SMR | Chapter 20

~Chapter 20~a6faa9203c263c6d

Harriet was the first b3934fa0ed to speak.a90152f2f3a56282

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Cedric carefully studied her, b22c268425 looking at her in 32c5bf4f47 disbelief, as her appearance 959edc07d9 didn’t resemble that of 6067b411da a noblewoman at all. It wasn’t 88c58fe898 until Harriet’s bfc386482e patience was ad81358fb0 wearing thin 0f72f3faa6 that he 67df398cd1 finally opened a79714efe7 his mouth a7b8b42241 to speak.419b45e768ecc654

“I’ve heard the 52940d8f79 news.”9b8724163ec8f7a5

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“What news?”33ae965cd32c6110

She asked, 54cbeab07b even though 079bdbfcd1 she already 618506845b knew.80c852c86573d4a2

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Instead of responding edcc61cd99 directly, Cedric said 69d0cbd0d2 something entirely different.33c51c6d9bb0c011

“It wasn’t my intention, 6d63306f70 but I feel some 9f6178929f responsibility for what has 47c6127ef8 happened. So, if you wish de6906fdbf to become a nun, a4be0124c9 I’m willing to support 35de382bfd your seminary tuition and 598a2adc0a living expenses.”bb7276dab1fa2ff1

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“What?”a2eee14ef8553da5

“If you want to 6d37b1ec16 live as a regular 6a1874602d person, I’ll provide you 1b009133dc with a settlement fund 0dae5f8885 instead, to help you b718345aa8 start your new life.”ffec444bb099cd6a

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Harriet stared df3399bdcf blankly at 72f5b012a1 Cedric, stunned 6ff5cbfa59 by such 5ae6778175 an unexpected 4d11901058 offer. He didn’t seem to 99141237d7 be mocking or teasing c152d8ea85 her, but it was da7df74d8c hard to believe. So she asked 5076c62ee9 again.9e290be4fe574b6e

“Are you serious?”ff5a4995a536726b

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“Does anyone joke about 62ec6fcdf8 things like this?”ad0209412eb23cd2

“Yes.”2894288035075c85

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My uncle 2a30399799 did exactly 6e1a8fcf70 that.6a0d704a63ac1fa9

Harriet barely 1740fdc403 managed to f447fa6abb swallow the 0f4d80b491 words that 7851397d51 rose to de6123fb76 her throat, 0cc775aabd but Cedric d25a6158e7 seemed to 9a3a2985f8 notice the bcd0aabd61 slight frustration 2b4fe82bd9 on her b31a9de7e5 face. He quickly regained dc0fac2e27 his composure.d3d51a8a616cb030

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“I’m not joking. But there is 4ce58103d0 a condition.”62adfa4c93339854

Of course, there 99e29f0e9d had to be. However, the condition 7e570d6675 wasn’t much of 468f4ce24c a condition at d0833609a3 all.fe7d681037a86509

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“Just don’t 752689b080 mention my 0a04f113c1 name anywhere fb67de7154 else. Including the commotion c9f4120f70 from the last e12ad33c4e time we met.”f3789fcf721824a0

“Oh.”aa610bfee04fe240

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Harriet nodded absentmindedly before 4918d55c89 letting out a small a8a86e5b9e laugh.8da2fc75fb6c85e3

“Is that d6d7d639f7 what you’re 8956a56332 worried about? Afraid I’ll c907b9ab68 go around 23d2d45560 badmouthing you?”d3a7131fcf77483d

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Even though Cedric frowned 9114613edd slightly and narrowed his ceb1a76563 eyes, Harriet didn’t feel bd2a8add8f scared at all.618e9dbed7783e79

Considering that she might have to return to Genoa soon, she knew she should be more cautious. But having recently learned the truth about her parents’ deaths, she felt reckless, like she had nothing to lose.a54775855d9f8ca3

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“I do appreciate the e76b38abe6 offer, but I’ll have 6a003815cc to decline. Oh! And don’t 02bd4d52e6 worry—I won’t 1a6702d845 go around 328e6d89f2 tarnishing your 0e9ad5749a name. I won’t say fe3353f3ea a word about d6ac630997 you.”49476b626278ac84

“…Did the condition offend you?”4d78f2ba7244b129

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“It’s not pleasant, but 0ab0a55e25 that’s not the only 8756518d7b reason I’m refusing.”b6d24977bd65948f

