Maylily - Chapter 89

Tomorrow, he had a luncheon appointment with the Duke of Dunwell. That was why the original plan was to finish dinner with Maylily and return to the townhouse, so the schedule wouldn’t be strained.

However, Hugh couldn’t bring himself to turn away and leave Maylily alone when she looked as precarious as a candle flickering before the wind. At the very least, he wanted her not to feel lonely when she opened her eyes tomorrow morning.

After they handled dinner with sandwiches the attendant had brought packaged from the tea room at the Aberque house, Hugh and Maylily sat in the sitting room, had a short conversation, read books, and spent some time. Then, a bit early, they lay down in bed side by side.

Maylily, who must’ve had a harder day than usual, fell asleep before long. Hugh watched her face, softly breathing like a child, for quite some time, but in the end, he couldn’t fall asleep and came out into the sitting room.

The hands of the wall clock were pointing to a time well past midnight. Hugh took a cigar out of the cigar case on the table, lit it, and stood by the window. When he opened the window wide, the chilly river wind brushed his hair and flowed into the room.

Hugh’s gaze, quietly fixed on the black darkness swelling around the Fez River where all the streetlights had gone out, sank heavily.

I don’t regret anything.

Not pulling Maylily down from the stage. Not pushing forward with the marriage while keeping her at his side.

He’d achieved what he wanted, and he hadn’t lost anything. That was enough.

So why….

Why was the afterimage of Maylily leaning on him, crying so bitterly, pressing down on his chest so hot and heavy?

“I’ll try to get better. So please wait just a little, Count.”

Since she’d always kept her promises until now, Maylily would smile again this time as well within his comfortable, orderly world. Even while certain of that, Hugh chewed over her tears again and again.

Unlike usual, he needed to know what this emotion it stirred in him really was. At once stifling, as if his chest was full, and at the same time hollow, as if something important had slipped out. It felt like he wouldn’t be able to shake it off unless he identified it.

The smoke that flowed from between Hugh’s red lips and was sucked into the darkness grew gradually thicker.

“Why are you out here, Count?”

Maylily’s gentle voice, coming out through the door connected to the bedroom, made the cold air tremble when he’d smoked about half the cigar. Hugh pushed the ashtray he’d set the cigar on to the side and turned toward her with a faint smile.

“I’ve got something to think about. Did I wake you?”

“No. It’s just… my head’s a bit complicated too….”

Maylily, standing in the faint light with her abundant blonde hair hanging long, wore an expression like a lost child. Hugh quietly watched her small body trembling faintly in a thin chemise, then opened his arms.

“Come here, Maylily.”

Maylily hesitated for a moment, but slowly walked over and nestled into him. As if she’d accepted that no matter what happened between them, no matter what Hugh did, the most comfortable place would still end up being his arms.

Hugh loosely wrapped his arms around her slender waist, buried his face in her golden hair, and took a deep breath. Even with the subtle fragrance flooding his lungs, the vague emotion from earlier didn’t blur in the slightest and remained the same.

“I have something I want to ask of you.”

Maylily said it with her face resting lightly against the Count of Everscourt’s chest. Yeah, the man’s voice as he answered was gentle, as if he’d grant any request.

“Send Mrs. Keaton somewhere else.”

“Why, you don’t like her?”

“Oh, no. It’s absolutely not that!”

Startled by the Count’s unexpected question, Maylily lifted her head and met his eyes.

“Now I’ve got a lot of time, so I’m going to do the housework myself. I think if I keep myself busy, I’ll be able to empty my mind of stray thoughts too….”

In a house Mrs. Keaton came and went from every day, it seemed almost impossible to secretly prepare an escape. The woman always treated Maylily kindly and warmly, but in the end, she was someone employed by the Count, so it wouldn’t do for the plan to be exposed to her.

Also, Maylily wanted to prevent any harm her escape might bring to Mrs. Keaton. It couldn’t happen that after working hard for several months, the woman was dismissed without even receiving a letter of recommendation.

If it was the Count of Everscourt, he would handle things with a cool head, but she wanted to be certain about anything involving Mrs. Keaton.

“And I don’t really want to run into people other than you for a while, either.”

Maybe he liked what Maylily added, because a faint smile seeped into the corners of the Count’s eyes.

“Alright, I got it.”

