“It’s the Master’s.”
At those words, Eleanor blinked in surprise.
“Daryl…it’s his?”
“Yes. It was a long time ago, but His Lordship had talents in various fields since childhood. He was quite good at playing the piano and violin. He completely stopped after he grew up though.”
“…..”
Eleanor slowly brushed her hand over the blank canvas. It was fascinating. He was a person who was so different from her in every way, she thought there would be nothing they could share.
“Then in the mansion…is there a picture that he drew somewhere?”
“There might be one or two left. I would have to look for them though.”
“…..”
“Shall we look for it?”
“No…no, it’s okay. You don’t have to do that.”
At Eleanor’s words, Herbert bowed his head saying, “Yes.” Eleanor touched the dried paint on the palette and the slightly dusty brush one by one. She remembered the time when she first received a painting set from the late Duke.
[This is a picture drawn by Eleanor?]
A faint surprise appeared on Frederick’s face, which usually didn’t show much emotion.
[The child just scribbled it. But it’s not bad if you think about it that way, right?]
[Of course. She hasn’t formally learned to draw, has she?]
At Frederick’s honest admiration, Sylvia seemed to be in a good mood. Sylvia smiled and stroked Eleanor’s head. Eleanor shyly clasped her hands and fiddled with her intertwined fingers.
Frederick was holding the picture Eleanor drew in both hands, examining it carefully.
[Eleanor.]
[Yes, Your Grace.]
[Do you want to learn to draw properly?]
Eleanor’s eyes widened. She couldn’t answer immediately and looked at her mother.
[…Your Grace. I appreciate your words but…]
[There’s no need to feel burdened. You can just ask the teacher employed by the Duke’s house to teach you once a week.]
[But we are already indebted to you so much. I can’t bear to impose any further…]
Sylvia trailed off. The fact that she was even hesitating this much was because it was a matter related to Eleanor. The regret of not being able to provide for her child as much as others and the sense of debt to the Duke were fiercely battling within her.
Frederick knelt down and sat, matching his eye level with Eleanor.
[What do you think, Eleanor? Do you want to learn?]
[……]
Eleanor rolled her eyes around as if she was in a dilemma. She looked back and forth between Frederick and her mother, then eventually bowed her head and mumbled in a small voice.
[…I’m okay, Your Grace. I don’t need to…learn.]
[…….]
Frederick’s eyes softened as if he felt sorry. He slowly stroked Eleanor’s head with his large hand. Eleanor looked at Frederick with wide eyes, her shoulders hunched.
[You don’t have to refuse, Eleanor. It’s because this old man wants to do it.]
[……]
[But you have to study hard. So that later, when Eleanor can draw much better than now, you can draw this old man’s face. How about it, can you promise?]
[……]
Eleanor blinked her eyes and looked back at Sylvia. Sylvia bit her lip slightly and nodded her head.
[…Yes. I promise.]
[Good.]
Frederick’s face, who used to pat her shoulder with a smile, still vividly came to mind.
‘…I couldn’t keep the promise after all.’
When she was young, she thought of the late Duke as a father figure. But it didn’t take long for her to realize that he was someone she should never regard with such feelings.
No matter how good a person the late Duke was, no matter how affectionate he was to her, the more he was, the more she had to keep her distance and draw a line.
So Eleanor didn’t paint his portrait. She couldn’t.
“If you need it, I’ll get a new one.”
Herbert’s voice then brought Eleanor back to the present.
“…Yes?”
“The painting tools.”
Eleanor paused for a moment, then put down the brush she was holding. It seemed that Herbert had misunderstood because she kept fiddling with the painting set.
“No, you don’t have to do that.”
“You don’t have to refuse. If you tell Mr. Howarth, he will prepare good items for you tomorrow.”
“I’m really okay. I don’t want to bother him. He’s already busy with work.”
“Excuse me for saying this, but Master wouldn’t care even if you brought a grand piano into the house.”
Eleanor looked at Herbert with a blank face. Herbert coughed awkwardly.
“Because he’s a busy person like you said.…And he has a lot of money.”
“…Pfft.”
When Eleanor let out a small laugh, Herbert also smiled.
“If this can alleviate your boredom, it’s a good thing. Don’t worry too much and leave it to me.”
“……”
While Eleanor was hesitating, Herbert said, “Then I’ll go now.” and bowed his head.
“Herbert.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“…Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
After bowing his head again politely, Herbert left the library.
Eleanor sat in the comfortable chair near the window with the book she had brought earlier. It creaked as if it was a bit old, but there was not a speck of dust on the armrest.
Eleanor opened the book. And for the first time since she came to Chatsworth House, she forgot all the worries of reality.
****
Since then, Eleanor spent most of her daytime in the library.
The library was filled with books that seemed endless no matter how much she read. The quantity was such that it didn’t matter at all that new books hadn’t been supplemented for quite a long time. Even if Eleanor read books without sleeping 24 hours a day until the day she left Chatsworth House, she wouldn’t be able to read them all.
Thanks to that, Eleanor was able to spend her time forgetting about loneliness of being alone, missing the people of the mansion in Loud, and other pains. Despite everything that happened with Anthony, she was grateful enough that he told her about the existence of this library.
Anthony’s visits had stopped completely since the three-way confrontation with Layla that day. That was also something Eleanor was thankful for.
Thanks to that, Eleanor was able to spend a perfectly peaceful time. While sitting in the library reading a book, she felt as if she had come home. It was the only world Eleanor knew, the safest refuge, and the place she would return to soon.
However, she didn’t draw. Although she had a shiny new painting set thanks to Herbert’s consideration, strangely, she couldn’t bring herself to use it. Even when she sat in front of the canvas thinking she would draw today, she would just stare at the white paper for a long time and then get up.
Why is that? She had been drawing all her life. Was it because she had taken a break for two whole months, or was it because this space was still unfamiliar?
She didn’t feel particularly rushed. From the beginning, she intended to take a break from drawing during the year she was at Chatsworth House. Moreover, with the endless books, even if she didn’t draw, she wouldn’t be consumed by boredom right away.
It was one of those days. She was lying in bed reading a book late into the night, and when she suddenly looked at the clock, it was past two in the morning.
‘I wonder if Daryl is still working?’
He had come home a few hours ago, but he went straight to his office and there was no news from him since. The Lilac Room where Daryl stayed was facing the wall of Eleanor’s Hibiscus Room, so she could tell by the sound when he came back to his room.
Of course, there was no rule that Eleanor had to go to bed first. But just like the greetings she made every morning and evening, she decided not to sleep until Daryl went to bed. She felt guilty that she was not doing her duty as his wife, even though they were a formal couple.
Of course, it was inevitable because Daryl did not treat her as a wife, either mentally or physically. She couldn’t reach out to the head maid that he didn’t even entrust to her, and there was no need to mention her external activities as a duchess.
But given Eleanor’s personality, the fact that she couldn’t fulfill her duties for whatever reason was stressful to her. So she set a rule to wake up earlier than Daryl and go to bed later, and to see him off when he goes out and welcome him when he comes back.
Daryl would surely scoff at what that meant if he knew. But it was undeniable that Eleanor’s mind was much more comfortable because of it.
Eleanor hesitated a little, put on a shawl, and left the room. She could have asked Emily to check, but she didn’t want to call her out at this late hour.
When Eleanor arrived at Daryl’s office, she gently knocked on the door. She knocked a few more times, but there was no answer, so Eleanor carefully opened the door. The door was not locked.
Daryl was asleep at his desk, resting his chin on his hand.
Não se iluda Eleonor….