Maylily - Chapter 21

Roden Station, located across from City Hall, was bustling with people carrying bags and moving busily, along with newspaper boys darting through the crowd.

For the first time since moving to Roden last summer, Maylily came to the station. After wandering here and there, she barely managed to find the platform where the train departing from Dunwell would stop in time. From her experience last year, she remembered clearly that to come from Purdshire, where her aunt’s family lived, to Roden, she had to transfer trains at Dunwell.

Catching her breath, Maylily straightened her disheveled clothes and checked the train schedule posted on the wall once more.

“It will arrive soon!”

The clear light pouring down through the glass ceiling that covered the steel structure of the grand building shone brightly on the excitement spreading across her small face.

As she moved to the back of the line of travelers waiting to board the soon-to-arrive train, Maylily looked up for a long time at the large clock hanging above the tracks.

Ppoooo.

With a loud whistle, the black train appeared at the end of the platform. Amid the sharp metallic noise and thick black smoke that engulfed the platform in an instant, the train came to a stop. By the time the smoke, which had clouded the view for a while, began to clear, passengers poured out in a rush.

As she hurriedly squeezed through the crowd, Maylily spotted her aunt’s family getting off around the middle of the platform and smiled brightly.

“Aunt!”

Maylily, who almost never raised her voice off stage, shouted with all her might. Then, running with all her strength, she threw herself into the arms of her aunt, who turned to her. Her golden hair, braided into a single plait, shook vigorously with the size of her joy.

“I missed you so much!”

“Oh dear, May, you’ll knock me over.”

Her aunt, stumbling slightly, laughed and patted Maylily’s back. Maylily quietly savored that familiar touch she had longed for, then let go with a giggle.

It had been nearly ten months since Maylily had left Purdshire to join the Roden Opera Company. Seeing her niece’s face, now with much of her baby fat gone, brought a trace of worry to her aunt’s eyes.

“You seem even thinner than before. Are you eating well?”

“Of course. To sing, I have to eat well.”

“Sis, what about me? Didn’t you miss me?”

Daisy slipped her arm around Maylily’s and playfully chimed in. Maylily hugged her dear cousin tightly, the younger girl who had followed her like a real younger sister since childhood.

“Of course I missed you. I thought about you every day.”

“Me too. I thought about you every single day.”

Tears welled up at the warmth of her family’s embrace after such a long time. Forcing them back with effort, Maylily greeted her uncle and younger cousin Liam, who stood behind Daisy. After fully relishing the joy of reunion, they soon pushed through the crowd and left the station, heading for a nearby inn.

“There are no rooms. During this season, unless you reserve by letter or telegram in advance, it’s hard to get one.”

It was already the fifth inn. Again, Maylily and her aunt’s family had to leave empty-handed.

Because of the surge of visitors coming to Roden for the social season, every place with reasonable prices and decent facilities was fully booked. The rest were either outrageously expensive or in poor condition.

“This is really troublesome.”

Her uncle set the luggage down on the gravel-paved sidewalk, removed his hat, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Daisy and Liam, who had been gazing wide-eyed at the capital’s scenery during their first-ever visit, now looked visibly exhausted.

“I’m so sorry. I should have been more careful, but I didn’t expect this…”

Since her aunt’s family had come with such high hopes, Maylily wanted to help make their trip happy and splendid. But things had gone wrong from the very start, leaving her very upset.

“Don’t say that, May.”

Her aunt patted her slumped shoulders firmly, but not painfully.

“You’re busy enough with your singing. Where would you find the time? Look, there’s another inn sign over there. Let’s all hang in there a little longer.”

Encouraging her family, her aunt led them to the next inn, which turned out to be the worst so far. The surly clerk wasn’t even the real problem here. Dust balls rolled around the creaking wooden floorboards of the room, and stains covered the worn blankets. From the hole in the wall, it seemed as though a rat might pop out at any moment.

“…Well, at least it’s fine for sleeping.”

