“……It seems I have come here for nothing.”

Mr. Dalton immediately turned to leave the room. However, Mrs. Robert Fairfax, who had been extremely reluctant to move due to her frail health, could move as quick as lightning when it came to stopping her younger brother from escaping.

She swiftly caught her brother, who was young enough to be her son, and sat him down on the stool next to her with sisterly authority. Mr. Dalton had no choice but to sit down, fearing that his sister might collapse if he shook her off too roughly. Inwardly, he cursed William for being such a blabbermouth.

Mrs. Fairfax grabbed her brother’s jacket collar as if seizing him by the scruff of the neck.

“It must be that young lady, right? Ho ho, yes, Ian Dalton. I knew something was different about your expression from before. A man with a lady in his heart can’t help but show it. I could tell.”

“What could you tell? Let go of this. You’re wrinkling my clothes.”

“Tsk, don’t struggle. You’re tiring out your old sister. Come on, speak up. What kind of person is this Miss Pendleton? Hmm? William’s letter only mentioned that she’s a proper and kind lady. But she must be very beautiful and intelligent, right? How old is she? Twenty-one? Or twenty-two?”

“Don’t try to dig up personal information. She and I are just friends.”

“Just friends?”

“Yes.”

“Then, can I send her the letter you gave me the night before I got married right now?”

“What?”

“The letter you came to my room with on the eve of my wedding, crying and sniffling. ‘Even if you marry far away, Ian will always love his sister.’ Something like that.”

“Oh, come on, sister!”

“All crooked letters with every spelling wrong, and even those were all smudged with tears. Do you know how much I cried reading that? My eyes were so swollen I could barely open them when I entered the wedding hall. That letter is a precious memory, so I always keep it at the very top of my letter box. If I send that letter to young William right now, wouldn’t he be very touched and show it to Miss Pendleton as well?”

Ian’s face turned pale. Mrs. Fairfax was joking, but in Ian’s mind, she was the type of person who might actually do such a thing if pushed.

Mrs. Fairfax, seeing her brother’s stiff expression, became certain that her guess was correct. She inwardly rejoiced and gripped Ian’s jacket even tighter.

“Come on, little brother, tell me quickly. What kind of person is this Miss Pendleton? What kind of family is she from?”

Ian kept his mouth shut and stared at the floor. But when his sister threatened him again with the letter, he finally had to open his mouth.

“I can’t say. For her sake.”

“Why not?”

“I haven’t won her heart yet. And there’s not much chance I will.”

“Does she dislike you?”

“……”

“Hmm?”

“We’re just friends.”

“……Wow, you’re in unrequited love? Our Ian is in unrequited love. Isn’t that right?”

“Is it fun to make fun of me?”

“N-no, how could I be so cruel as to make fun of our poor Ian? As your sister, I wouldn’t do such a heartless thing.”

“It seems like you are making fun of me, though.”

“I’m telling you I’m not. You seem to have become overly sensitive. Well, I understand that the heart of a young man who hasn’t won the heart of the woman he loves is bound to be full of sorrow. Oh, our pitiful Ian. Our poor Ian!”

I shouldn’t have said anything after all.

Ian looked at his sister with a pitiful expression, while her eyes gleamed with joy as she teased him, and he regretted his confession just now. He should have just kept quiet and found his sister’s letter box himself to burn that embarrassing relic of his childhood.

Mrs. Fairfax teased Ian a bit more before stopping just as he was about to lose his patience and storm out. Then, in a suddenly serious voice, she muttered:

“Capture that young lady’s heart, Ian. Capture it and get married within this year. I’ll support you.”

“It’s not something that can be done just because you support me, sister.”

“Why not?”

Ian kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t explain this problem to his sister. Aside from not wanting to confess all the details of his love life, this issue was closely related to Miss Pendleton’s personal history.

It wasn’t proper as a person to disclose all the details about her birth, dowry issues, or her personality to his family members who weren’t even close to her.

Ian clearly told his sister this point. Fortunately, Mrs. Fairfax was someone who knew how to control her desire to satisfy her curiosity by prying into others’ personal affairs. However, that didn’t mean her desire to support her younger brother’s love life had diminished.

She sat for a moment with her arm around her brother’s shoulder, keeping him from escaping, and fell into thought. Then, after a while, she asked:

“Does she have any fondness for you?”

“As a person, yes.”

“But she won’t accept you, for some reason?”

Ian nodded.

“Then, stay as friends for a while. Don’t try to approach her hastily. Until the lady lets her guard down and creates an opening. You’ve seen your brother-in-law lying in wait for hours in the bushes when hunting together, right? That’s exactly what I’m telling you to do.”

“Sister, you’re comparing a lady to prey right now.”

