Since she had already abandoned the Pendleton name, it didn’t matter, but she had friends who genuinely cared about her.
She took out paper from her trunk. And she began writing letters to her friends. It was a brief message to let them know about her situation without causing too much worry.
She wrote letters to about ten close friends. As she was sealing all the letters, Ian Dalton’s name floated through her mind. But she skipped it, thinking he would naturally find out since she was also sending a letter to Mr. Fairfax.
She went out again and mailed the letters at the post office.
On the way back. The sun was already setting. Shops were starting to close. Laura walked among the crowds pouring out of the train station and the passersby returning home after work.
Countless people passed by her side. Shabby middle-aged men with mustaches and women carrying children. And occasionally carriages passing by her side.
She was now mixed in with the scenery of ordinary people she had only observed from inside luxury carriages until now. It was an unfamiliar and strange sensation. It felt as if she had plunged into a painting she had only ever admired from beyond a frame.
Unfamiliar and lonely. But also a fresh feeling of elation.
By the time she returned to the inn, the dining area was once again bustling with people. She went straight to the dining room. Having skipped lunch, she was in need of a snack. She ate a bland fish dish with a plate of salad, then quietly went up to her room.
The room was already dim. She struck a match to light a candle that was only a finger’s length long. The room brightened a little. She filed away the receipts from the bank, and spent the remaining time organizing her trunk, which had become messy from taking things out.
The sound of people walking in the hallway gradually diminished. Night had fallen.
She sat quietly at the desk. There was one notch left on the candle. She gazed at the candlelight, reflecting on the day. Waking up in an unfamiliar inn room, wandering around London, eating meals with slightly strange tastes.
Most situations had unfolded in a worse direction than expected. The meager salaries of governess positions. Selling jewels for less than a quarter of their original price. Walking the streets of London until her calves ached to save on transportation costs.
It would be a lie to say she hadn’t felt intimidated in an environment so isolated from anyone she knew. There were many moments of fear and tension. Mental disappointment and physical fatigue had worn her out.
But sitting in front of the candle, her mind was in an extremely peaceful state. Why? She had been anxious, disappointed, and tired all day, yet oddly enough, she wasn’t the least bit gloomy.
She pondered deeply on this fact. And soon after, she realized that she hadn’t forced a smile once throughout the day. She hadn’t deliberately shown kindness to anyone, nor been conscious of others’ gazes. She had simply spent the day working hard to survive.
It was comfortable. It felt like her airways had opened up. As if she had taken off a corset that had been tightening her waist all day.
It became even clearer that the Pendleton name had been constricting her. The life of Sheldon, not Pendleton, was poor and harsh, but it lacked the pain that the luxurious life of Pendleton had given her.
If the absence of pain was happiness, then she could say she was happy now.
How long could this freedom last? She thought about the life she would live as a governess. Employment without freedom. The employer’s interference in the children’s education and the time she would have to be bound to work.
But there would be no parental tags that had troubled her until now, no duties as a Pendleton. She could demand minimal respect from her employer. If they didn’t respect her, she could leave anytime. She was free.
Freedom. Miss Pendleton repeated that word to herself. That word no longer evoked nostalgia for a long-lost time. Because she was in the midst of freedom now. She was free. Completely free.
And this freedom was different from that of her childhood. It wasn’t something that could be taken away by circumstances or others. She could protect it and cultivate it herself. She was an adult and could work as much as she wanted. She could live however she wanted.
Less than one notch remained on the candle. She took out the Bible from her trunk and placed it on the desk. Then she clasped her hands together and prayed.
‘I pray that grandmother who has ascended to heaven has safely met mother who is already in heaven, and I thank you for allowing me to pass through today without any major incidents. Please grant me a good job within my means as soon as possible. Lastly…’
“Thank you for granting me freedom. Amen.”
[This is the timeline separator]For several days, Miss Pendleton visited a few more governess employment agencies. But she didn’t get better results than Westerway. All governess positions were much the same. They wanted a lot but were stingy with wages.
On the fourth day of her job search, she experienced another disappointment at another employment agency and stepped out onto the street.
She walked slowly through the London streets to return to the inn. She passed by streets lined with fruit and vegetable shops and bakeries, bustling main roads. The busy and chaotic streets of London.
She had become quite accustomed to moving to her lodgings without a carriage, covered in dust. It wasn’t such a bad feeling.
‘Ah, if only a suitable job would appear, I could enjoy my new life more happily.’
But as she approached the inn, Laura spotted the silhouette of a familiar gentleman in front of the inn. Her steps came to an abrupt halt. Her heart seemed to sink.
