Chapter 18
“Mo…
ther.”
“……
Damian.”
With a pitying expression, Harriet turned her back and gently stroked Damian’s black hair.
When Rowena was around, he was an ordinary child who tried to monopolize his mother, but when Rowena was gone, he was a mature, grown-up child.
He was perceptive and thoughtful, and although he was the same age as the twins, he seemed more like their older brother. That was why Harriet had never seen him make such a face before.
“Mother……”
His plaintive voice was moist with tears. Seeing the small fingers clutching the pillow as though it were the hem of someone’s clothes, Harriet let out a sorrowful sigh inwardly.
Along with her pity, she found herself wondering about Damian’s biological father. At a glance, he must have been an exceptionally handsome man. If he had been around, this child would not have been so lonely.
“Please open the door!”
As her thoughts grew deeper, an urgent knocking rang out. Harriet, who had been nodding off without realizing it, opened her eyes wide. When she opened the front door, a familiar man stood there instead of the Rowena she had been waiting for.
“Philip… Doctor?”
“Do you happen to know Rebecca’s address?”
“Why do you ask all of a sudden…….”
His face, usually calm and composed, looked anxious. Wiping the cold sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, Philip spoke urgently.
“A man came looking for me at the clinic a little while ago. I think he may have been looking for Rebecca. I couldn’t say anything for the past few days because I was afraid I might be followed.”
“What did you say?”
Harriet’s eyes widened.
“What on earth was it about? What kind of relationship does he have with Rebecca…….”
“I don’t know. He said her real name might be… Rowena Philoneil…….”
Harriet, who had been listening blankly to Philip, cut him off halfway through his sentence at a sudden thought.
“Could he be Damian’s biological father?”
“That’s impossible. And it must not be.”
“What do you mean?”
“There wasn’t a single thing about him that resembled Damian. And……”
After briefly looking around, Philip made sure no one was nearby before adding in a hushed voice,
“He was that ‘Gilitus.’”
“What did you say……?”
Harriet covered her mouth with both hands, unable to believe her ears.
Gilitus.
It was a name that had begun to rise to prominence in recent years. On the surface, he operated a legal gambling house, but behind the scenes, he was known as a businessman who had expanded his influence in the underworld through loan-sharking at murderous interest rates and dealing in liquor, an item prohibited from being imported into the country.
“I stopped by on my way home because I heard Rebecca and Harriet worked at the same place. Please tell her to be careful. Also, tell her that if she needs medical attention in the future, she should contact me and I’ll come to her personally.”
“Yes. Thank you so much, Doctor.”
Could she have incurred an enormous debt?
Perhaps that was why she had been unable to remarry. Harriet instinctively came to the realization and expressed her gratitude repeatedly. Once Philip left, the drowsiness that had built up over the tremendous shock vanished completely. With a confused expression, Harriet sat down in the kitchen chair once more.
Gilitus. Rowena Philoneil.
The confusing words filled her mind.
If that man was not Damian’s biological father, perhaps he was a debt collector.
Naturally, the worst possible scenario came to mind. A woman whose husband had died and who was pregnant with his child. If she had somehow fallen into debt because of a life of poverty and drifted all the way here…… Everything, even the name change, made sense if that were the case.
If anything happened to Rebecca and Damian…… Just imagining it made her heart pound.
Then there came another knock at the door. It was far too late at night for a visitor.
It might be Gilitus. Her husband was away in a foreign country for his work as a miner, and there were three children in the house whom she had to protect.
Harriet rose carefully, trying not to make a sound, rummaged through the kitchen shelf, and grabbed a knife.
Creak, creak. Harriet walked slowly across the wooden floor, took a deep breath, and grasped the doorknob. Then she flung open the door.
* * *
Rowena blinked at the unexpected news.
“She disappeared? She didn’t say anything?”
“Yes. Can’t you think of anywhere Rebecca might have gone?”
“Well…… We weren’t that close.”
“She suddenly asked for an advance on next month’s wages, then disappeared without a trace. From what I heard…….”
The colleague lowered her voice.
“I heard she had a man she was living with. She must have left this place with him. Maybe she hit the jackpot at the gambling house, too.”
“That…….”
Rebecca had shown an irresponsible attitude toward work, but Rowena had never imagined she would do something like that. Seeing that Rowena seemed to know nothing, her colleague shrugged and finished speaking.
“They say they called the police, but it’ll probably fizzle out soon enough. I asked just in case. The owner’s been completely taken advantage of.”
“I hope it’s nothing serious.”
“Exactly. Well then, get home safely.”
The colleague smiled and raised a hand.
The coachman driving several people in a freight wagon pulled on the reins.
“Take care on your way home.”
Rowena returned the greeting to the people climbing down from the wagon, then got off in front of Harriet’s house not long afterward.
