An Incomplete Divorce - Chapter 42

Edgar’s ship Catalina safely arrived at Le Mont harbor.

It was 6 AM on the 16th.

They waited for the train in the Le Mont station waiting room, having sandwiches and coffee for breakfast.

The train that arrived on time at 7 AM reached Leiden Central Station at 4 PM.

Everything went smoothly, as if sailing with a favorable wind.

“Go take care of your business and come to the hotel.”

Gerald said to Anne as he opened the carriage door.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Anne bowed deeply twice to express her gratitude and hurriedly got into the carriage.

Although there was plenty of time, Anne was in a hurry. The carriage began to roll towards the Patek’s main store.

Edgar ordered departure after confirming that the maid’s carriage had disappeared.

What could possibly go wrong? Unless something unexpected happened, the maid who had taken Johan’s birthday gift would return.

It was a simple task.

No matter how simple a task may seem on the surface, there were always variables lurking in everything.

“Um, wait a moment. Why are we turning back?”

It was about ten minutes after the carriage started moving. Anne, who had been lost in thought looking at the city scenery outside the window, cried out in surprise.

According to Gerald, the Patek’s main store was straight ahead along the main road. Suddenly, the carriage changed direction.

“The road ahead is blocked. They’re working on the tram tracks. Are you a tourist? Where are you from?”

Flustered, Anne asked a question instead of answering.

“How much longer will it take if we go this way?”

“It’s just a ten-minute detour, so don’t worry too much.”

At the coachman’s explanation, Anne took out her pocket watch. 4:20 PM. It’s still okay.

Anne calmed herself and turned back to the window. But she had to call the coachman again.

“W-what’s going on?”

The carriage gradually slowed down and eventually came to a stop.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake.”

The coachman clicked his tongue and made a spitting sound. He seemed to be talking to someone, muttering.

The side window to the coachman’s seat suddenly opened.

“They say Her Majesty the Queen will be passing through the road ahead, so it’s blocked. What do you want to do, wait or get out and run?”

The coachman, who had heard the situation from Gerald, asked with a troubled expression.

Anne opened the lid of the pocket watch she was holding tightly in her hand. 4:45 PM.

“What would you do?”

“Me? I’d run like hell.”

Anne jumped out of the carriage and started running.

The crowd that had come out to see Her Majesty the Queen was like a swarm of clouds.

The bag she was carrying kept bumping into passersby holding Rondos national flags.

Anne hugged the bag with its worn-out handle tightly to her chest and ran, looking straight ahead.

Then she bumped shoulders with someone. Her body, running at full speed, lost balance and fell backward.

“Oh my, are you okay?”

Tears welled up in her eyes. As Anne blinked her whitened vision, the other person extended a hand.

Anne took the hand reflexively and stood up unsteadily, slowly raising her head.

That someone shouted.

“Oh, Anne? Is that you, Anne?”

It was a maid from Greathil. Anne’s eyes widened.

It was that very girl who had incited the maids under Diane Brook and treated the young lady cruelly.

But even more devastating was the dark blue envelope in the maid’s hand.

The elaborate gold lettering embossed in the center of the paper bag glittered in the setting sunlight.

Patek.

At that moment, Anne felt as if her heart had stopped.

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Edgar was sitting in a single velvet sofa, reviewing documents about the International Bank with Gerald.

A glass of whiskey with ice was placed on the side table next to the sofa.

Edgar put down the documents he had been skimming, stretched out his body as if yawning, and leaned back into the backrest, reaching out to pick up the glass.

As he swallowed the cold liquor, he slowly surveyed the interior of the room with a languid gaze.

The room at the Leopold Hotel, where he ostentatiously stayed whenever visiting Leiden, was as uncluttered as Johan’s personality.

Unlike the antique Lancaster Hotel, it was modern to the point of being cold.

“That painting. Not bad.”

At Edgar’s words, Gerald, who had been buried in the report, turned his head. Looking at the large frame hanging on the white wall at the foot of the bed, Gerald clicked his tongue.

It was a painting with splashes of various colors, seemingly without any form or consistent method, just garish in color.

Or rather, can such a thing even be called a painting? Gerald shook his head and said,

“It’s not even as good as our Poppy walking around with paint on her paws. Shall I show you sometime?”

Edgar chuckled. Poppy was the dog Gerald cherished second only to his wife.

Edgar’s gaze, which had been directed at the painting, swept half a circle along the wall to the large wall clock.

He narrowed his eyes at the reflection of the glass cover catching the sunset light.

5:45 PM. It was more than enough time for the maid to have returned.

She might be meeting a friend since it’s been a while since she’s been home. Thinking that way, it was within an understandable range.

As he was thinking this and putting down his glass to look back at the documents, the room door opened urgently without a knock.

It was Olivia’s maid.

The maid was on the verge of tears.

“Why didn’t you explain the situation and ask for it back?”

