Soon, the two approached their group arm in arm. The ladies all stood up and curtsied. Ian Dalton, who had taken off his hat and bowed politely, immediately spotted Miss Pendleton. He stared at Miss Pendleton intently for a moment. But he quickly averted his gaze and gave a slight nod.

“It’s been a while, Miss Pendleton.”

Miss Pendleton smiled slightly. And she quickly introduced Miss Jensen to him.

“This is Miss Joan Jensen. She is engaged to my cousin Charles Pendleton. She is the goddaughter of my uncle’s friend, Mr. Price.”

He looked at Miss Jensen for a moment at the mention of ‘Price’. And he looked at Miss Pendleton with an incomprehensible expression. But that expression passed so quickly that Miss Pendleton didn’t notice.

Sir Dalton greeted Miss Jensen gruffly and looked over Miss Lance and her friends.

“I’ve been looking for you ladies. May I join you?”

The ladies all agreed. Sir Dalton joined the ladies’ seats.

After he joined, the center of conversation was Miss Lance and Sir Dalton. The atmosphere was such that Miss Lance’s three friends were directing the conversation to the two of them.

Sir Dalton occasionally turned his attention to Miss Lance’s three friends, Miss Pendleton, and Miss Jensen, but mainly conversed with Miss Lance. It was not deliberately excluding the other ladies, but rather not going against the flow.

That was fortunate for Miss Pendleton as well. She was quite flustered as soon as she encountered Ian Dalton. She had expected to meet him again someday, but hadn’t anticipated it would be so sudden.

She had worried that his feelings might remain the same when they met again. However, Sir Dalton’s current behavior immediately dispelled her concerns. He showed little interest in her.

But he didn’t seem to be deliberately ignoring her either. He didn’t seem angry or holding back his emotions towards her. He appeared quite at ease.

‘Why? He seemed about to propose in the forest…’

At first she suspected he might be acting due to the incident in the forest last time, but Miss Pendleton soon became ashamed of that suspicion. His behavior was natural. The only difference from before was that he now showed his ease towards Miss Lance instead of her.

Miss Pendleton began to think that either he had a personality without resentment, or that she had misread Ian’s emotions in the forest. At first she was certain of the former, but gradually the latter possibility began to carry more weight.

Strictly speaking, he had not properly expressed his feelings out loud. She had only guessed based on non-verbal expressions like his eyes, facial expressions, and voice. Perhaps he had been seeking her out so persistently after the picnic to clear up her misunderstanding?

Thinking that way, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed deep in her heart. She began to focus on Miss Jensen who was speaking to her, in order to hide her own awkwardness.

As a result, Miss Pendleton did not notice Ian Dalton’s gaze occasionally lingering on her face.

From the moment he realized he was in the same space as Miss Pendleton, Ian was using all his self-control to suppress the interest that kept trying to focus on her. But no matter how hard he tried, his gaze kept drifting towards Miss Pendleton without him realizing.

It had been a while. She still looked exactly as he remembered. Golden blonde hair neatly arranged in a hairnet. Deep gray eyes with a gentle gaze. Long eyelashes. A small, straight nose. But he noticed immediately. That her complexion had become even paler than before and she had lost weight, making her jawline more pronounced. As soon as he noticed that, he felt his insides burning and found it unbearably distressing.

But none of them noticed Sir Dalton’s feelings.

That the only reason he was sitting here was because of Miss Pendleton. That he was now so absorbed in Miss Pendleton’s every move that he occasionally missed the flow of the ladies’ conversation. That he was restraining himself to the point that all his muscles ached in order not to reveal his emotions towards Miss Pendleton.

They were only admiring the fine figure of Sir Dalton sitting next to Miss Lance, and marveling at how well-matched the two of them were.

“Sir Dalton!”

Miss Lance called out to him as he was entranced by Miss Pendleton’s profile.

“Ah, yes. Miss Lance.”

Miss Lance asked coquettishly.

“Guess which university each of us bet on.”

He recovered his polite demeanor and responded gently to Miss Lance.

“Well, Miss Wilkes and Miss Orson must have bet on Oxford. Since their brothers graduated from Oxford. But I have no idea about Miss Donovan and Miss Lance.”

“Miss Donovan bet on Oxford too. All of Miss Donovan’s maternal relatives are Oxford graduates.”

“Hmm, then Miss Lance is my only hope. Which did you bet on, Miss Lance?”

“Guess!”

