled maid frowned in frustration.
"Why would the master do such a thing? He has no choice but to do it for his fiancée."
The maids looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"Lady Liana is very fond of the girl. If his fiancée likes her, why shouldn't he?"
"Uh, yes."
Someone suddenly interrupted.
"I've heard that, too. Not just him, but Master Edwin, too."
Half the maids nodded in understanding, the other half still frowning.
"To be honest... As far as I'm concerned, she'll never be a handmaiden. No, if she's not a handmaiden, she's not allowed anywhere near Master Theodore."
"Why?"
"For one thing, she can't read."
The maids looked at each other with a 'aren't we too' look on their faces.
"Are we ordinary maids and handmaids? We should be able to read."
"Yes, we are."
Someone else spoke up.
"I've heard that servants in the Peron households are expected to be literate.”
"Yes, I've heard that."
The yeses kept coming, like waves rolling in from a new direction.
"Mr. Wimfred told me that the master likes clever, witty, quick-witted people. He thinks a servant should be just that."
There was a moment's silence at that point, as if everyone was thinking.
"But she's the opposite in every way, isn't she? How the master must hate her. He was forced to accept her when she’s his fiancée’s maid, but she irritates him every time he sees her, and he can't stand her."
"...."
"Maybe he’s trying to send her away. If he really keeps her as a handmaiden, he might have to look at her every day even after he’s married."
"....."
"That explains it."
The maids nodded slightly, then frowned again at that point.
"How can he treat people like that? If he doesn’t like her, just say no."
"You're right, I don't understand this one. I think he’s gone too far."
There was a chorus of yes, yes, yes.
"But... I think Peron's rumors are true...."
"Rumors? What rumors?"
"The story about the master...."
"What's that?"
"That...."
The low murmur continued for a while.
Celeste, who had been listening quietly on the stairs, could only stare at the ceiling and close her eyes.
How had things gotten so messed up?
It wasn't just yesterday. Ever since Master Edwin had come to visit, Celeste had realized that everything had been spiraling downward.
"..."
Celeste looked down at the letter in her hand.
She had no choice but to write to her master again. The content was almost identical to what the maids had been talking about earlier, with concerns about the Master's constant overstepping of boundaries and his personal opinion that Dana Bordon was not fit to be a maid.
Phew.
A long sigh escaped Celeste's lips.
***
The sun shone through the low drifting clouds.
The air was still gray against her eyelids, but Dana couldn't help but blink.
Ever since that day, it had been ingrained in her subconscious mind that she shouldn't oversleep, no matter what.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the icy cold face of the man.
The rain beating down on her body, the leather saddle scraping roughly between her thighs, the man strapping her down from behind.
The man's tightening grip from behind...
Ugh.
Dana squeezed her eyes shut again and buried her face in the pillow.
Her whole body ached like she'd been beaten. The muscles in her thighs in particular screamed.
As she lay there, shriveled up like a wilted blade of grass, unable to get up, someone knocked on the door. Instantly, her nerves were on edge.
"Hey...."
Dana's heart sank at the sound of the woman's voice.
"Excuse me...."
She walked over and opened the door.
A maid stood there, freckles on the bridge of her nose. She glanced Dana up and down for a moment, then spoke with a slightly stiff face.
"Mr. Wimfred told me to tell you. There are no lessons today, and the master is at the shooting range."
The shooting range?
...What the hell?
Her heart began to pound in her chest.
Her heart leapt with anticipation that maybe she didn’t have to see him today.
But the maid’s next words sent a chill down her spine.
"Go to the shooting range now. Stop by the kitchen for a meal."
***
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Write a comment
Virginie (Tuesday, 15 October 2024)
Thank you very much dear translator !! :)