Miss Pendleton walked alongside Mr. Dalton, lost in thought for a moment. Then she heard someone calling her from behind.

“Miss Pendleton!”

Miss Pendleton and Mr. Dalton turned around to see a gleaming, ornate carriage stopped on the riding path. Soon, the carriage door opened and Miss Dora Lance slowly stepped out.

Miss Lance’s appearance was dazzling. A lovely veil attached to her splendid outing hat cast a faint shadow over her face, which had a charming peach-like complexion. Her striped dress perfectly accentuated her slender figure.

Miss Pendleton silently admired Miss Lance.

‘My goodness, Miss Lance looks especially beautiful today. She’s like Venus painted by Botticelli.’

Miss Lance trotted over to the two of them and curtsied slightly. Miss Pendleton and Mr. Dalton each greeted her with their appropriate forms of courtesy.

“My, isn’t the weather just lovely? I suppose you both were drawn out by it as well?”

Miss Lance seemed more excited than usual for some reason. The two nodded in agreement.

“Me too. On a day like this, I simply couldn’t bear to stay at home tinkering on the piano. Come, shall we walk together?”

“By all means, Miss Lance.”

Miss Pendleton readily welcomed her to join them.

The three walked side by side along the path, with Dora Lance between Mr. Dalton and Miss Pendleton. Miss Lance naturally took Mr. Dalton’s arm.

“The weather is so nice, Mr. Dalton. And it’s just before the peak of the social season, so there aren’t too many people about.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Soon it will be the height of the social season. All my friends still at resorts or country estates will be coming to London within a month. I’ve planned all sorts of things with them—balls, tea parties, picnics. It will be so much fun. Mr. Dalton, if you’ll be in London for the entire season, won’t you join us for a picnic? We’ll go boating and bring lots of delicious food to eat. What do you say?”

“Well…”

Miss Lance, who had been fixated on Mr. Dalton, turned to Miss Pendleton.

“You’ll come too, won’t you, Miss Pendleton?”

“Gladly, if I’m invited.”

“Miss Pendleton, you must come play with us all summer. We’ll swim, go boating, and eat lots of cookies. I’m sure many other gentlemen will join us as well.”

Miss Pendleton smiled quietly.

“You’ll come too, won’t you, Mr. Dalton? Won’t you? Won’t you?”

At Miss Lance’s urging, Mr. Dalton nodded.

“Alright. I’ll come.”

Miss Lance clapped her hands in delight.

Afterward, Miss Lance chattered on about her plans for the summer. Most of her words were directed at Mr. Dalton. At first, he seemed a bit bewildered, but soon he calmly listened to her and responded politely.

Thanks to this, Miss Pendleton had the opportunity to observe them.

Miss Lance was much more fervent and excited than her usual self. Miss Pendleton found this peculiar.

Miss Lance was a lady introduced through Beth, an acquaintance from occasional tea times at the viscount’s before Beth’s marriage. They had also built a friendship that was not deep but closer than strangers, exchanging small kindnesses like mending a torn dress hem at a ball or lending gloves.

Because of this familiarity, Miss Pendleton found Miss Lance’s current behavior even stranger.

Miss Lance had been treated like a star in society as soon as she made her debut. Every word and action of hers was met with praise. Not only men but even women were her fans.

Why wouldn’t they be? She was beautiful and intelligent. She was graceful and overflowing with talent. And she knew it well herself. So she tended to be aloof to others’ attention, and her pride bordered on arrogance.

In short, she was not the type of lady who would cling to a gentleman who showed no interest in her.

So what was this behavior now? Had there been some emotional exchange between Mr. Dalton and Miss Lance?

She knew they had dined together after their first meeting at the ball. Could they have shared enough of their hearts in those two encounters to become close to lovers? Or had there been some other meeting afterward?

If not, it didn’t make sense. The great Dora Lance, clinging to and chattering like a fool to a man who showed no interest in her? Miss Pendleton looked at Mr. Dalton with a puzzled heart.

Mr. Dalton was calmly responding to Miss Lance, who was hanging on to him. Anyone would see it as dignified and elegant. From afar, it might look like a handsome lover indulging his cute sweetheart.

But having observed Mr. Dalton for the past fortnight, Miss Pendleton could not conclude that he had fallen in love with Miss Lance.

