âIâm sorry, Peggy. I know youâre saying this for me. But I wonât marry Viscount Brooke.â
ââŠMiss.â
âPeggy, you said itâs time for me to be happy. But marriage isnât my happiness. My happiness is living in this house with the people I love. I want to keep the Townsend name that my parents gave me. Living in someone elseâs house with someone elseâs name, one year of that was enough.â
ââŠâ
âI understand that youâre worried about me, Peggy. But please donât think that Iâm enduring or sacrificing for someone else. This is the life Iâve chosen, and Iâm satisfied with it. So please respect my happiness, Peggy.â
Her tone was gentle but firm. Now, Peggy could no longer add more words. She pressed her lips tightly, looking resentful, and stood up from her seat.
ââŠIf it were Viscount Brookeâs and your child, it would be so beautiful.â
âPeggy.â
Eleanor was taken aback by the words Peggy muttered softly.
âDonât regret later that you should have listened to me.â
With a sulky face, Peggy turned her head away. Eleanor quietly smiled bitterly.
****
The next day, Eleanor wrote a letter to Benjamin. She wanted to give an answer to his proposal and asked him to visit again when he had time.
She had no idea that Benjamin had such feelings for her. He had always treated Eleanor more than just kindly, but she thought it was all out of pity for her situation.
Now that she thought about it, Peggy had cautiously mentioned before that âViscount Brooke might have a fondness for Miss.â At that time, she dismissed it as impossible, but it turned out Peggy was not wrong.
[I knew that Miss Townsend had decided not to marry anyone, so I was just planning to wait by your side. I thought that someday, when the worldâs turmoil quieted down and Miss Townsend finally felt at ease, if there comes a day when you want to reclaim the life you gave up onâŠ..Thatâs when I would speak to you.]
It was a truly affectionate confession. Eleanor was very grateful that Benjamin had thought and cared for her so deeply.
But for that very reason, she couldnât rashly respond to his feelings. If there was someone who could love him as deeply, he should meet a woman who could love him back just the same.
She couldnât choose Benjamin just to be more comfortable or to live a better life.
After sending the letter, she was reading a book alone in her room when the butler, Harold, knocked on the door.
âMadam, you have a visitor.â
It was an unexpected visitor. It was too early to be Benjamin.
âWho is it?â
âItâs Annabel Townsend. She says sheâs your aunt and that sheâs met you once before at the Dukeâs houseâŠâ
At that, Eleanorâs expression darkened slightly.
As she went down to the parlor, Annabel, who had been sitting anxiously, sprang up from her seat.
âEleanor! Itâs been such a long time. How have you been?â
Annabel rushed over to Eleanor and grabbed her hands. Eleanor felt her mouth tighten without realizing it.
ââŠAunt.â
âYes, itâs me. Iâm sorry. I should have kept in touch more often, but Iâve been so busy with this and thatâŠâ
ââŠâ
Eleanor silently stared at Annabel. Annabel smiled awkwardly.
âHow youâve grown even prettier. I was worried about how you were doing, but it seems youâre doing well, which is a relief.â
âWhat brings you here?â
The question was so direct it could have seemed brusque. Annabelâs expression twisted for a moment, but she forced a smile again.
âChild, do I need a reason to visit my niece? I ended up missing your wedding last time. Itâs been on my mind. I kept thinking I should visit, but it was difficult to find the time. As you know, itâs quite a distance from our house to hereâŠâ
âI thought I would never see you again.â
At Eleanorâs words, Annabel clamped her mouth shut.
About three years ago, Annabel and her husband had taken money from Daryl under the condition that they would ânever approach Eleanor again.â Annabel even bargained to double the amount if that was the condition. Eleanor couldnât understand why she would come to see her again, acting friendly as if such a past had never happened.
Actually, she had a guess.
ââŠAre you still angry about that time?â
Annabel cautiously watched Eleanorâs reaction as she asked. Eleanor looked back at Annabel with an almost expressionless, calm face.