Black hair. A tall and slender figure. A clear, wheat-colored profile as if carved.
The gentleman’s face turned towards her. Ian Dalton. It was him.
As soon as he spotted Laura, he strode over and stood right in front of her.
“Miss Pendleton.”
Laura reflexively curtsied slightly in a formal manner.
“What brings you here, Mr. Dalton?”
He stood with his mouth shut as if at a loss for words. His eyes scanned over the plain flat hat without any decoration, the clumsy leather bag, and the shoes covered in dust from long walking. His jaw tightened as if clenching his teeth.
“What on earth has happened?”
Laura couldn’t find the words to say. To explain everything that had happened would take three days and four nights, and even that wouldn’t be enough.
“…You saw Mr. Fairfax’s letter, didn’t you? It’s exactly as written there. I left because I couldn’t stay with my uncle anymore. I’m staying here while looking for a governess position. But how did you find me? I didn’t write my whereabouts in the letter…”
“I saw you while passing by in a carriage.”
Laura nodded. She found meeting him in this situation unexpected and not particularly welcome. He was, after all, a friend she had made when she was in society. It was disconcerting to show him her current state without any mental preparation.
She was no longer a lady. She was a commoner looking for work. This fact hadn’t changed her feelings towards him, but she couldn’t know how he felt.
She quietly studied Mr. Dalton’s face. He was looking at her with an unreadable expression. There was a complex mix of emotions that seemed angry and sad at the same time. It was hard to guess, but there was no sign of the disgust she had feared.
She inwardly felt relieved. Although she knew he wasn’t that kind of person, if he had shown discomfort towards her lowered status, it would have hurt. Regardless of her satisfaction with her current life.
The expression on his face, if anything, seemed to be something like sadness. Was he pitying her? Had she become an object of his sympathy? If so, he was wasting his kind heart.
“Miss Pendleton, come with me.”
He extended his hand to Miss Pendleton.
“There’s a guest room for you at William’s house. A servant will bring your luggage. Come with me in the carriage.”
Laura realized for certain that she had become an object of his pity. Laura smiled bitterly.
“Mr. Dalton, I’m not going.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m no longer Laura Pendleton. I’m not qualified to be a guest of someone like Mr. Fairfax.”
“Qualified? You’re William’s closest friend. And to me…”
“I’ll always be your friend. But I need to get used to my new status now. A guest of someone like Mr. Fairfax? That’s nonsense.”
She glanced over Ian’s shoulder at the second-rate inn that was her lodging.
“I’m doing my best to get used to my new life. So please, don’t try to pull me back into the life of Miss Pendleton. I can’t bear to go back to Miss Pendleton’s lifestyle. I’ve finally…”
Laura swallowed the rest of her words. She felt she couldn’t make him understand that she was now enjoying the freedom she had always dreamed of.
He gazed quietly at Miss Pendleton. At her shabby appearance. She looked ridiculously fallen. She wasn’t the Miss Pendleton he knew. She looked no different from a shop clerk or a maid.
But, strangely enough, her expression was much brighter. Her face, which was always close to being pale, now had color and looked healthy. It was completely different from the past when she always seemed on the verge of collapsing. And, although he couldn’t understand why, she looked much more comfortable.
He withdrew the hand he had extended to her. Then, with a somewhat businesslike expression, he spoke.
“Miss Pendleton, do you remember the job I offered you last time?”
He must be referring to the governess position for his nieces that he had brought up at her last ball a few days ago.
“Yes.”
“Are you still considering it?”
“I was so preoccupied that I completely forgot about it.”
“Then please consider it seriously from now on. I think in many ways you would make an excellent teacher for my nieces.”
Laura fell into thought. Until now, she had thought about asking her society friends for jobs. But she had been putting that off as the very last option.
Not only was she reluctant to burden her friends, but she could also easily anticipate the various discomforts that would arise when a person of lowered status entered the household of a former friend as an employee.
The friend would have to swallow even the instructions they could naturally give as an employer regarding their children’s education for the sake of friendship, and she would have to serve as a master someone who was once a friend adjusting each other’s skirt hems in society. It was bound to create awkward situations.
“Five hours a day. Basic Latin and Greek. Arithmetic and history. You only need to focus on these. You can use the rest of your time freely. I’ll also provide one day off a week besides Sundays.”
“Wait, Mr. Dalton. I…”
“And for that, 150 pounds per year. What do you think?”
Laura stared at him blankly for a moment. 150 pounds? Annually?
__________
He Said He’s Pregnant, and It’s My Child (Female-dominant)
Intro 1
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro 2
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.