Mrs. Lance chuckled.

“You don’t know yet. Many couples live like that.”

“That’s nonsense. It’s truly disgusting. That can’t be called a normal married relationship.”

“Yes, it’s disgusting. And it’s not normal. So if you don’t want to end up like that……”

But Miss Lance didn’t even hear her mother’s words.

“Mother, isn’t it too horrible? No matter how much she lives under her mother’s name instead of her father’s, she’s still an earl’s daughter. And to think she has to entrust herself to such an uncultured, pot-bellied old man from America. What in the world is going on with British society?”

“Hmm, it is horrible. Truly horrible. That’s why you need to keep your wits about you and make sure you hold onto Mr. Dalton. Time is never on a woman’s side, you know. Miss Pendleton didn’t realize that, and look at her still unable to shed the ‘Miss’ from her name. It’s fortunate for her that Mr. Price has appeared even now.”

Miss Lance, who had been trembling with sympathy for Miss Pendleton, opened her eyes wide at her mother’s words.

“Mother, do you think Miss Pendleton should accept Mr. Price’s courtship?”

“Of course. What other clever option does Miss Pendleton have besides catching Mr. Price?”

Miss Lance retorted with disgust.

“Is that Miss Pendleton’s only path? If that’s true, Miss Pendleton would be better off dead!”

“Child, don’t talk such nonsense. Do you know how rich Mr. Price is? If she becomes his wife, she can live lavishly in New York society as Mrs. Price. That’s better than dying, and far, far better than living as an old maid like she is now. If she misses this chance, Miss Pendleton will literally end up on the streets. That’s the kind of situation where one might think it’s better to die.”

But even though Mrs. Lance said this, it couldn’t possibly resonate with Miss Lance, who had lived her whole life without knowing even the first letter of poverty. She continued to show endless contempt and denial towards her mother’s views, grating on Mrs. Lance’s nerves.

Finally, frustrated by her daughter who blocked her ears to her teachings and kept babbling her own thoughts, Mrs. Lance gave her cute daughter Miss Lance a flick on the forehead to shut her mouth.

But that only served to fan the flames of resentment towards her mother. And proportionally, Miss Lance’s sympathy for Miss Pendleton grew even stronger in her heart. Miss Lance desperately wanted to confide her feelings to someone and seek empathy.

However, her friends around her had already been brainwashed by their own mothers to believe that Miss Pendleton should rightfully accept Mr. Price’s proposal. She felt quite displeased when her friends, who generally agreed with her words, raised objections to her opinion on this matter.

She needed someone who would sympathize with her views. She thought for a moment, and soon decided to visit Miss Fairfax, who would always agree with her opinions unconditionally.

Under the pretext of taking a walk, she put on a pretty outdoor dress, took a parasol, and headed to Fairfax Street. As it happened, Miss Janet was in the middle of receiving piano instruction from her teacher, and Mr. Fairfax was working in his study, so he ended up greeting Miss Lance in the reception room.

The two exchanged brief greetings and recent news while drinking tea. Soon, Miss Lance poured out the thoughts in her heart to him.

“Everyone seems to think Miss Pendleton should accept Mr. Price’s courtship. It’s such an unfair situation for Miss Pendleton. Don’t you think so?”

Mr. Fairfax sighed. He too felt bitter about that topic.

“Indeed, Miss Lance. Miss Pendleton is in a very difficult situation. It’s an absurd courtship, but because he’s her uncle’s friend and someone with much more authority than her, it’s not easy for her to firmly refuse.”

“And he’s so much older too! A whole twenty-four years!”

“Yes. The age difference, that’s really the main problem. This is a humiliating situation for Miss Pendleton.”

Miss Lance sighed. Having someone agree with her words made her feel like a weight had been lifted. She looked at Mr. Fairfax, who was agreeing with her story, with affectionate eyes and chattered in an elevated voice.

“If Miss Pendleton’s circumstances were just a little better, she wouldn’t have to suffer such humiliation. It’s truly unfortunate. Is it really so difficult for Mr. Pendleton to show a little mercy to his niece?”

“Well…”

“Considering how Miss Pendleton has cared for the lady until now, he should be able to provide at least a dowry, don’t you think?”

“That’s a family matter, so I can’t really comment.”

“But it’s so heartless. If Miss Pendleton had at least 5,000 pounds to her name, she could marry a young man her own age. Of course, it would be a groom from the nouveau riche or middle-class professionals, but that would still be better than Mr. Price.”

Mr. Fairfax thought for a moment before speaking.

“It’s true that Miss Pendleton is at a disadvantage because she has no dowry. But I don’t think that’s the biggest problem. What’s sad is that people are judging her unfairly based on prejudices. People don’t really know Miss Pendleton.”

But Miss Lance was so excited about this issue that she was already hearing the other person’s words in her own way.

“Yes, that’s what I think too. It’s unfair that Miss Pendleton is in this situation just because she has no money and is disliked by the head of the family. She’s originally a flawless lady of an earl’s family and originally had a large dowry to return to, but she’s being pointed at just because of lineage issues. If Miss Pendleton’s mother had married a proper nobleman, this would never have happened. It’s not like Miss Pendleton wanted to be born to such parents…”

Mr. Fairfax interrupted her with a gentle voice.

