Miss Pendleton (Update to C.222 END) - Chapter 72
After dinner, the entire family moved to the drawing room. It was a time for family bonding. Mr. Fairfax set up the chessboard, Mrs. Fairfax sat by the fireplace doing embroidery, and Olivia began playing the piano.
Mr. Fairfax asked Laura if she knew how to play chess.
“Yes, Mr. Fairfax.”
“Then, Miss, let’s have a game.”
Mr. Fairfax, excited, rubbed his hands together and offered her the chair across the chess table. Laura found herself, quite unexpectedly, sitting opposite her new employer, whom she had met only today, to play chess. Daniel and George sat on either side of the board to watch their father and the new governess’s chess match.
Laura, while moving her chess pieces, felt terribly awkward being so casually included in such a setting. Normally, even if close to the family, a governess would withdraw during such intimate moments.
Yet, no one in the Fairfax household seemed to find her presence awkward. Not even Olivia, who clearly harbored some displeasure toward her. Everyone acted as if it were perfectly natural to include her in their family time, as if she were one of them.
Mr. Fairfax urged Laura to focus on the chess game. Laura quickly gathered herself and concentrated on the black-and-white board before her.
Mr. Fairfax was keenly curious about the chess skills of Laura, the newcomer to the household. For him, hunting with men and playing chess with ladies were his ways of assessing people. His evaluation was simply a matter of distinguishing between “people he would greatly like” and “people he would like less,” nothing more complex than that.
Laura subtly realized this was a kind of interview and sharpened her focus. Fortunately, chess was a familiar pastime for her, as she had played it every evening with her grandmother. She steadily advanced her pieces.
Mr. Fairfax was a man who took any competitive matter seriously. However, he lacked caution and was somewhat short on wit. This fatal flaw didn’t matter much in activities like hunting, but in a game like chess, which required strategy and tactics, it put him at a significant disadvantage.
Unfortunately for Mr. Fairfax, Laura had a quick mind and a calm demeanor that rarely got rattled. She quickly discerned his impatient temperament and inability to think more than two moves ahead, moving her pieces with composure.
“Checkmate.”
Not long after the game began, Laura conquered Mr. Fairfax’s king. Stunned by the swift defeat, Mr. Fairfax looked at her in disbelief. Then, he rearranged the board and proposed another game.
Over the course of five games, Mr. Fairfax lost all but the last two to the new governess. Even those final two victories were ones Laura had subtly allowed to preserve his pride.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
It’s progressing a bit slowly, but nicely… I hope there won’t be unnecessary distances between them due to misunderstandings.
I think this trip to Bath will be good to Laura. Meeting these women will inspire her to be more confident. I just hope her ex and Mr. Dalton don’t ruin it.
Each chapter leaves me in suspense for the future. Although the readers are given assurance from Laura’s feelings since the carriage kiss, I can’t help but doubt the next steps for this couple! Ian’s feeling are deep and tumultuous like waves against a cliff. I can only hope that when the two finally meet, he will remain level headed.