Chapter 6
Chapter 6
2. Mrs. Barnes and Mildred - 1
"It"s been a long time, Mrs. Barnes."
Pa.s.sing through a not-so-s.p.a.cious garden, through a slightly older door than Mildred"s recollection, the butler who stood in front of me bowed and greeted me.
What was the butler’s name? I fumbled through Mildred"s memory. Alfredo? Sebastian?
"Howard."
Sadly, the butler"s name was Howard, not Alfredo or Sebastian. Hmm. That"s disappointing.
Howard was a much older man, much older than Mildred. To be honest, it"s amazing that he"s still in his present job.
I said with a smile.
"I didn"t know you were still working."
"The master tells me to stop and rest, but I can"t leave the job to a young man."
Who was the next Earl Murphy’s butler? I didn’t remember who Howard was talking about, but I nodded and went in.
The house of Earl Murphy in the capital was where Mildred had been standing every spring until she married Baron Rivera. Originally, Earl Murphy has a manor far from here, the Lord of Valds. He comes up to the capital in late spring, when the social season begins, and then goes down in the fall when the season ends.
(CL: It was like "when the 존이 ends" and it was read as Joni or John in English. I searched for a synonym of the Korean word and what came out is the word "Zone/Striking zone" so to make sense, I just changed the word into season just so you guys know haha)
Mildred sometimes met with Earl Murphy and had tea. She was always on par with him. But because Earl Murphy was an elder brother, he could not ignore Mildred.
"Come on, Mil."
Pa.s.sing through the front door, Sandra, who was standing in the big Hall, found me and held out her hand.
Countess Sandra Murphy, Mildred"s sister-in-law. She and Earl Murphy had been engaged to each other since they were young, and they married each other as soon as they turned 17.
She knew Mildred very well. She would always invite Mildred to a small party on Earl Murphy"s Avenue during the social season.
But since Fred went missing two years ago, Mildred has refused all invitations. That should have been the case, but this year, Sandra sent out an invitation.
"Thank you for inviting me, Sandy."
I held Sandra"s hand and smiled. I was quite concerned whether to go or not after receiving the invitation. But eventually, I decided to go, because it was more than two years since Mildred went out to socialize.
Iris and Lily are different, even if they are not very attached to the Prince unlike Ashley. A n.o.bleman"s marriage is hardly a marriage of love. Those parents who know each other, introduce each of their child and make the marriage happen.2
So for Iris and Lily, I needed to be a part of the society first.
"Thank you for coming."
Sandra took my hand and hugged me. I felt a little weird. I"m not Mildred, but I have Mildred"s fortune. Sandra was two years older than me, and I became my sister-in-law at seventeen, so when Mildred was fifteen, she already used the surname Murphy.
And since she had been engaged to Mildred"s older brother, Gary, they had known each other for a long time.
I then noticed that Sandra"s "thank you for coming" was not really a thank you. She was still grieving for me, two years later, for losing a husband.
"Thank you for inviting me too."
I mumbled, hugging Sandra"s shoulder. It"s only been 15 days since I got into Mildred"s body, but I"ve already felt enough weight on my shoulders.
It"s a fun game to watch the real heroines, or to try to change their lives by pretending to be the villain, but I"ve got three kids.3
What if Iris and Lily can"t get married? What if Ashley finally marries the prince and finds it vindictive that Mildred has been treating her like a maid for half a year?
If I"m lucky enough to marry off Iris and Lily, what if they"re just like Fred?
I couldn"t sleep because I have so much complicated things to think about. I know Iris and Lily love me, but they can"t comfort me.
Ironically, however, I was comforted by the fact that sister-in-law, who married Mildred"s brother, thought of me.
"Come on in. Gary must be inside. I"ll be there for a little while and go back to introduce you to other people."
Sandra said, breaking away from me with moist eyes. My eyes were slightly red. I stopped and told Sandra that Geoffrey Fred"s body was found.
There was a reason why I came here to talk about the news directly.
After the meal, I can do this before I go home. I nodded and stepped in.
"Mil."
A man a little older than Mildred’s memory came up to me, a man with dark hair and green eyes, like Mildred. I grinned at Gary.
"My brother, it seems you have gained some weight."
"Well."
Gary put a wry face on my words and said,
"I was drained last year, but I held myself and lived anew."
"You"re a good cook, aren"t you?"
"There"s a new store recently, and it"s very good."
Gary, who is about three times as big as me, stroked his belly and apologized. Sandra was so skinny and tall that it would be a pretty interesting sight to see her stand alongside Gary.
"It must be a famous restaurant."
I asked without much thought. Mildred, unlike with Sandra, was not as close with Gary even though they were brother and sister. By the age of eight, Gary was already taking lessons in succession when Mildred was just born, and when she had grown up, Gary left for Academy.
After returning from the Academy, he seemed to have no intention of narrowing the distance with Mildred. It was probably because Mildred was married to another family and their interaction was reduced.