“Miss Lance, I think we’re delving too deeply into Miss Pendleton’s personal matters.”

Miss Lance stopped talking. And soon her face reddened with embarrassment.

“I hope you understand that I wasn’t trying to speak ill of Miss Pendleton.”

Mr. Fairfax smiled gently and spoke in a soothing manner.

“Of course. I know Miss Lance has good intentions towards Miss Pendleton. But we should stop talking about Miss Pendleton now. While Miss Pendleton is in a disadvantageous situation, she’s still capable of creating a good life for herself. The entire society doesn’t need to gossip under the guise of concern.”

Mr. Fairfax’s tone was gentle but strict. Miss Lance felt hurt in her pride when she realized her words were evaluated as ‘gossip’, and she felt equally embarrassed. If Mr. Fairfax was speaking to her like this, she must have really made a fool of herself just now.

She thought Mr. Fairfax was a wise gentleman, so she quickly admitted that her behavior was wrong and decided not to speak rashly in front of him anymore.

But in her heart, apart from the embarrassment, she was pragmatically accepting this situation. Her intention was to be careful not to be described negatively in the letters Mr. Fairfax sent to Mr. Dalton.

Of course, Mr. Fairfax did not describe her ‘gossip’ in the letters he sent to Mr. Dalton. Not only was Mr. Fairfax not the type to speak ill of ladies, but Miss Lance was also quite ignorant about the way men write letters to other men.

Letters exchanged between men were often replaced by the excellent invention called the telegraph, and if a situation arose where they had to write a letter, they tended to write as concisely as possible, valuing each word as if there was a fee attached to each letter.

There was no room in Mr. Fairfax’s extremely concise letter to Mr. Dalton to include Miss Lance’s foolishness.

Then what kind of letter would Mr. Fairfax send to Mr. Dalton? It was mainly a brief report on the recent news of himself, his younger sister Janet, and Miss Pendleton, who could be considered Mr. Dalton’s only acquaintance in London.

This was because Mr. Dalton had asked Mr. Fairfax to let him know about Miss Pendleton’s recent news, even if briefly, right after he left London. He lightly dismissed it as Ian having become quite close with Miss Pendleton, and regularly sent stories about Miss Pendleton to Whitefield.

However, Mr. Fairfax couldn’t accurately tell about Miss Pendleton’s recent situation. The courtship of an old gentleman that was tiring her mind and body. This was not only a very personal matter but also a humiliating thing to be known.

Mr. Fairfax, thinking of Miss Pendleton’s honor, simply wrote that her uncle’s friend had come to London and was frequently interacting with her, and sealed the letter. Then he called the butler to have the letter mailed.

Just then, the butler brought him a letter. It was from his sister-in-law at Dunville Park.

He gave his letter to the butler and received and read his sister-in-law’s letter.

−−−−−−−−

Young Master. Are you well? I suppose Janet is still going crazy with excitement over London? Well, this question is probably unnecessary. There’s no gentleman who can take care of himself as well as you, William, and there’s probably no young lady who enjoys London life as much as Janet.

The reason I’m writing isn’t to send trivial greetings. It’s to confront you.

Young Master, how could you do this to me? You didn’t tell me that a suitable match had appeared for our Ian (not little Ian, but the troublemaker who’s of marriageable age but stuck on the estate picking his ears)? You know that I prioritize Ian’s marriage even over my health issues, even over my own children’s future!

Ah, perhaps I was the one who was oblivious. I should have realized earlier that the lady who frequently appears in your letters, Miss Laura Pendleton, was the very protagonist.

Since Ian seems to have no intention of speaking up himself, you’ll have to answer, William. How old is that lady? What about her family relations? How tall is she? There aren’t any consumptives or harelips among her immediate family, are there?

You must write down everything you know. Because you have gladly taken on the role of London branch chief of the ‘Ian Dalton Marriage Committee’ for my sake.

Well, I’ll be waiting for your reply.

Feeling somewhat betrayed, but

Still your friend,

Mrs. Robert Margaret Fairfax.

−−−−−−−−

Mr. Fairfax felt his brain freeze in shock. What was this about? Someone suitable to be Ian’s match had appeared? And the protagonist was Miss Pendleton? Did I read this correctly?

He put down the letter and pondered for a moment about what he had missed in Ian Dalton’s London life. And soon, he smacked his forehead.

‘What a fool! How did I not notice until now! Why else would Ian Dalton, who detests socializing, have been visiting the Pendleton household so frequently!’

He immediately called the butler and retrieved the letter he had asked to be sent. Then he tore that letter to shreds and pulled out a new sheet of paper to start writing a new letter. It was about the difficulties Miss Pendleton had been experiencing recently.

He wrote in detail but without exaggeration. If Ian Dalton was clearly in love, the situation would be enough to make his blood boil even without exaggeration.

Mr. Fairfax instructed for the letter to be sent by express mail, and thanks to that, the letter arrived in Whitefield, Yorkshire in less than two days.

Ian, wondering what could have necessitated sending a letter by express, opened the envelope and looked at the letter.

And as he read the letter, his face hardened. As soon as he finished reading the letter, he put it down on the desk. And then he fell into silence for a moment without saying anything.

His eyes were glaring at each and every letter in the letter.