“You’ll help Mrs. Keaton find a good place to work, won’t you? She’s kind and very capable. I really… have a lot to be grateful to her for.”

At the thought that she would have to part from the people she’d grown attached to while living in Roden, her throat tightened for a moment, but Maylily finished her words calmly.

“I will. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Count. Thank you so much.”

Maylily deliberately wrapped her arms around the Count’s neck as she expressed her thanks. She wanted him to let his guard down, thinking her heart was already starting to soften again in less than a day. That way, preparing would be easier.

The Count gently stroked Maylily’s back and kissed the top of her head. There was no anxiety or suspicion in that tender gesture. This was a smooth start.

***

The next morning, after the Count of Everscourt left, Maylily, left alone, sat at the sitting room table and gripped a pen.

Dunwell, Kennington, Ness….

As she wrote down place names one by one in the notebook she’d opened wide, a heavy sigh poured from between her lips.

“Where should I go?”

At the very least, the cities that had come to mind just now weren’t the answer. No matter which of these places she went to, the Count of Everscourt would easily find her. Resting her chin on one hand, Maylily’s gaze, sunk in thought, reached the name written at the end of the list.

Purdshire….

If she went to her aunt’s house there, even if the Count found her, he wouldn’t be able to do as he pleased. Maylily didn’t doubt that her aunt and her family would become a sturdy shield for her.

But… she couldn’t go in this state.

For now, she could somehow hide the pregnancy, but before long her belly would swell.

The village people who noticed the truth would point fingers. That wouldn’t be humiliation borne by her alone, but by the entire family. She couldn’t become a disgrace to the aunt’s family who had cared for her with love and devotion.

“If that path ever feels wrong to you… just stop right away and come home.”

When she recalled her last conversation with her aunt and the hometown she could no longer return to, sorrow surged up in a rush. Maylily pressed her heated eyes gently with her hand and gathered her emotions. She didn’t have time to waste sinking into sadness.

“There’s an imperial event starting next weekend.”

The Count of Everscourt said that starting next weekend, he would leave Roden and stay for five days in Rivern, where the imperial family’s villa was located. That would be the perfect chance to run away, out of his sight.

I should finish the preparations before that. I haven’t even decided on a destination yet….

She gripped the pen again, but she was at a loss, not knowing where to start untangling the plan. As she flipped through the notebook this way and that, Maylily’s hand stopped on a certain page.

In the spot where clear sunlight pouring in through the window had settled, an address she’d written down several months ago shone like a signpost.

***

Knock, knock, knock.

At the sound of the knocker at the front door, Michele’s eyelids twitched. The sun was high in the sky, but for him, who’d only fallen asleep at dawn, it was still the middle of the night.

Knock, knock, knock.

At the sound ringing again after a slight pause, he finally got up, bleary. His eyes naturally twisted at the thin beam of light seeping in between the curtains, stabbing into them.

[Who the hell is it at this hour?]

Michele muttered in a low, rough voice, rubbed his eyes, and threw on a robe. He went to the front door, opened it, and the moment he confirmed the visitor’s identity, his half-lidded brown eyes snapped wide open.

“Maylily?”

“It’s been a while, Michele. I was worried it might be the wrong house, but thankfully I came to the right place.”

Maylily, smiling brightly beneath the faint shadow cast by the brim of her hat, was still pretty enough to make him want to push her down. On the other hand, belatedly remembering that he looked like a mess fresh out of sleep, Michele swept back his bedhead and said,

“If I knew you were coming, I would’ve waited in a more presentable state.”

“You look good enough right now. If you’d just pull your robe closed a bit.”

Maylily said it while keeping her gaze fixed straight on Michele’s face. Michele dipped his head slightly, looked down at his chest plainly exposed between the open front panels, and let out a short laugh.

“Ah, sorry.”

He pulled the two panels together tight and retied the belt, then shifted his eyes back to Maylily.

“It’s not that you came because you missed me. What’s going on?”

“Well, I….”

Maylily hesitated, fidgeting with the hand holding her bag. Since he’d said something when he gave her his address, he could roughly guess what she needed.

“If you need help, you’re welcome anytime.”

“Ah….”

Maylily’s eyes widened at the words Michele said for her, as if asking how he knew.

“Do you want to come in?”

At the sight of Michele casually opening the door for her, Maylily regained a bright smile for a moment and nodded strongly.

“Yes, then I’ll impose for a bit.”