He had grumbled about how mischievous his young nieces and nephews were, but his eyes held tenderness whenever he spoke of them. However, as he looked at Miss Lance now, there was not even a hint of such warmth in Mr. Dalton’s eyes.

A moment later, Miss Lance remembered her mother’s admonition to return early and hurriedly boarded her carriage that had been following them. She seemed reluctant to leave and once again secured promises from both of them to attend the picnic before vanishing swiftly towards home.

Mr. Dalton exhaled deeply and asked Miss Pendleton if her legs were tired. Miss Pendleton had just started to feel an ache in her calves as the walk had grown long.

Miss Pendleton answered honestly, and he immediately decided to turn back the way they had come.

Miss Pendleton looked at Mr. Dalton. He was walking slowly to match Miss Pendleton’s short strides, with one hand in his pocket. His expression was utterly devoid of emotion.

Mr. Dalton broke the silence hovering between them.

“Miss Lance is a lovely lady.”

“She is a lovely girl. Talented and intelligent too.”

“Beauty, talent, and intellect—a perfect lady indeed. It would be difficult for any gentleman to refuse her. It’s a pity I couldn’t dance with her last time.”

Though there was no heat in Mr. Dalton’s voice, his tone was serious. Miss Pendleton offered a few more words of praise about Miss Lance, and Mr. Dalton agreed with each one, adding his own thoughts on her merits.

It was the first time he had so earnestly praised someone.

“From what I’ve seen of Miss Pendleton’s friends so far, it seems William is the only inadequate one among your acquaintances.”

Miss Pendleton burst out laughing.

“Mr. Fairfax is the most precious among my acquaintances, Mr. Dalton.”

“The most precious, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Why on earth?”

His voice was genuinely puzzled.

“His character is more refined than any gentleman in London. I respect such a heart.”

“A soft and overly gentle character, you mean. He’s the fellow who would get down on all fours and imitate a goat if his niece Olivia asked him to. He’s at the forefront of spoiling his other nieces and nephews too. I can’t understand how that chap succeeded in business.”

Mr. Dalton used the sarcastic tone that naturally came out when speaking about someone he liked. Miss Pendleton suppressed a laugh.

“Don’t be so harsh on Mr. Fairfax. He’s the one who begged me almost pleadingly to introduce a bride candidate for Mr. Dalton.”

“…That’s kind of him, I suppose.”

“By the way, aren’t you looking forward to the picnic with Miss Lance? I should ask Miss Lance to invite Mr. Fairfax too. I’m sure he would enjoy boating.”

Mr. Dalton was a gentleman who never missed an opportunity for sarcasm.

“Good idea. Let’s use William as a coachman when we travel and as a boatman during the boat ride. He’s perfect for such uses, that fellow.”

Miss Pendleton was unsure whether to laugh or not, but ended up laughing anyway.

The conversation about the picnic continued all the way to the Pendleton house. This provided many opportunities to bring up Miss Lance as a topic. Mr. Dalton earnestly agreed with Miss Pendleton’s praises of Miss Lance. And through his own opinions, he added to the praise, building it up like a tower.

Miss Pendleton was pleased to hear the compliments directed at her friend. One of the things she liked most was hearing praise for her friends. Just as Mr. Dalton had discerned.

When they arrived in front of Miss Pendleton’s house, Mr. Dalton politely declined her invitation to come in for tea.

“Thank you, but I have a letter waiting for me, so I must be going.”

“Is it urgent? You should hurry then.”

“Well then.”

Mr. Dalton took off his hat and bowed, then turned to leave, but immediately turned back to Miss Pendleton.

“By any chance, has William Fairfax ever courted you?”

“Pardon?”

Miss Pendleton was aghast. Mr. Dalton waited seriously for her answer.

“Haven’t you heard about Miss Hyde and Mr. Fairfax?”

“I have.”

“And you remember that Miss Hyde is doing typing practice at our house?”

“Yes.”

“Yet you ask such a question! It’s surprising! If such a thing had happened, how could I possibly… no, even imagining such a thing is inappropriate. Are you trying to ruin my friendship with Mr. Fairfax?”

As Miss Pendleton showed signs of agitation, Mr. Dalton seemed rather pleased and smiled.

“A clear stance indeed. That’s a relief. Well then.”