Night of Eden 97

Chapter 97

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Noah was returning to his quarters after finishing work.

“I recently received a large investment from a businessman. Thanks to that, I was able to acquire two purebred stallions. How can I possibly raise them without you?”

Mr. Murray hadn't just bought horses with the investment; he'd also expanded the barns and built more training paddocks, doubling the number of employees and filling up the lodging, so Noah had to move into new quarters just off the farm.

"Do you know any other trainers who can handle racehorses as well as you do? I'm tempted to ask you to stay with me for a year or two. Of course, I'll pay you whatever you want, so think about it."

It was a very encouraging offer. After a few years of work, he would earn enough money to pay off debts and still have money left over.

Then Dana would be able to make Porche truly her own. Noah was overwhelmed by the thought of giving her such a huge gift.

But the thought of being away from her for over a year felt like a thorn in his neck. He couldn't quit Porche now. Dana still needed help.

Besides, nothing in life was free. Noah had to work just as hard. The Murray family had bought dozens of horses, even racehorses, all at once, and he was so busy he didn't even have time to go to the bathroom. Coincidentally, two of his mares were due to give birth at the same time, so he was always on call, even at night, and didn't get much sleep.

How fortunate and grateful he was, though.

Noah chuckled to himself.

The trail was littered with faded leaves. The trees were dull and the air was chilly against his skin. He clasped his chilled hands to his sides and quickened his pace.

How could it have gotten so cold in Biltrere so suddenly?

His footsteps paused in the rustling leaves.

Did the house have enough kerosene and firewood?

Noah's eyes widened in concern.

Last year at this time, Dana had suffered from a nasty cold. She'd been trying to save money on the heating bill.

Noah had been terrified by her feverish shivering. When she coughed so loudly that the room shook, he thought it was pneumonia, and he had to keep the doctor at the house for an extended period of time.

...Maybe she's doing it again because she's alone.

Noah thought to himself, "I'll have to make a payment first," and started walking again. Just then, he caught sight of someone at the entrance to the quarters. It was a woman, obviously a newly hired maid by the way she was dressed.

She was being briefed by Peter, the manager of their new home.

There were many new hires, so she was nothing special, but her appearance caught Noah's eye.

Noah's eyes took in her light-colored hair tied back in a bun, her petite, slender frame, and her slightly bowed back.

"Then I want you to start helping in the kitchen tomorrow. The workers here eat a lot, and you'll need to be on your toes."

"...yes."

Even the small voice sounded somehow similar, and Noah couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl up.

"Peter!"

He raised his hand, and Peter's head snapped up, and the woman turned toward him. Blue-gray eyes revealed themselves. Lips that looked soft in the light.

Noah couldn't help but suck in a breath.

...They really do look alike, don't they?

****

The guests left shortly afterward. Dana sat by the window, unable to do anything but stare into the late afternoon, her jaw clenched.

Why didn't Tilly Bryson come? She was going to ask him all sorts of things....

No, even if he had come, she wouldn't have been able to ask him anything.

“You have a very good husband, Mrs. Miller, as they say.”

“To leave his dear wife so alone for so little money.”

“I wonder if he's anxious.”

The trembling that had begun then lingered like embers in her body, unable to be stopped.

The sun, which had been rising over the ridge, had now completely disappeared. Only a bloodstain remained in the sky, coloring the world red.

She pressed her forehead to the window and a white circle formed on the cold glass. With each breath, it drew and erased, until Dana's eyes caught sight of someone crossing the street from the other side.

Slowly, she pushed herself upright and straightened her disheveled hair.

As expected, the door opened and a man's tall body stepped inside. He wasn't dressed in his usual tuxedo or a suit.

He was dressed in a shirt and sweater, like a businessman in the Federal Bureau, and his eyes held Dana's.

"I thought you might like to join me for a walk."

***

Dana wore lacy, layered gloves for going out. She also packed a pretty parasol with frills. Even though the sun had already set, she did it just to look cool.

Why?

Dana asked herself in the mirror.

Because she wanted to look good for him?

...That wasn't it.

