Chapter 8 – My Poor Friend
There had been no contact from Lord Blair for five days.
‘What’s going on with someone who values time so much?’
Mellie was puzzled, but she thought that maybe he was being modest because his bride-to-be was too young, as he had said.
It was two days later, exactly a week after receiving the proposal, that she realized that it wasn’t true, around sunset.
“Hey, Mellie.”
Ada Felton, who had returned from her outing, cautiously visited Mellie.
She usually called Mellie to her residence, but since she was coming in person like this, it seemed like something unusual was going on.
“What’s wrong?”
“That’s… … .”
The lady sipped the tea in front of her, and sipped again. She must have been trying to buy time, but there was a limit. She eventually confessed the truth.
“I was thinking about finding someone else to marry you besides Mr. Blair. The more I think about it, I feel like he’s not right for you.”
“… … .”
“No matter how rich he is, he is a merchant and you are an aristocrat… I think it would be better to look for someone of the same class.”
It was an attitude that completely denied all the logic she had put forward about her marriage with him. However, Mellie also had an idea.
“Mrs. Felton, I’m fine, so you can tell me the truth.”
“… … .”
The duchess made a troubled expression. Mellie realized even more that her conviction was right.
Lord Blair had clearly withdrawn from the marriage.
“He is a bad guy.”
The wife revealed the reason in a harsh tone that she would not normally use.
“That bastard Blair got engaged to another woman. And she’s the daughter of the Earl of Harrington.”
“… … .”
“And he’s also withdrawing from the flower business that was supposed to go with our family. He said they offered better terms. I’ve been told for a long time that I shouldn’t trust a businessman, but I never dreamed that he would hit me in the back of the head like this.”
Mrs. Felton’s face was flushed with anger.
However, Mellie was not as angry as her. No, her mind was even more calm and rational.
‘When did we start talking?’
Mellie tried to recall her memories.
The moment he proposed to her was true. There was no room to doubt that.
However, something began to go wrong after he suddenly left and returned.
It was also then that she felt a small crack in her will to marry, which seemed solid even if she was hit by a carriage.
‘Young-lady is still young, so I don’t think it’s right to ask for an answer so hastily.’
It was clear that some kind of business deal had been made in that short moment, and that was why he had stopped herself from agreeing.
He had not sent a carriage to Mellie not because he was considerate of her, but because he needed time to think, and he must have come to a final conclusion today.
As the events one by one coincided in chronological order, Mellie felt more emptiness than anger.
“I’m really sorry, Mellie.”
Ada apologized repeatedly, not knowing what to do.
“If you look around, there will be many better people, so don’t be too upset. Okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
Mellie smiled and continued.
“If it is the Earl of Harrington and if I were in his place, I would have chosen the same.”
Mellie thought of the woman with blond hair and blue eyes who she occasionally encountered at the rare balls she attended, who had an elegant and voluptuous body. She was much better than her in terms of looks and family background.
She had no regrets about the obvious choice. However, it would have been better if he had told her first.
Je must have thought of notifying us after the marriage with her was confirmed. Both sides could have lost out if they weren’t careful.
Mellie was extremely offended by his shallow intention of not taking even the slightest risk. But Mellie decided to brush it off boldly, fearing that expressing such unpleasantness might seem like lingering regret.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’m glad I found out the truth about him before we got married, ma’am.”
“Well, then that’s good.”
Ada said with a relieved smile.
But her feelings weren’t all that happy.
‘What should I do with this child?’
Suddenly, she remembered the advice her husband had given her when she had taken in Mellie and her mother.
“Your well-intentioned actions could come back to haunt you later.”
It was indeed true. How could something be so difficult to deal with?
Ada Felton’s lips twitched slightly as she smiled kindly.
***
She acted generously in front of Ada, but she couldn’t help feeling bitter.
How could he do that?
Even if he liked a woman enough to think about marrying her, he
could mercilessly throw her away if his calculations didn’t match up. His cruel and materialistic attitude was so creepy. No, no. That’s not the point. He probably didn’t care enough about me to throw her away for a woman with good conditions.
At best, he had a shallow mind that thought, ‘I can live with her without any problems,’ so he left right away when an attractive woman showed up.
