Chapter 17
“How is Damian’s health?”
“He’s been all right lately. He does cough a little, though.”
Rowina smiled faintly and gripped her teacup tightly.
The worst hurdle had been getting him to the point where he could walk. She remembered the nights she had spent crying while holding the feverish child in her arms. If Harriet had not willingly offered her help each time, it would have been hard to endure.
“That’s a relief.”
Harriet, who had watched those difficult days from her side, quietly patted Rowina’s shoulder.
“Actually, I got promoted this time.”
“Really?”
“Yes. To supervisor.”
“Congratulations! That’s wonderful.”
Rowina smiled brightly and clasped Harriet’s hand.
“What’s so wonderful about it? I’m just glad the pay is a little better. I’ve got two children, after all. Their father works hard out of town too, but still.”
“If there’s ever anything I can help with later, please tell me. I’ll roll up my sleeves and help.”
“Goodness. You’ve got enough on your own plate. But thanks for saying that. You have to head out right away now, don’t you? You’re on evening duty yesterday and today.”
“Yes. I’ll come pick him up tomorrow morning. Thank you.”
“I told you, there’s no need for thank-yous and apologies between us.”
Harriet chuckled and deftly changed the subject.
“By the way, what do you think of the doctor at the clinic?”
“Pardon?”
At Rowina’s innocent reaction, exactly as expected, Harriet sighed inwardly.
This was why she kept worrying about her, even though she was only two years younger. She was so pure and girlish that one could hardly believe she was a mother who had given birth to a child.
“At a glance, he seems interested in Rebecca. Didn’t you notice?”
Instead of answering, Rowina only blinked.
It was something she had never imagined. After a moment of being too flustered to speak, Rowina shook her head.
“That can’t be. You must be mistaken, Harriet. I’m a woman with a child. I’m not young, either. On the other hand, Dr. Philip is younger than me and unmarried.”
Her skin, once made radiant with rosewater, had grown rough from long hardship, and the backs of her once-smooth hands had become chapped and unsightly.
At the self-deprecation in her voice, Harriet shook her head.
“He’s only one year younger, even if you call him younger. If I counted only the men who’ve been interested in Rebecca so far, I’d need more than ten fingers. You know that.”
It was not an exaggeration, but the truth. Unlike Rowina herself, whose confidence had fallen, the Rowina Harriet saw was beautiful enough that she could have remarried long ago if she had set her mind to it.
Among the men who had shown interest in Rebecca, there had been some who were quite wealthy, and some who were handsome.
Even if Rowina herself said she was not young, to Harriet’s eyes, Rebecca was still very young. On top of that, she was pretty and had a good personality. It was an age when, at least among the lower ranks of nobility, the boundaries of status were gradually blurring, so if she only changed her way of thinking, becoming the lady of a wealthy household was not such a far-fetched idea.
“The child is growing up, too. Don’t you think he needs a father he can rely on? And financially as well.”
“Oh my, look at the time. It’s already this late.”
Rowina, who had been looking troubled at the continued persuasion, abruptly cut her off.
“I should get going now.”
“Sigh. All right. I understand.”
Whenever Harriet brought up something similar, Rowina became as uncomfortable as if she were sitting on pins and needles. In the end, Harriet raised the white flag and got up. As she cleared away the teacups, the morning paper beneath them fell to the floor.
“I’ll pick it up.”
Rowina bent down a step ahead of her and picked up the fallen newspaper. Just then, a familiar name caught her eye.
The Duke of Rockford, Lord Devonshire, returned to Ethelwood early this morning after bringing his marriage to an end. According to close associates, the main reason for the separation was Chloe Aberdeen’s infertility…
Rowina, who had been reading the front-page article without realizing it, crumpled the newspaper as if she had seen a ghost.
“Rebecca?”
“……
Ah.”
“Is something wrong? Your face suddenly…”
“No.”
Rowina sprang to her feet and hid her trembling hands behind her back.
“I-I think I’m late. I should go now.”
“All right. Don’t overdo it too much…”
Before Harriet could even finish speaking, Rowina turned sharply and left the house at a brisk pace. ‘It won’t be. Nothing will happen. It has nothing to do with me. That man and I are already…….’ As she left Harriet’s house, Rowina repeated the words inwardly like a spell. Her face was so pale the entire way that people around her turned to look.
As if being chased by a murderer, she hurried up the stairs of the old villa. The moment the door creaked shut, the strength left her legs.
“Still, just in case……”
Leaning against the wall, Rowina sank down and made her way to the bed almost on her hands and knees. After groping under the bed for a long while, her hand caught on a traveling bag. Rowina immediately opened the bag and took out an old pouch.