You didn"t think that the men who married your sister would both die.
"It"s famous. You should go out with Sandy sometime. It"s the fairy…."
"Where?"
I asked the familiar name, turning my head involuntarily. Fairy spring? Isn"t that the place I heard the other day when I went downtown?
"The name is unique, isn"t it? It"s called the fairy spring and it"s owned by a man named Daniel Walford. He’s still young but his ability of making money is outstanding."
Gary spoke with a slightly smug look. I said nervously.
"A n.o.bleman? And he runs a restaurant himself?"
The n.o.bility does not work directly, they feed on taxes from their own estates. Of course, there are many cases where there is not enough tax and money is insufficient to collect, that"s why there are many cases where money is made in other ways.
However, most of the methods are to invest in trade or to receive artworks by sponsoring artists, and later sell them.
In some cases, people buy buildings and rent buildings like Mildred.
The important thing is, aristocrats are not meant to sweat.
Gary seemed a little fl.u.s.tered by what I stated, and said,
"I don"t think he runs the restaurant himself. You"ll see when you meet him, but he"s a bit unusual."
"I"ll see when I meet him?"
What is this sound? I asked in bewilderment. Gary"s words sounded as if he would introduce me to this Baron Wilford.
And it was a hit, my ears were not wrong. Gary said with a smug look again.
"His relations are very wide. Did you know that the Queen is his G.o.dmother?"
How could I have known. The queen is the Baron"s G.o.dmother? I had a surprised look on my face. Then someone said behind me.
"My mother said she and the queen were very close."
Oh mother!
I didn’t know someone was coming. I jumped on the spot and looked at Gary. He looked at the man with a funny expression.
I turned away trying not to wrinkle my brow. Let"s not make an impression. Thirty-seven is the age to start caring about wrinkles.
"The Queen"s your G.o.dmother and you"re talking behind a person"s back?"
The man looked as if he knew I"d say so. My eyes then widened when I saw him. Somehow, I recognized his voice. It was a man I definitely knew. Chestnut eyes and a bright brown hair that looks blonde when the light is on. A saucy man with at least one tall, solid body over Mildred.
"It"s a good thing I got the chance to be forgiven for last time."
It was the man I met on the street a few days ago.
He held my hand and leaned.
"Can I kiss you?"
What? I was dumbfounded, so I looked up and slightly creased an eye. Are you crazy? Why should I kiss you? I almost said that out loud without realizing it.
But before that, Gary said,
"You two already knew each other?"
"No."
"Yes."
There was a very different answer coming out of our mouths, so here we are talking about me and the man holding my hand.
Gary looked at me as if he were right, and the man raised an eyebrow. d.a.m.n it. I quickly made an excuse to Gary.
“I met him on the street a few days ago. And we got on our separate ways without knowing each other"s names."
"You went out on the street?"
A look of surprise flashed over Gary"s face for a moment. He deserves such a response. Mildred didn"t really enjoy going out on the streets.
But he soon fixed his expression and introduced me to the man.
"Mil, this is Baron Walford. Baron Daniel Walford."
It was Daniel. I stared at the man, trying not to make an impression. Come on. Gary then introduced me to the man.
"Baron G.Walford, this is my sister, Mildred. Mildred Barnes. Mr. Barnes, who"s on the other side, disappeared two years ago, and ever since, she hasn"t been in the social circle for a while."
Daniel looked surprised at Gary"s words. He looked at Gary then said, looking at me.
"Mrs. Barnes."
"That’s right, Baron Walford. So could you let go of my hand?"
Even then Daniel held my hand. What are you doing? I questioned in my head as I made an irritated look. He then raised my hand and asked again.
"Can I kiss you?"
Oh, are you crazy? I was about to scream, until I realized that he was asking me if he could kiss the back of my hand. I almost got a hole in my duvet tonight.
(CL: Duvet - a soft quilt filled with down, feathers, or a synthetic fiber, used instead of an upper sheet and blankets.)
I managed to stop the moment when I almost built a great black history.
"Of course."
Daniel kissed the back of my hand as if he had waited for me to answer stiffly. Warm and soft lips was felt over the gloves.
I felt strange. It"s been a long time since Mildred was treated like this by someone after her husband died.
And I.
It was my first time. I have lived for twenty-seven years, but this is the first time I have ever experienced such a kiss on the back of my hand.
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I felt my heart tickle as I felt shame.
Because this is naturally that kind of place. I pressed my ticklish chest thinking of a fairy tale. The prince kissed the back of Ashley"s hand the first time she danced with the prince in Cinderella.
"Please call me Daniel."+
Daniel lifted his lips from my hand and said, in a whisper. I thought of it when I met him on the street, but he was certainly handsome. He wore a light outfit last time. This time around, he"s wearing a suit. And it seemed like the word handsome became an understatement.
I said, pulling my hand out of his hand.
"Please call me Mrs. Barnes, Baron Walford."