‘You don’t know men.’
Edric’s words suddenly came to her mind.
‘Affinity or love is just an opportunity to weigh someone on my scale.’
He was right.
Mellie caught Blair’s eye and was put on the scale, but she wasn’t worth much to beat Lady Harrington.
Orphaned, the lowest-ranking nobleman in name only, ugly appearance. Skinny body. Low sociability.
Is it only Blair’s scale?
If I were to be placed on someone else’s scale, would I ever be
superior?
Is there a man in this world who would turn down someone with better conditions for her own sake?
Phew-.
Thinking about the answer, a sigh came out of her mouth.
Her chest felt heavy and her head felt dizzy. She couldn’t continue to sink into the swamp of self-loathing.
Mellie decided to take a short walk before dinner to cool her head and left.
On her way to the front door, she stopped by the restaurant to ask Oz for her understanding.
“I’m sorry, Oz. Can I help you clean up instead of preparing dinner today? I’m going to take a walk.”
“I can prepare dinner and clean up, so don’t worry about it.”
Oz kindly said, and Mellie left the entrance with a much lighter heart.
The cool evening breeze blowing from beyond the mountain
ridge soothed Mellie’s mood.
Mellie was about to head to the garden, where the scent of the greenery filled the air, but when she saw the servants gathering there, she changed her mind.
They already knew that the marriage between me and Lord Blair had fallen through.
And they probably thought that Mellie had been dumped by Lord Blair.
It was not unreasonable. It was true.
The former Duchess had been talking as if the marriage was set after Mellie visited Blair’s house, and Mellie herself had been careful about her behavior because she knew that.
Most of the servants had been with Mellie since her childhood and had loved and cared for her. Therefore, if they met now, they would be even more angry than Mellie and the former Duchess about the fall of the marriage and would not spare sincere words of comfort.
But at this moment, what Mellie wanted was not comfort, but to be alone. Their comfort would surely make Mellie even more upset.
She turned and headed towards the back garden.
Compared to the large and splendid garden, the back garden was decorated with cute foliage and simple landscaping, giving it a simple aftertaste.
Mellie paused in the middle of the pavement where the blue lobelias grew fluffy like fluff on both sides, and admired the garden. Suddenly, she thought she heard her mother’s voice.
“Remember, Mellie. We are Enwood, not Felton.”
Following those words, Mellie played only in the garden as a child.
The magnificent and quaint garden was the world of the Feltons. And her mother and herself were the people of the world who should be grateful for even this garden.
Mellie started walking again and walked to the end of the garden. There were no servants. It was the perfect place to walk alone and empty your mind.
The smell of delicious food was carried by the wind. Mellie turned around as the meal preparations seemed to be coming to an end. As a guest, you couldn’t be late for dinner.
Just as she was about to take a step, a familiar voice called out to her.
“Mellie?”
The soft, low voice cut through the air filled with the noisy sounds of insects on a summer day and pierced Mellie’s ears clearly.
Mellie stood still. Then she slowly turned around.
Edric was walking to her from the riding arena.
He was wearing a white shirt and brown riding breeches, and his shoulders looked broader today, and his moderately muscular legs were long and smooth.
“Are you out for a walk?”
He approached her with a smile. His long blond hair swayed in the evening breeze, and his features looked even clearer and more graceful in the setting sunlight.
“Yeah. I’m going for a quick walk before dinner.”
Mellie thought she answered with a cheerful face, but it seemed that her discomfort was showing without her knowing it. Edric asked worriedly.
“What happened?”
“No, nothing.”
“Don’t lie.”
He strode towards Mellie.
“What happened? Tell me.”
Mellie hesitated for a moment.
She had been ashamed of ignoring his advice about Lord Blair, and had never intended to say it herself, but she decided to just say it anyway, knowing that she would find out anyway.
“Actually… …”
Mellie told him everything she had heard from Mrs. Felton just a few hours earlier.
At least, she had left her feelings out of it.
She wondered how Edric would react. But he just stared at her for a while, not saying anything.
… … Why didn’t he say something?
Mellie was wondering as the silence grew longer.
“My poor friend.”
Suddenly, Edric hugged Mellie tightly.