“Mother!”
Recognizing Rowena with his half-lidded eyes, Damian ran into her arms. Rowena hugged him tightly and asked gently,
“Were you a good boy? Did you listen to Aunt Harriet and not fight with Lawrence and Rosalind?”
“Yes! Of course. Who do you think I am?”
Damian shrugged and looked at Harriet as though seeking her agreement. Harriet observed Rowena for a moment before belatedly nodding.
“Of course. Absolutely. I always say this, but Damian plays so well with my twins that he actually makes things easier for me.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Rowena smiled as though relieved and lifted Damian into her arms.
It seemed like only yesterday that she could carry him effortlessly with one arm, but now her son had grown so much that she needed both arms to hold him. The bigger Damian grew, the more pride—and worry—she felt. They could not live forever in a place where public safety was so unstable.
“…
Rebecca.”
Rowena, who had been pressing her lips to Damian’s cheek with a pensive look in her eyes, turned to Harriet.
“Yes?”
“Damian has grown so much now… Isn’t that house too cramped for the two of you? It’s old, too, and dangerous.”
“That… is true.”
It was a question that seemed to read her mind. When Rowena nodded with a startled expression, Harriet cautiously continued,
“Actually, someone I know is offering a house for rent in this neighborhood at a good price.”
“For rent?”
Intrigued, Rowena asked,
“What kind of terms?”
“The rent is about half what you’re paying now.”
“Oh my goodness.”
It was wonderful news, completely beyond anything she had expected. This neighborhood was safer and filled with children, unlike Rowena’s neighborhood, where drunkards, bar girls, and gamblers ran rampant.
“Are you interested?”
“Of course I am. But why are they renting it out on such favorable terms?”
“Ah… They’re going to be away for a while. They said it would probably be for about a year, and they didn’t want to leave the house empty, so they’re offering it cheaply. Only to someone recommended by an acquaintance.”
“I see…….”
“If you’re interested, shall I put you in touch?”
“Yes… Thank you so much, Harriet.”
With Harriet’s recommendation, Rowena knew she could trust the arrangement without asking any further questions. Feeling as if one heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders, she thanked Harriet again and again.
Behind her, a pair of eyes watched from a distance. The shadowy figure that met Harriet’s gaze quietly disappeared.
When she heard that they would soon be moving, Damian jumped up and down with delight.
“Then can I play with Lawrence and Rosalind every day? And see Aunt Harriet, too?”
“You’ve seen them every day lately, and you still miss them that much?”
“Yes! Then I won’t be lonely.”
His unexpected answer struck her in the chest.
Damian was still young, yet he never threw tantrums and was a good son. The thought that she had made him lonely pained her.
“Mother?”
Damian raised his head with a puzzled expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, nothing. Do you want to hold my hand tightly? There are a lot of people.”
“Okay!”
It was the weekend, and they had come out to shop together for the first time in a while.
The market was packed with people who had come to buy flowers and fruit, as well as vendors displaying their wares on stalls.
As Rowena filled her basket amid the bustling crowd, Damian suddenly tugged at her.
“Mother! Look over there!”
“Hm?”
“There’s the doctor!”
Rowena blinked as she looked in the direction Damian was pointing.
“You’re right.”
“Doctor!”
At the sight of a familiar face, Damian let go of Rowena’s hand and ran toward Philip. Realizing a moment too late that he had moved away, Rowena hurried after him.
“Damian!”
“Mother……”
When she pushed through the crowd and found Damian, he had a dejected look on his face. Philip was nowhere to be seen.
“What’s wrong?”
“The doctor just walked past me. He definitely saw my face…….”
Damian muttered, his shoulders drooping.
“He probably didn’t recognize you because it was only for a moment. He may have been busy, too.”
Rowena gently consoled her son. Perhaps he simply disliked being seen talking side by side with a woman who had a child.
There had been many people who showed her kindness only to gradually change their minds. Kindnesses she had never wanted, nor begged them to give.
Swallowing a bitter smile, Rowena subtly changed the subject.
“Shall I buy you some candy today?”
“Really? You never usually buy me any. You say it’ll rot my teeth.”
“As a reward for behaving so well at Aunt Harriet’s.”
“Mother, you’re the best!”
Seeing Damian’s eyes sparkle as though he had never been dejected, Rowena smiled.
“Yay!”
Rowena gently stroked her cheerful son’s cheek once before taking his small hand. They were just heading back toward the shop when she collided with a boy passing beside them.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
It lasted only a brief moment, yet she felt something strange. As Rowena stood still, unsettled by the odd sensation, Damian tugged at her.
“Mother? What are you doing?”
“Ah. No, it’s nothing.”
Rowena smiled faintly and began walking again.