“I’ll bet that you bet on Cambridge.”

“Why?”

“If everyone bet on Oxford, there would be no wager. Also…”

“Also?”

“Because I hope at least one of the ladies will be on my side. It would be an honor if Miss Lance became my ally.”

At Sir Dalton’s courteous reply, Miss Lance hid her reddened face behind her fan.

Listening to their conversation, Miss Pendleton felt her throat burning. She excused herself saying she would go get a drink for a moment, and left her seat.

Behind the VIP seats, there was a buffet tent prepared with various refreshments. She drank a cold fruit beverage there. But her troubled feelings did not improve at all.

Returning quickly would be proper etiquette, but somehow she didn’t want to. She began walking towards the sparsely populated lawn, turning her back on the seats facing the Thames. She felt strange somehow. An unpleasant feeling for no apparent reason. Was it because she had attended a social gathering after so long. Or…

The image of Miss Lance and Sir Dalton sitting side by side appeared again in her mind. She bit her lip. Her mood sank gloomily. Why. In fact, she knew the answer.

On the day he left London, she had acknowledged her feelings for him. But she had tightly closed off those emotions, thinking they could never be reached. So what was this feeling now.

She suddenly became aware that she was fingering the pearl pendant around her neck. It was the answer to her question. That her heart was wavering. That her emotions towards him were trying to forcibly reopen the locked door.

Miss Pendleton steadied her heart, caressing the violet filigree.

His heart is already closed. That’s fortunate. So I should lock my heart again too. Unrequited love only makes people miserable. I’ve already painfully realized that fact through various experiences and observations. So calm down. Calm your heart, Laura Pendleton.

“Miss Pendleton.”

Miss Pendleton was startled and looked to the side. Ian Dalton was standing beside her, having arrived at some point.

“Sir Dalton…!”

She looked at him with a surprised face. He was looking at her with an expressionless face. Miss Pendleton noticed that he had lost a little weight compared to what she remembered. She was worried. Had he perhaps been ill?

He looked at Miss Pendleton with his dark eyes for a moment, then handed her what he was holding.

“Oh my.”

Miss Pendleton’s face turned red. The feather that had been attached to her hat was in his hand.

“Don’t worry. I caught it before it fell to the ground.”

Miss Pendleton quickly took the feather. To make such a mistake. Miss Pendleton blushed. He smiled faintly seeing her flushed face.

“It’s been a long time.”

“Yes. Indeed.”

“Have you been well?”

Miss Pendleton nodded. They both knew that was a lie.

“I’m glad. The ladies were looking for you as you didn’t return to your seat.”

To run errands for the ladies. It was something hard to see in the previous Sir Dalton.

“Oh dear. I’ve troubled you, Sir Dalton.”

“Not at all. Serving the ladies is a great pleasure for me. Didn’t you teach me that friendship with ladies can be enjoyable?”

Miss Pendleton said nothing. He held out one arm to her, meaning to return. Miss Pendleton took his arm, and they began walking back towards the VIP seats where the ladies were.

“How did you spend your time in Whitefield?”

“It wasn’t a pleasant time. I was busy catching up on piled-up work.”

“There can’t be only joy in duty. But does this mean your visit to London means all the work is finished?”

“More or less. Somehow I wanted to come to London. Whitefield didn’t feel as comfortable as before.”

“Oh my. Why? You love Whitefield more than anything.”

“Well. I think my time in London had some influence on me. For example, interactions with people like the Morton couple you introduced me to. After meeting such a harmonious couple, somehow Whitefield felt unbearably lonely.”

Sir Dalton suddenly stopped walking.

“I have a request. Would you take a short walk with me over there?”

“But the other ladies will be waiting.”

“My business will be finished in 3 minutes.”

Miss Pendleton nodded. They walked for a moment to an area away from the crowd of people. A walkway with thick old trees. Sir Dalton hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I kept repeating what you said throughout my time in Whitefield. Soulmates. A harmonious life between a man and woman. Yes, perhaps I was inspired by those words. Whitefield needs a mistress. That’s why I came to London.”

Miss Pendleton listened to his words with bated breath. She could not guess what words would escape Sir Dalton’s lips. If it weren’t for his behavior earlier, she would have guessed he was going to propose again, but now she could not read his heart at all.

He stopped. And he looked down at Miss Pendleton seriously.

“Miss Pendleton, through our interactions, I finally realized I was living a lonely life. I need a wife. And you are the only one who can help me with that.”