[Full] Miss Pendleton - Chapter 59

The next day, Lady Abigail Pendleton passed away.

Her final moments were tearful. After conveying all she wanted to say to her granddaughter, Lady Abigail fell unconscious and then drifted in and out of consciousness.

Like her body, her mind was no longer her own. However, as soon as the lawyer and notary arrived early in the morning, she had a servant bring ammonia to forcibly regain consciousness and added new items to her will.

While her grandmother was newly discussing the will with the notary and lawyer, Miss Pendleton, despite being exhausted from nursing her grandmother all night, sent swift servants to places where her uncle might be.

No matter how strained their relationship had become, it was unthinkable for the head of the family to be absent when death might be imminent.

After the lawyer and notary left, Miss Pendleton returned to her grandmother. Her grandmother had lost consciousness. She soon began to moan and then opened her eyes again, drifting in and out.

Sometimes she called for her late husband, sometimes for Dolores, and sometimes she called Gerald’s name. But the name she called most often was Laura.

Miss Pendleton sat by her grandmother’s side, pressing her lips to her hand and praying over and over. To her mother in heaven, for a miracle to make her grandmother rise again. For her to miraculously recover.

But no miracle occurred. That afternoon, Lady Abigail Pendleton passed away. She was 72 years old.

After Dr. Webster’s death certificate, Miss Pendleton went into her room in tears. She curled up and cried for a long time.

There had been times when she resented her grandmother and wanted to escape. There were times when she thought her grandmother was making her life miserable by obsessing over her deceased mother and making her live in a place that didn’t suit her.

But even in those moments, she loved her grandmother. She had never not loved her. She truly loved her grandmother, who had given her the love she never received from her own mother and protected her more than her own father.

But now her grandmother was gone. She had become free as she had secretly dreamed, but the love that had supported and embraced her was now gone forever.

Miss Pendleton sobbed and writhed for a while. But due to the temperament she had worked to make her own, her tears gradually dried. A temperament that valued judgment over emotion.

She had things to do. Now she had to call the undertaker, prepare the body, prepare for the funeral, and write letters to inform relatives of the death. All of these were things she ought to do.

Miss Pendleton struggled to her feet. She sat at the desk set aside for writing letters in one corner of the room. She took out the address book and began looking for the address of the first relative that came to mind.

But then there was a knock at the door. A servant entered and said that Gerald Pendleton was looking for her. The uncle she had been searching for had returned.

Miss Pendleton immediately got up, changed into mourning clothes, and went to the study.

Gerald Pendleton was looking out the window, dressed in a gray suit. Miss Pendleton approached him.

“Uncle. You called for me?”

Gerald Pendleton said nothing.

“We need to prepare for grandmother’s funeral. Do you have any undertakers or pastors in mind? Is it alright if I proceed on my own?”

Gerald Pendleton turned towards his niece.

“You have nothing more to do here.”

“What do you…”

“I’ll give you an hour. Pack your things and leave this house immediately.”

Miss Pendleton flinched. She felt the hatred pouring out at her in his eyes. It was colder and more immense than when he had trampled her hand before.

“It’s best you don’t even come near anywhere related to the Pendleton family. Unless you want to float as a corpse in the Cam River.”

“…I’ll have the oldest maid take charge of conducting grandmother’s funeral. But, Uncle. You’re not going to prevent me from even attending the funeral, are you?”

“I clearly said to get out of the Pendleton house forever within an hour, Laura Pendleton.”

Miss Pendleton bit her lip.

“I am grandmother’s granddaughter. I have the right to attend her funeral.”

“Yes, I’ve had more than enough of how well you know your rights. Even if our family is on the brink of ruin, you don’t care as long as you can protect your rights.”

“…”

“Tom Price withdrew the funds he was going to invest in my eldest son’s business. And he left for America. After hurling a barrage of insults at me. It seems he was quite humiliated by being outbid by you.”

Gerald Pendleton gritted his teeth. As Miss Pendleton had expected, he was blaming her for Mr. Price’s withdrawal from the business.

“You are no longer allowed to enter the Pendleton house. I won’t tolerate you using the Pendleton name either. From now on, live under your father’s name. Not Laura Pendleton, but Laura Sheldon.”

Miss Pendleton shuddered at his cold attitude. He had always despised her, but this attitude was a first. He had never been so filled with hatred towards her before.

But she had one last thing, something she had to do.

“Uncle, I have no lingering attachment to Pendleton. No affection, no greed. My only wish was to repay the grace grandmother gave me until her death, watch the sand cover her coffin, and then leave this place. That’s all I want. So, please allow me to attend the funeral.”

Miss Pendleton bowed her head.