She'd filled her closet with the latest fashionable dresses, learned how to apply subtle and elegant makeup from the vicar's wife, and spent every spare moment exploring the city, all to keep from breaking her resolve that this was an adventure, not an escape.

What she had forced herself to do to escape her feelings of sadness had become second nature.

Dana applied a bit of pink powder to her pale cheeks. On her lips, she applied a new coral-colored lipstick. Her face, dull with tension, came alive.

As Dana watched herself in the mirror calmly, she made a decision.

As she rounded the corner of the stairs, Theodore spun around when he felt her presence and suddenly gasped,

"Ah."

She spun back around.

"My shawl."

Dana turned back up the stairs, feeling a steady, intense gaze on her back. She draped a red paisley shawl over her shoulders that complimented her white blouse.

When she stood in front of him again, the strange turbulence in her head had subsided.

"You've been to the square with the train station, of course... Why don't you try the other side? There's a flea market that's a favorite of the spectators."

"As you wish."

They headed straight out. After walking a hundred yards down the main street, they came to an alley.

Both sides of the narrow street were filled with tents and stalls, large and small.

The wares were colorful.

From souvenirs like glassware and feather ornaments to household goods like bowls, candlesticks, scissors, and jewelry, there was no shortage, as was typical of a market with thousands of people coming and going.

Amidst the dazzling array of goods and people, Dana mentally organized what she wanted to say. There were so many things she needed to ask and confirm.

The most pressing was whether he was really going to invest in the Lewis Station development.

Yesterday, she didn't really care if he did or not. She was just worried that he would find fault with her for no reason, threaten not to invest, or harass her in some strange way again.

But now it was quite the opposite.

“Only quality shops will be allowed - boutiques, galleries, high-end salons by local artisans - and we're going to make it a very glamorous, luxurious, special street, and keep the rest of the world out.”

His investment meant that Dana would no longer be able to sell tea to the likes of Mrs. Sampson and Mr. Bradley.

Dana knew, of course, that the great heir would not change his mind because of a maid with whom he had once had a brief affair. Knowing that she was being so impatient might just make the old cat come back to life and start the rat race all over again.

It wasn't that she was trying to change Theodore's mind or do anything about it. Dana just wanted to see what he would decide beforehand.

She was powerless, and all she could think of was that she had to find out the date before the lightning hit and avoid it somehow.

As she thought about it, her mind grew nervous.

"Uh... I know it's late, but congratulations."

Theodore glanced up.

"You won the polo match, beating His Highness the Crown Prince."

She knew nothing about polo, so she couldn't continue the conversation. Silence was a lost cause, so Dana didn't wait.

"Well... Lady Liana... How is she?"

Theodore blinked a couple of times, a little taken aback by the way her voice sounded.

"Married, two years ago, became a duchess, just as she wanted."

Dana's mouth fell open soundlessly.

"Don't worry. She is living well. Her husband calls her “his treasure”.”

Slowly, a sense of relief settled into Dana’s stunned heart.

Her memories and feelings for Lady Liana had long since vanished like smoke. But she hadn't completely let go of the last of her guilt.

Like a thread through a needle, she thought of Master Edwin.

Dana clamped her mouth shut and lowered her eyes, a gesture that seemed to make her feel like Theodore could see right through her.

"He's getting married soon, too."

Theodore informed her out of the blue.

She hadn't expected this, so she failed to control her facial expression. Her eyes and mouth widened, and her pacing came to a screeching halt.

The bitterness on Theodore’s face dissipated, and he calmly turned away.

"Why? Are you upset?"

Her dazed eyes refocused.

"No."

Lie.

That can’t be possible.

Theodore resisted the urge to scold her like a child. He asked softly.

"Why? He’s your first love."

First...love?

Dana's jaw dropped.

It was a word she thought she'd never hear from Theodore's lips. It felt so strange, she just laughed.

Theodore just stared at her wordlessly.

Ever since he'd learned the truth half a year ago, he'd devised all sorts of sneaky ways to get her back.

He knew where Dana lived, how she lived, what she did for a living. He even knew what she looked like.

The first thing he did after learning of her whereabouts was to have her portrait painted. But when he received it, he crumpled it up without even looking at it.