“I know. It’s not a polite comparison. But you’re not going to shoot that lady, are you? Now, stay by her side as a friend for a while. And be nice to her appropriately. Always show kindness and appear as a comfortable and harmless person, that’s what I mean. And while doing that, be friendly with other ladies too.”

“What?”

“If you stick only to that lady, she’ll be wary. So be nice to other ladies too.”

“What are you trying to teach me now?”

“I’m teaching you how to win a woman’s heart. If you keep doing that, that lady will let her guard down in front of you and won’t close her heart even if you keep approaching. You need to create a relationship where you share even the most intimate thoughts with her. So that she becomes attached. Attachment is a woman’s greatest vulnerability.”

“……”

“When you think she’s become deeply attached to you, pretend to give your heart to another woman. Even ask for love advice. She’ll pretend not to care on the outside, but she’ll feel jealous and become acutely aware of her own feelings. In the end, that lady will end up lovesick because of you.”

“You have a talent for making long jokes. But they’re not funny.”

“I’m serious, Ian.”

“Then I’m sorry. I’m sorry that my sister is seriously advising me to play with the heart of the woman I love. I’ll be going now. Get some rest.”

Ian freed himself from his sister’s arm, stood up, and walked towards the door.

“Ian! Wait a moment!”

He left the room anyway. Left alone, Mrs. Robert Fairfax clicked her tongue as if she had expected her brother’s fastidious reaction. Then she looked back at the cards spread out on the table.

Still, well. This is completely a marriage-possible fortune.

She decided to believe in the love fortune the cards were telling and gleefully imagined the new mistress who would enter Whitefield.

* * *

In London, the person who was most surprised by Ian’s sudden disappearance was none other than Miss Lance. She had sent an invitation to Mr. Dalton, only to receive a polite rejection letter from William Fairfax. It stated that he had left for Whitefield and thus could not attend the dinner.

Miss Lance read the letter, which didn’t state the exact reason, several times. And to find out the precise reason, she invited Miss Janet Fairfax.

Miss Fairfax, who had always admired the consistently beautiful and cultured Miss Lance, was greatly encouraged and visited the Lance residence, having her hair done from the morning and wearing her prettiest outdoor clothes.

Miss Lance chatted with her about everyday matters and then casually asked why Mr. Dalton had returned to Whitefield. Miss Fairfax, while eating cookies, replied that the parish priest of Whitefield had passed away, so he went to appoint a new priest.

“Oh my, I see. Such a thing happened… Then after appointing the priest, what? Will he stay there?”

“I suppose so?”

“But he might miss life in London, don’t you think?”

“Hmm… I don’t think so? Ian said he hates London. That it’s not a place fit for people to live.”

Miss Janet observed Miss Lance’s expression.

“You don’t understand either, do you, Miss Lance? If London isn’t a place fit to live, where is? Anyway, now that Ian has gone down to Whitefield, he probably won’t come back for a few years.”

“Did Mr. Dalton say that? That he won’t return for a few years?”

“No. It’s just my opinion, Miss Lance.”

Miss Lance was rather relieved by this. The idea that he wouldn’t return to London was just the opinion of the inexperienced Janet Fairfax. Miss Lance didn’t trust Miss Fairfax’s powers of observation, so she lightly dismissed the thought.

Miss Lance believed that Ian would return to London soon after going back to Whitefield, and waited patiently. But even after several days, there was no news of his return.

Miss Lance started to feel uneasy. Perhaps while he was staying in Whitefield, he might forget about the beautiful lady Dora Lance he had seen in London and fall in love with a lady from his hometown. Isn’t it said that absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Gripped by anxiety, Miss Lance began to frequently invite Miss Fairfax to tea parties and gatherings with her friends. Although she flattered her by saying she wanted to become closer to the cute Miss Fairfax, in reality, it was to hear news from Whitefield through her.

However, Miss Fairfax couldn’t satisfy Miss Lance’s expectations. This was because she herself wasn’t very close to her in-law Ian Dalton.

Miss Fairfax was born late, and after her parents passed away, she grew up in the care of relatives and then in boarding school, so she had only recently met Ian. Although Miss Fairfax admired Ian, she was afraid of his brusque manner, and Ian showed no interest in Miss Fairfax.

Because of these circumstances, Miss Lance’s plan to remind him of herself by including her greetings in Miss Fairfax’s letters fell through.

She thought about writing directly to him in Whitefield herself, but in British high society, it was a well-known taboo for unmarried men and women who weren’t engaged to exchange letters. Of course, there were many couples who broke this taboo and freely exchanged letters, but Ian and herself hadn’t yet developed such a relationship.

Miss Lance was disappointed but didn’t give up. There was still William Fairfax, Miss Fairfax’s brother.