After hearing the whole story, Gerald asked with a look of incomprehension.

“She’s not that kind of person. She’d make the situation bigger if anything. She’d probably even tip off the newspapers. She said the money they give is quite substantial.”

Even with a face that looked like she might cry, there was indignation in her voice when speaking about the maid.

“Then… isn’t it all over?”

“No, no. It might not be over yet.”

The maid vehemently shook her head, denying Gerald’s words.

‘W-what’s that?’
‘Oh, this. The master’s watch that was sent for repair. And this, I think it’s a birthday gift for the master. I heard there was something to be delivered to Greathil, so I picked it up while I was there.’

Anne recalled her conversation with the maid, Matilda.

“She said she didn’t know who sent the gift. So maybe still…”

The maid’s voice, trailing off at the end, began to tremble.

Edgar nodded lightly.

“W-what should we do now? The young lady will be humiliated again… It’s all my fault. I should have told you then… Because of me.”

The maid’s shoulders finally began to shake.

“Should I sneak in secretly? …It’s an item the young lady ordered. Would that still be considered theft?”

Tears fell drop by drop onto the back of the maid’s hands, which were tightly clasped together.

Edgar’s gaze, moving away from the maid, landed on the painting that was said to be trendy these days. He felt a bit irritated.

In a moment, Olivia was about to become a shameless woman who sends a gift along with a card whispering love on the birthday of her ex-husband, who was even engaged.

Damn Patek.

Of course, it was an item ordered before the divorce, but that didn’t matter to the connoisseurs.

Such truths were not very important facts to the social circles or the press.

It would be a big blow to Edgar, who had created the image of the first woman to break the forbidden sanctuary.

Edgar slowly turned his head. The sun was setting beyond the large window.

A deep purple twilight was spreading over the splendid cityscape.

Edgar’s gaze, after closing and opening his eyes briefly, slid to the wall clock.

6:15 PM. It was just about the time the banquet would have started.

Edgar, who had been sitting motionless, slowly rose.

“Gerald.”

“Yes, young master.”

As he approached the wagon where liquor was displayed, Edgar said,

“Prepare the carriage.”

“Where to. Surely not… Young master? You’re not, are you?”

Edgar silently raised the corner of his lips. Gerald inhaled sharply, aghast.

“You’re not really planning to go there, are you?”

“Well…”

Edgar, stopping in front of the wagon, smiled faintly as he gazed at the displayed bottles. Although he absolutely hated troublesome things.

“It’s been a while. I suddenly feel like seeing them.”

It was a very gentle tone. Almost as if he was talking about a long-missed lover.

“You can’t, young master!”

Ignoring Gerald’s serious tone, Edgar casually said as he reached out with his right hand, which was stuck in his pants pocket, and picked up a bottle of champagne,

“Come on. They wouldn’t hit me, would they?”

Looking down at the silver label with a smooth sheen, Edgar smiled crookedly.

“Put this in a box. It would be nice if you could tie a pretty ribbon too.”

It was a gift he had chosen with some care, despite barging into a birthday party.

A moment later, the carriage departed, carrying Edgar in full dress.

He’s crazy. You’ve gone mad. Of all places to go…

Gerald watched the rear of the carriage heading towards Greathil with a dumbfounded face.

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Brilliant lights illuminated the grand garden of Greathil. It had been a year since Duke Leopold’s birthday celebration last year.

Guests began arriving from early evening.

The servants stacked the gift boxes received from the guests’ attendants in front of the fireplace.

After confirming the gifts piling up in a triangular shape, the head butler headed to the banquet hall.

He inspected the tables set for the 12-course meal, issuing correction orders if there were any omissions, and these orders were transmitted to the lower floor.

The kitchen, where all orders converged, was busy without a moment’s rest.

At a time when even one person was sorely missed, Matilda, who had gone on an errand, was late in returning.

“Damn that girl. She always manages to slip away at times like this.”

While the maids were cursing and sweating profusely, Matilda was in front of the Leopold Hotel.

She had followed Anne. Just in case that stupid duchess had come along too.

Anne had firmly denied it, but how could she trust those words? So, to confirm with her own eyes, she had hurriedly caught a carriage and followed.

Well, of course.

How much could a maid’s salary be worth? Matilda sneered as she watched Anne running into the main entrance of the Leopold Hotel.

That illegitimate child must have come along too, no doubt about it.

Olivia Blanchet, appearing in Leiden on her ex-husband’s birthday. Is it a provocation against Princess Krantz, or lingering attachment to her ex-husband?

It was a story worth quite a bit of money just to imagine.

Wondering how much to ask for, Matilda, excited at the thought of negotiating with the newspaper, suddenly startled and ran to the carriage stop.

She had completely forgotten that she had come out on an errand.

Only now did she remember the butler’s earnest request to return on time, saying that the master would be wearing this watch.