As If I've Never Loved (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 25

For decades, Fairmont House had not hosted a single ball.

That the first such ball was to be open—not only to Longfield but to the entire Mayberry populace—was astonishing enough to make one doubt their ears.

Servants, tasked with hastily preparing a grand ball utilizing the newly renovated grand garden and the entire central hall, scurried about like beans on a hot pan.

This was especially so because the wedding was less than a week away.

Naturally, excitement swept through the people—after all, Mrs. Poulm’s occasional dances were practically the only entertainment around these parts.

And now, a party without invitations was to be held at Fairmont House—the very estate everyone had always longed to see!

Under these circumstances, it was only natural that the joyful laments of women fretting over what to wear continued right up until the morning of the ball.

“Good heavens! Look at this extravagance! I’d believe it was stolen straight from heaven.”

Sure enough, even before the ball began, guests who had gathered in clusters throughout the earl’s estate were utterly absorbed in admiring the dazzling garden.

Their gaping mouths showed no sign of closing anytime soon.

“Oh! Don’t be so quick to marvel, madam—there’s even a waterfall further inside.”

“The old earl must truly be delighted about his grandson’s marriage. Who would’ve imagined a ball here of all places!”

The late earl had been such a rigid and obstinate man—entirely withdrawn from society—that people couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted him to host this event.

Neither his aloof grandson nor the Bailey family’s eldest daughter seemed the type to arrange such an affair.

Though no one ever discovered the truth, this ball existed solely because of a letter from Bianca Talbot.

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