Appalled by the filthy condition of the room, her aunt quickly schooled her expression when her eyes met Maylily’s, and spoke awkwardly. Daisy, collapsing onto the bed, nodded her head weakly like a broken branch.

“Let’s take this place. I don’t think we’ll find anything better even if we keep looking.”

“Let’s take this place. I don’t think we’ll find anything better even if we keep looking.”

“Right, let’s unpack quickly and go eat. Stay here for a bit. I’ll go settle the bill.”

“Wait, Uncle!”

Just as her uncle adjusted his hat and was about to head toward the counter, Maylily grabbed him in a rush. With everyone’s eyes on her, her lips slowly parted.

“Let’s go to my house.”

She couldn’t imagine letting her aunt’s family stay in this room while she alone slept in a cozy bedroom with a view of the Fez River’s nightscape. That was the decision she came to.

She wasn’t certain whether it was proper to bring guests into a house provided by her patron, but if it was just for two nights… wouldn’t it be all right?

Moreover, the Count of Everscourt had not once visited since that night before the opening of the season. So this weekend too should pass safely and quietly.

“Your house, you mean the boarding house? Do they have a spare room there?”

Though she had mentioned moving in her recent letter, she had left out the details, so her aunt naturally assumed she was living in a boarding house.

“No, the place I recently moved into is not a boarding house…”

She couldn’t bring herself to confess that she was being supported by a noble. For now, Maylily barely managed to piece together a plausible lie.

“It’s lodging provided by the opera company.”

“By the opera company? Then, is it like a dormitory?”

“Not exactly… I live alone, but there’s a spare room.”

Her family, listening to their exchange, quickly grew excited at the thought of escaping the pigsty-like room. Her aunt, however, gazed at Maylily with a doubtful expression and asked quietly.

“Still, isn’t it improper for outsiders to enter without permission? What if the higher-ups take offense?”

“There’s no such risk. Since I live alone, no one pays any attention. I just want to feel at ease, Aunt. Please?”

Seeing Maylily cling to her arm and beg, her aunt finally gave a reluctant nod. At once, Daisy and Liam jumped up and shouted in excitement, their voices echoing all the way down the hall outside the room.

***

“This is the nicest house I’ve ever seen in my life. Even Sally’s, who’s famous at school for being rich, isn’t this spacious.”

“Wow! Our whole family could sleep on this bed together.”

“Sis, can I try taking a bath in this tub later?”

From the moment they entered Maylily’s home, Daisy and Liam couldn’t stop exclaiming as if breathing, dashing here and there to look around every corner.

“May, did you secretly become a prima donna while we weren’t looking?”

Her uncle, gazing out over the Fez River from the bedroom balcony, turned toward Maylily and teased playfully. Though he didn’t fuss like the children, he too could not hide the admiration shining in his eyes.

“When I become a prima donna, we’ll all live in an even finer house than this, Uncle.”

“All right, I’ll count on you, May.”

“Yes, I’ll do my best!”

Smiling at each other, Maylily and her uncle stood together while her aunt remained silent with a thoughtful expression.

Catching a glimpse of her aunt’s profile, Maylily felt a prickle of unease that her lie may have been discovered. But that only made her all the more desperate to act as if nothing were amiss.

“Please wait in the sitting room. I’ll bring something out shortly. Let’s have biscuits and tea to tide us over, and go out for dinner around sunset.”

“Oh yes, let’s finally sit down. After all that walking, my calves are aching.”

Just as Maylily was leading her family, who had at last finished touring the house after more than ten minutes, toward the sitting room—

Clack.

Suddenly, the sound of a key turning in the front door lock echoed. At the same time, Maylily’s heart plummeted, and her family’s steps froze in the hall outside the sitting room.

“Eh? Didn’t you say you lived alone? Someone’s here?”

“Right. Who could it be, May, if they have a key to this house?”

While her family turned curious gazes toward the entrance, only Maylily went pale. Other than herself and Mrs. Keaton, who had come earlier in the day, there was only one person who could unlock this house with a key.