“Who is the letter for?”
“It’s for the maid of the mansion.”
“What for?”
“…I have something to ask her.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a personal matter. Why are you asking this?”
Unable to bear it any longer, Eleanor asked in frustration. At that moment, the maid brought the new coffee. Daryl slowly picked up his cup and took a sip of the contents.
“I’m asking because you said it’s an important letter that needs to go through me. I’m taking time out of my busy schedule to listen to you, don’t I have the right to know the content?”
“I told you. It’s a personal matter.”
“Is it something you can’t talk about in front of others?”
“…”
Eleanor opened her mouth slightly and made a face as if she couldn’t believe it. She didn’t understand why Daryl was doing this.
‘She’s much more shameless than I thought. Even if it’s a sham marriage, asking your husband to deliver a letter to your lover.’
Daryl was almost certain that Eleanor’s letter was for Benjamin Gallahad. He didn’t know how Philip had managed it, but it seemed that she had found out that he had blocked her letters from being sent out. But he didn’t expect her to bring the letter to him directly.
‘Is this stupidity? Or is she aware and deliberately protesting?’
Actually, it didn’t matter either way. Whether she played a sweet love game with another guy through letters or not, as long as they didn’t get in each other’s way as stated in the contract, there was no problem. But it was also clear that it wasn’t a pleasant thing for Daryl. Especially when he was busy, like now, if she came in at dawn and disturbed his time, and the reason was just for that, it was even more so.
“Lord, it’s time.”
Philip informed him that it was time to leave. Eleanor approached Daryl with a desperate look.
“Please, even if it’s just a day trip to Loud. Half a day will do. So,”
Daryl snatched the letter from Eleanor’s hand in annoyance and immediately handed it to Philip.
“You must deliver it. There should be a reply within a few days, and you must deliver that to me as well.”
“I understand. Don’t worry.”
Only after receiving Philip’s promise did Eleanor seem to finally relax. Daryl, who had been looking at her with contempt, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
“What’s that on your cheek? Did you get hurt?”
“Ah…”
Eleanor hesitated, covering the faint bruise on her cheek with her hand. It was unexpected. She hadn’t had time to put on makeup carefully since she had been rushing since dawn, but it wasn’t noticeable unless you looked closely. She thought Daryl wouldn’t notice.
“It’s nothing. I bumped into something while I was distracted.”
“I hope it doesn’t leave a scar.”
Eleanor couldn’t help but be surprised at Daryl’s words.
‘…Is he worrying about me now?’
His face was still emotionless and his tone was blunt, but the fact that Daryl was expressing concern for her was surprising.
She knew very well that Daryl disliked her. As soon as she signed the contract, he seemed to have been waiting to neglect her, and she thought that her married life would be like this in the future.
But if Daryl cared about her even this much, she thought that her married life might not be so hard to bear. Maybe his words about ‘respecting her as a contractual partner’ meant this.
“Yes. The doctor said it would be fine. This is almost gone now.”
Eleanor said in a much more relaxed voice.
“Thank goodness. Be careful from now on.”
“…Yes?”
At Daryl’s cold words, Elinor asked back with a blank expression.
“There’s only a month left until the wedding. What will people think if you get a bruise on your face?”
“…”
Leaving Eleanor standing silently, Daryl left the room with Philip.
“Check the contents of the letter and report.”
As soon as they left the mansion, Philip bowed his head to the order that was given, saying, “Yes.”
****
From that day until the weekend, a monotonous and repetitive daily life continued. Eleanor spent almost every day locked in her room. Meals flew into her room for every meal, and the only schedule, a meeting with Marianne, also took place only in the room.
No one came looking for Eleanor. The ‘place’ that Eleanor had said to Peggy, ‘There will be such a place someday,’ it was unknown when it would come even after a day, two days, and four days passed. Of course, Daryl, who was busy with work, and even his younger sister, who was said to live together, did not even have a chance to brush past her shadow. Sometimes she even thought that she might be the only one living in this mansion as big as it was, excluding the servants.
But such a life was not particularly painful. Rather, it was comfortable to be left alone. Since she had always been stuck at home in Loud, she didn’t feel particularly stifled just because she was locked in her room. It was just a little idle, and it was lonely to be alone without Peggy.
After sending Marianne away, Eleanor was resting her body sitting in a chair by the window. After noon, when the sun began to tilt to the other side, warm orange sunlight poured in through the window. This moment, looking at the garden bathed in that sunlight, was the most comfortable and peaceful time of the day for Eleanor.
‘I’m a little tired today.’
Yesterday, the tailors called by Marianne brought a mountain of catalogs and fabrics and sucked out her soul for several hours, and just now, the jewelers came and dazzled her eyes with all sorts of brilliant jewels. Eleanor had never been interested in things like clothes or jewels since she was young. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but be amazed at the onslaught of the top merchants in this field who were determined to spread out.
“My goodness. You’re so beautiful, Duchess. Your skin is so white and transparent that you can digest anything you wear.”
“No, I’m not the Duchess yet…”
“Here, how about this necklace? This aquamarine matches your eye color so well, doesn’t it? Of course, it’s far from the beauty of the Duchess’ eyes. Hohoho…”
With a dazzling array of items spread out in front of her, they endlessly praised Eleanor’s appearance and taste, their words were so sweet. Just listening to them was exhausting. She had managed to endure it until today, but if this continues, she felt like she might surrender. She had held back several times today from telling Marianne that she had had enough and to just do it herself.
‘It would have been nice if Peggy was here.’
Eleanor’s childhood was never affluent, but her mother Sylvia always bought her a new dress every time the season changed. The one who was most excited then was not Eleanor herself, but Peggy. Peggy, who sat Eleanor in front of the mirror in her new clothes and tried different hairstyles, looked very happy and lively.
“Miss, you’re so pretty! You look so good like this!”
Elinor didn’t dislike being told she was pretty. But more than the words themselves, she liked seeing Peggy happy. It felt like her clear joy was contagious.
After her mother passed away, she greatly reduced the frequency of buying her own clothes or jewelry. Of course, Peggy was disappointed. She was upset that Eleanor, who was in her prime, couldn’t dress up properly. At first, she laughed it off saying, ‘What’s the point of dressing up when there’s nowhere to go.’ But she stopped doing that too, as Peggy looked like she was about to cry each time.
The items she saw yesterday and today were definitely top-notch even to Eleanor’s eyes. It was worth Marianne confidently calling them ‘first-class’. If Peggy was here, she would have definitely been wide-eyed. Imagining Peggy excited and thrilled, she unknowingly smiled. It would have been nice to have her choose.
There was still no reply from Peggy. With each passing day, Eleanor tried hard to suppress her growing anxiety. Daryl had handed the letter to Philip in front of her, and Philip had even promised to deliver the reply to her. All Eleanor could do was trust and wait.
‘It’s just a letter. There’s no reason not to send it.’
She had no expectations of Daryl from the start. She had already realized how he saw her six years ago.
The somewhat gentlemanly and kind demeanor Daryl showed at the place where they discussed the contract was just a temporary illusion shown because of his ‘regrettable position’. The Daryl from the morning a few days ago was his true self, and the man she had to live with for the next year.
But that was enough. Rather, it might be better that way. If there are no expectations, she could face him empty-handed. No matter what he says, she wouldn’t be hurt, and she could face him with a bright smile.
She felt a faint feeling of nausea. Eleanor got up from the sofa and walked to the table where the water bottle and cup were placed.
Then there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
She said, assuming it was Emily. After all, Emily was the only one who had knocked on that door, except for the first day.
However, when the door opened halfway and a head peeked through, it was a strange man.