âIâm sorry, Eleanor. I was wrong back then. As I told you, our situation was so difficult at the time⊠When the duke offered such a large sum of money, I couldnât refuse it. Were you very upset? Iâm sorry. Life was so hard every day⊠Please understand me, okay?â
Annabel spoke earnestly, her eyes even welling up with tears. She then conspicuously dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
Eleanor was surprisingly unmoved. She felt neither sympathy for Annabel nor resentment or hatred towards her. The only emotion she could discern was a faint contempt.
âPlease state your business.â
ââŠEleanor.â
âIf you have no business, please leave.â
Annabel bit her lip slightly. She bowed her head for a moment and then looked up at Eleanor again. There was a strange glint in her eyes that was hard to identify.
âNow that I come to you with this⊠I really have no face to showâŠâ
âAre you still having difficulties?â
Eleanor asked calmly, and Annabel clamped her mouth shut.
âHave you come to ask me for money? Like you did last time?â
âEleanor.â
Annabel looked at Eleanor with a slightly pale face. She hadnât imagined Eleanor would react this way.
ââŠIâm not just asking for it. If you could lend me a little, Iâll definitely pay you back. I canât say when, but I willâonce things get better.â
âNo, Aunt, you wonât pay back the money. Instead, youâll come again saying youâre in a difficult situation.â
ââŠEleanor.â
âYou couldnât come while I was at the Dukeâs house because of the promise you made with the Duke, and after the divorce, you naturally thought Iâd be penniless again, so you didnât come. And now, you suddenly show up because you must have heard the rumors that I make a lot of money as a painter.â
ââŠâ
Annabel had no response to Eleanorâs pointed words.
âThat person wasnât wrong.â
âThose people came for my money. They crawled all the way here, sniffing the scent of bread crumbs to lick up.â
Eleanor had her suspicions too. She just didnât want to believe they were true. She didnât want to think that the only relatives she had ever met face-to-face, the people related to her by blood, could be so base.
But, sadly, Daryl was right.
ââŠKnowing all that, do you really have to say it like that?â
Annabel spoke as if she was offended.
âI have my pride and shame too. But how desperate must I be to do this? Weâre family, arenât we? Iâm your Aunt. Your cousins are just little kids much younger than you. Donât you feel sorry for those kids who are struggling with hunger?â
âNo, I donât.â
ââŠ.â
Annabelâs mouth dropped open in disbelief.
âHow can someone be like that? That money is of no use to you anyway! What are you going to do with all that money youâre hoarding? Wouldnât it be better to think of it as doing a good deed and lend some? Iâm not asking for an enormous amount, and youâre so rich! Even a stranger you meet on the street would be kinder than you!â
âI feel the same way.â
âWhat?â
âIf you were a complete stranger I met on the street, I think I could have been kinder to you than to my Aunt.â
ââŠâ
Annabel glared at Eleanor with a flushed face. Eleanor indifferently turned to look at Harold, who was standing behind her.
âPlease show her out.â
âWait, wait! Eleanor!â
Annabel was furious, but Eleanor didnât even glance back as she headed straight to her room.
âHow can there be such a girl in the world? Thatâs why you were thrown out by the Duke! Youâll be punished by heaven for living like that! Are you listening to me? Youâll be punished by heaven!â
Annabel continued to rage as Harold and the other servants held her back and chased her out.
This girlllll she says her happiness is living in the Townsend mansion with her family, fine. But, she isn’t seeing that there won’t be an opportunity to live that out if the emperor decides to do whatever he wants.
Certo…. ela pode ter felicidade, dinheiro, tranquilidade, atĂ© que alguĂ©m poderoso venha e pise em tudo…. sem poder, os fracos sĂŁo indefesos e massacrados como insetos, tratados como objetos….
Na verdade se Daryl realmente gostasse dela e estiver arrependido, ele poderia declarar ao mundo: meu pai o Duke, foi responsĂĄvel indiretamente pela morte do pai e avĂłs da Eleonor, por isso, ele patrocinou ela, por isso me casei com ela, nĂŁo dei valor e ela foi embora, mas gosto dela e o que ela escolher eu vou apoiar…. nĂŁo mexam com ela, deixem ela viver em paz a partir de agora…. pronto, posta no jornal essa histĂłria…..