It was painful to look at at the time. It was hard to accept that she was really married to that bastard. He wanted to run out and shoot him dead.

He hated Dana just as much.

She had driven him into this almost maddening obsession, and now she was married.

He had been twisted and burning all the way across the ocean on the boat, to the moment he finally stood in front of the teahouse.

But the inferno of emotions burning within him was quickly extinguished when he saw Dana face to face, when he realized that she hadn't changed a bit from the way she had looked in his memory, when he had held her lovingly in his arms.

Until then, he had been confident.

To get Dana back, he would have to cloak himself in a veil of mist, and he was confident he could pull it off.

But the plan went awry from the start.

They hadn't even exchanged a few words and he was swaying back and forth like a clumsy clown on the tightrope.

Dana seemed to have completely forgotten about him, and he had to realize painfully that he still didn't exist, that he was nothing to her.

The crack that had been growing had opened completely when Bilbo had shown up and told her about Noah Miller, and it had crumbled when she had apologized weakly, looking like she had forgotten everything.

It was the same when they met for the second time today.

He showed up with the powerful men and showed her that he was lording it over them. But he felt like he was going to spin out of control, watching her every move, every gesture, every word.

He knew that the thin veil that hid him now could be torn at any moment, anywhere. No, perhaps it was already preparing to tear in all directions. No matter how hard he tried to steel himself in the days leading up to the meeting, it was no use.

His mind went white and he lost his judgment when he stood in front of Dana. The mere mention of Edwin, a name he thought he would never have to think about again, made his heart race.

"Well, I guess if it's your first love, it's your first love."

See, damn it.

The flaming bird's wings were alive and well.

"But I guess they say first loves are meant to be broken, and seeing as how he’s forgotten all about it, I can't help but wonder what he’s become, what kind of woman he’s marrying...."

Dana stopped talking and looked him in the eye, her mind spiraling downward.

What was wrong?

Theodore was getting angrier by the minute, just as he had been when he'd come to the tea house in the rain.

What else had she done wrong?

As she thought, she remembered how competitive he was.

Does he still get angry when I mention Master Edwin?

After all these years, how could he........

"I wonder where he's been hiding like a rat while his wife is being humiliated like this.”

She remembered the strange thing he'd said earlier, and that was something she would have to get to the bottom of.

But later, one problem at a time.

Dana pulled herself together and racked her brain for something to say. It was important to keep the conversation going.

‘Are you really going to invest in the Lewis Station development?’

In the past, she would have asked outright. But now she understood the importance of 'light, intimate conversation' for negotiations. You need to relax, talk naturally, and then get to the point at the right time.

The problem was that their past could set off a foot-in-mouth bomb.

As she searched for a safe topic of conversation, one popped into her head: He was traveling, so she'd better bring up something appropriate.

"Uh... this Tribbon market was first opened fifteen years ago when there was a war here," she said, "and the refugees traded for what they needed."

His head snapped around to look down at her.

Was that too much of a stretch?

Dana hid her embarrassment.

"Sure, it's mostly junk, but there's some good stuff if you look hard enough, like in an antique store. If you pick the right one...."

A stall popped up, a welcome sight to her already panicked eyes.

Yes, Mr. Bishop was open for business today.

"Would you like to go there?"

Theodore didn't say no. Dana led him to a small, ramshackle tent with a sweep of her hand across her chest.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Bishop."

"Mrs. Miller!"

The thin, wrinkled old man smiled in welcome, then froze when he noticed the man next to her.

It was only natural. From the moment they turned into the alley, almost everyone he encountered had the same reaction. Theodore stood out among the nobility. Who wouldn't be surprised to see him surrounded by dozens of servants, day in and day out, tending to his appearance.

As Rachel said, he was 'otherworldly'.

"Uh, this is...."

Dana parroted the introduction she'd given Bilbo and Rachel. The old man removed his hat and bowed politely.

"Lots of pretty things today, too."

She said, looking down at the wooden figurines and souvenirs on the stall. Bishop nodded, but didn't take his eyes off Theodore. It was a little unnerving to realize that the old man was staring at him so intently.

For a moment, he wondered why.

***

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