“I’ll give up the five thousand pounds. I’ll ask to be removed from the list of heirs. It wasn’t my money to begin with. So please, grant me this last act of mourning.”

Gerald Pendleton looked at his niece with her head bowed.

“There’s no inheritance for you anyway.”

Miss Pendleton raised her head to look at him. He was smiling with one corner of his mouth raised.

“The lawyer and notary both have great responsibility. But not greater than ten thousand pounds.”

“…Are you saying you arbitrarily changed grandmother’s will?”

“I didn’t change it. I just asked them to pretend they didn’t hear the nonsense your grandmother spouted in her delirium right before death.”

Miss Pendleton bit her lip.

“Uncle, that’s illegal. You know that. Above all, it’s tarnishing the Pendleton family name.”

“I have no desire to be lectured by the likes of you. Just remove your body from this house quickly. You’ve already polluted our family beyond recovery.”

Despite the contemptuous words, Miss Pendleton was simply dumbfounded. Her uncle, who valued his family so much, was going to such lengths, even doing things a family head should never do, to drive her out penniless. It was ridiculous.

“You really do hate me, Uncle. To give up twenty thousand pounds to take away the five thousand pounds coming to me. I’m amazed.”

“There’s nothing to be amazed about, Laura Pendleton. And let me give you one piece of advice: it’s no use going outside and shouting that you’ve been robbed of your inheritance. The will was written long ago. It’s already well known that Charles Pendleton will inherit everything. Everyone will think you’re crazy, not suspect me.”

Miss Pendleton knew all too well that this was true. She became cold. That inheritance meant nothing. She had no attachment to it since it wasn’t hers to begin with.

“Don’t worry. Charles Pendleton will have everything. I don’t have money to hire a lawyer, and even if I did, you would drag out the lawsuit in every way possible until I give up. Just like you did in the legal battle with grandmother.”

“You know well.”

Miss Pendleton smiled.

“Until now, I’ve never truly understood my mother. I only resented her. But now I understand. Why mother desperately fled from the Pendleton house. Why she took the hand of my father who had nothing, abandoning all wealth and glory. Uncle, you are truly a terrible person. I’d rather sleep under cobwebs in a leaky hut than be under your protection.”

Gerald Pendleton’s face hardened. Miss Pendleton politely curtsied.

“Thank you for tolerating me until now. Please faithfully keep grandmother’s last moments.”

She turned around. As she opened the door of the study, Gerald Pendleton’s firm voice was heard behind her back.

“Exactly one hour. If you’re still in this house after an hour, you’ll be dragged out by the servants you’ve been ordering around until now.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle. Even thirty minutes, let alone an hour, under the same roof with you is horrifying to me.”

Miss Pendleton closed the study door.

The death of Lady Abigail Pendleton brought deep sorrow not only to her family but also to the servants who had been her arms and legs.

Though she lacked a gentle nature or thoughtful consideration, the death of the warm-hearted and witty lady was enough to grieve the servants who had grown deeply attached to her. They each moistened their handkerchiefs with tears, mourning her death to the fullest.

Ann, who was sniffling with other maids in the kitchen, received a call from the young mistress. Ann quickly wiped her eyes and went upstairs, thinking that Miss Pendleton would give instructions for the funeral.

She was sure to be immersed in grief, yet trying to be faithful to her duties. That’s the kind of person the young mistress was.

As Ann climbed the stairs, she thought about how to offer words of comfort to Miss Pendleton.

However, when she opened the door, a scene Ann could never have imagined unfolded. The young mistress’s room was in chaos. Every drawer in the wardrobe, dresser, and vanity was open. A large trunk was open on the bed, and next to it was a mountain of all kinds of clothes.

Ann barely found Miss Pendleton in the midst of the chaos. She was rummaging through books and documents that had been in the bedside table. Ann approached her.

“Young mistress, what are you doing?”

Miss Pendleton, without taking her eyes off the documents, said,

“You came at a good time, Ann. I have many things to ask of you. From those clothes, choose ones suitable for a governess to wear.”

“Ah, but young mistress, it’s too early. We haven’t even held the funeral yet, why are you already…”

“Uncle told me to leave immediately. He said if I don’t leave within an hour, he’ll call the servants to throw me out. What an amazing person, isn’t he?”

Miss Pendleton spoke in a bitter voice. Ann was dumbfounded.

“Are you saying he’s going to throw you out without even properly holding Lady Pendleton’s funeral?”

“Yes. Within an hour. Ten minutes have already passed. And I haven’t even properly packed my documents, let alone clothes. Hurry and move.”

Ann was dumbfounded, but she knew well enough how severe Gerald Pendleton’s temperament was. Ann couldn’t bear to see the young mistress being dragged out. She quickly began sorting through the clothes.