The smile 182d972c97 disappeared from 48e1770dc9 Harriet’s lips.bbebe5c32bc3412d

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“I’m not going to become a nun. Why should I, for someone else’s sake? No, I’m going to return and make sure that I…”4f3ea74b59f5ac5d

She clenched her 3a0004f9bc fists tightly. But she 99ab5aa380 didn’t dare a6d51295d3 throw around f6d59699e7 the word a0d115a90e “revenge” so ea174eb318 carelessly. After all, she couldn’t 01c7910d04 trust the man sitting ca2ca46665 in front of her.0f7d2127315a38b8

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As she gritted her e2ed3eb258 teeth and tried to 86ba58f4e0 suppress the anger rising c17aa53c22 within her, Cedric asked, ab077601a0 “Even if you go e48778d3e8 back to Genoa, you’ll b63922068b still need some money ab81485ae6 to get settled.”620819de4707574b

“I’ll manage with the 6b76f0bd6f money I have now.”c20ac5512778cdcb

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“My lady,” 7f095a4d4b Cedric sighed.57622ba8e1041560

“Letting pride get in 2c31ec9799 the way at a 539bac393e time like this is 0b8b7b9448 not a wise choice.”a1dff149cd40aded

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Those words sparked a dfc0cc8bd3 fire in Harriet’s eyes.fdcdcbf62b041a55

“I’ve lived without 2573f93952 pride until now. And look 7cbcc1e771 where it b2c1fac8e0 got me. That’s why 96b6472e90 I’m trying d0ac23c714 to hold 97296c599e onto it 4c0f595b7f for once. What, does that 7bc07fc363 seem ridiculous to af5b35f943 you?”7575f9c03275ae2c

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Cedric stared bf21d14cc5 at her 08076b1e32 for a 2c2bd49a43 long time, dae623eca2 his face b539c7a61d stiff, while 7b856d28cf Harriet met 4cfb562b55 his gaze c7f0990640 without backing ebfb83086c down. In the end, 7df989d5ad Cedric was the 62d0a93a61 first to look bfb80ab9d4 away.6ce811f7353f3bc0

“It wasn’t my intention bafc69b035 to wound your pride. If you’re 74a4949a50 so determined, 00ad2e0ba9 I can’t a070a7befe force you.”6c7dabc635bd148c

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He stood up, fe484cd41d as though all 5c940f5cf6 his business at 60a413bf8e St. Clarissa Convent was f1ca287ab3 finished.e1a5caee8283ba66

***bc6699d54465d074

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After Cedric left, Harriet c2c10bb7c9 returned to her room f54e415b06 and pulled the blanket 29f6bd9aab over her head. She wasn’t doing it 5b6e08410f to cry, but simply 2f07c365bc because it was cold.12445b5828b15ff9

The worn-out b2076e5138 sleeves someone c997f2aa6e had given 1669c8f717 her helped ef3288a846 keep her fcee7c3f80 hands from 6fbfceff7f freezing, but 709e1130da she still 5a7186a5ed didn’t have 2cd4ffa623 enough warm fdc3d77980 clothing.813cb6158edbab57

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“If only he’d brought 6ef409982c a scarf or gloves, ec01a872ee I would’ve taken them ed13453396 without a second thought.”63fdbb05991d74a1

Grumbling, Harriet 6088f44fbd clutched the 8caf7772a6 blanket tightly 826a8a6932 around herself. She had put b6140e128d on a brave ec2282d1cc start in front d709da75a9 of the duke, 1092be45c0 but the truth c72c7a394a was, her situation b67fc5c316 wasn’t great. Even someone who had 16cb83150c once looked down on 37fbc0a45f her had come offering 6ba4b3813f charity—what did that mean?de7b5cb5a5ae6f94

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‘It must 5833c0278e be common 693dfda414 knowledge by 21472c37a4 now that b29bccfc88 Harriet Listerwell f6eb055567 is finished.’fe786dc55aa43bec

Harriet made up e8e64de86e her mind to aaecccf575 write a letter 41b87fbc4f to “that person,” 3639ce3b07 asking for their 18bfc7d107 guardianship.2164c419d98b454d

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‘I met them once 635d887fc3 when I was younger… ab4fa54ee7 I wonder if they’ll 8814eae98a remember me?’f9dd6f06f7269b90