Hidden carefully inside two layers of pouches was the ring that man had once slipped onto her finger.
The reason she had taken this alone, leaving everything else behind, was because it was small and seemed like it would fetch a good price. If the worst happened, she would have to sell this ring and flee somewhere else.
Clutching the ring tightly, Rowina thought about where would be best if she had to run.
The valley where she had lived as a child came to mind, but that place would not do because her uncle was there. If by some chance that man found her, her uncle could be put in danger too.
“First, I should pack.”
Rowina put the ring back into the pouch and sprang up. Then she flung open the wardrobe doors. As for clothes, all she had were two plain cotton dresses that could be worn in any season and a thin coat. As Rowina shoved the clothes into the bag as they came to hand, a knock sounded behind her.
“Rebecca?”
It was Anna, her coworker. The moment she heard the puzzled voice, her senses returned as if cold water had been poured over her head.
“May I come in?”
“Ah… yes.”
Rowina answered in a daze and looked down at her own two hands. In the meantime, Anna swiftly entered the room and looked around in shock.
“Goodness. Since we’re on the same duty, I came by to see if we could go together… Did a robber break in? Or a creditor?”
Her voice sounded concerned on the surface, but her eyes were filled not with worry, but with curiosity and a subtle sense of anticipation. At the sight, Rowina averted her gaze. They were not on bad terms, but she knew Anna secretly spoke ill of her behind her back. She did not want to be close, but she could hardly drive away someone who had come to visit.
“Neither. I was just looking for something.”
Rowina gave a vague excuse and staggered to her feet. She recalled the dawn deeply engraved in her heart.
—Did you ever… even once, love me?
—Not at all.
She recalled that denial, chillingly cold enough to make her skin crawl.
Then a cool realization came to her.
It had been five years. Even if he had been abroad, if he had tried to find her even once, it would have been more than enough time to do so. And even if the reason for the divorce truly was his wife’s infertility, as the newspaper said, if the problem was not his, then all he had to do was remarry another woman.
“Ha, haha……”
“Rebecca?”
Anna frowned as she looked at Rowina, who had begun to laugh as if the air had gone out of her lungs.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m all right……”
What had she been so afraid of?
She felt so ashamed and embarrassed by herself. Rowina drew in a deep breath, opened the bag again, and hung the clothes back on their hangers.
Just then, Anna’s eyes fell on the old pouch. Glancing around, she reached out and looked inside.
A ring? Anna’s eyes widened, and she discreetly knocked over the cup on the table.
“Oh my! I’m sorry!”
“It’s all right. You could get hurt, so don’t move. I’ll bring a broom.”
While Rowina went to get the broom and threw the shards into the trash bin, Anna tucked the ring into her bosom and smiled brightly as she offered,
“I feel bad, so I’ll help you tidy up. Where should I put this? And this?”
What she held were the old pouch Rowina had taken out a moment ago and a bundle of faded letters. Rowina, picking up the clothes scattered about, nodded toward the floor.
“Put both in the bag, please.”
After the newspaper article had made her heart drop for a moment, Rowina’s daily life flowed on unchanged once more.
If anything had changed, it was that she took on even more work, both for Damian’s Christmas present and to move their home to somewhere even a little better. As a result, Damian naturally ended up sleeping at Harriet’s house more often.
Unlike Rowina, who felt apologetic, Harriet was actually glad, aside from worrying that Rowina might be pushing herself too hard.
Though they were the same age, Lawrence and Rosalyn liked Damian very much and followed him around. When they had a friend, at least they fought less.
Of course, that did not mean they did not fight at all. The twins bickered while each holding one arm of a doll.
“It’s mine! Mine!”
“No, it’s mine!”
“I told you not to fight. Lawrence. Rosalyn.”
Harriet, who had been folding laundry, placed a hand on her waist. At her stern voice, tears welled in the twins’ eyes. Rosalyn, who had been fuming, was about to burst into tears with a face full of spite when Damian, who had quickly assessed the situation, went into the twins’ room and came out holding a storybook as large as his own body.
“Auntie! Please read us a book.”
At the same time, the twins’ attention, which had been fixed on the doll, shifted to the book.
Realizing Damian’s intention, Harriet smiled and plopped down on the couch.
“Shall I?”
“Me too, me too!”
“I want to listen too!”
Lawrence and Rosalyn quickly abandoned the doll and settled on either side of Damian and Harriet. By the time the story ended, the children began rubbing their sleepy eyes one by one. Harriet carried them to bed one at a time and patted their backs.
After confirming that all three had fallen deeply asleep, she turned around, but a low voice caught her by the ankle.