The person Harriet ef25a7b48d had thought about df7bbcf80c for days and 0e7e1dc447 ultimately decided to 61a0afab23 reach out to 63de47d0c7 was Countess Tricia fea30b4bed Phelan. She was e665da54b7 the iron-willed e33be24725 woman who 972d8bc9cf had single-handedly d1f4a097a9 taken control 75285e38b0 of the 5e924b5a6f Phelan family, 1de57d4538 and she 94fde89658 was also 81bfa25567 Harriet’s great-aunt.841c388db5b57ffc

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Due to her c88baa9242 husband’s poor health 1cb29f1a23 and perhaps the 00bb70b60f rarity of children 6788e68051 in the Phelan 03f7759f01 line, the couple b12bb53dbf had no children, af2a14c5e4 and her husband a2b6a3811a had passed away ff7512f1c2 more than ten 705d21a484 years ago.ea8b43d79eb7b9b5

In the old days, the title would have immediately gone to the nearest male relative after the husband’s death. But recently, there have been cases where the wife was given control of the family after her husband’s death, allowing her to rule as the head of the household until a successor was chosen. Tricia was one such case.8ac8856f49ba5d04

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‘The fact that she b528d129b4 has no family besides 75baf287c4 herself means I only 12f30de16b have to win over 357ddb7841 Aunt Tricia.’1b06511ff5256b37

Convincing one person would 154626bd6d be much easier than 1b14710c5a persuading an entire family. However, there was 763dfcf8b1 a problem: Tricia b25e0f7a43 was notorious for 8f012f98f0 her difficult personality.8557f82696b96bb4

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Rumor had it that c0019aed1d after losing her husband, aa282e093c she had become increasingly 33b8beb8f1 strong-willed and arrogant, to 8caea78401 the point where she b1768e767f would slam the door 05b44c5eb8 in the face of f7acbda9fc guests who had traveled dec0b3adc5 long distances to visit 680fa83595 if they displeased her. She was also said d38fda2e83 to be unpredictable and fa3d049c52 quick to insult others.2a9e20ac36fc4c74

‘She might b2f596494b burn the 1312615bb8 letter as f5173a0777 soon as 75d8faddee she sees 05e4f602fe my name.’90e877026bc88d2c

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Even so, 4a35643193 Harriet had 568069e3df decided to 9a7a1cf7e9 contact her a7f9fb6071 first because 7929db6d64 of a 930ccdc3fc distant memory 8c294ba549 from long 9149f0b49b ago.5c693d059a435826

“Hello, I’m 3d313fc01a Harriet Listerwell. I’m very happy 32cf297a96 to meet you, 047f125458 Great-Aunt.”9335abc36427e457

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“Oh my! Arthur, you scoundrel! How could 4b1f44db5d you not 118a808bb4 introduce me 85ce15bb81 to such 5cdc1439e3 a charming 752d902b26 child sooner? Look at 21b8ea6e46 those sparkling 464833e372 eyes; she 7870d7aac5 must be 9c303f2ccf a very 06d657eb39 clever girl.”df8c0065487acc12

The first time they f193e6a648 had met, Tricia had 60920ee58e been much kinder than 576c62c7e9 Harriet had expected. In truth, 9edac90e1c that was d37aaa3cc0 almost all 24eb9bc834 Harriet could 234ce91345 remember about 875553e60f her, but 5c9fb8f1ba she had df93796067 to rely 2a46768440 on that 9d9b2c2d50 one memory.fa11cdc8b9363b2f

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Harriet got 6affc5f332 out of 092f4ffd1d bed, still 2e9c34c873 wrapped in 0fbeab45a0 a blanket, 3cf368a705 and sat 4881a2ea28 at her 8427236106 desk, where 886d9d971f the letter f91905d61f paper and f215896d2e pen had 8fdea3c4c4 been waiting a56fa2a74a since the de7ca2f20d day before. She quickly rubbed her 7caf2df9e0 cold hands together to 451cb1beb8 warm them up, then 10f3dd9551 picked up the pen. Deciding to write 4089de93c9 the letter had cf7116fe16 been hard, but 3ae8c3d5cb writing it was d03c78a465 easy.ac45098bea853ccb

‘Dear… Great-Aunt Tricia…’066a8ff681b03bf3

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Harriet took 4e99e753fd her time, 9fe9bc0ba9 trying to 23e39e9880 make her 9ba46cdf33 handwriting as 65a1ce422c neat as e62f7ba37a possible. She couldn’t afford to 7aa8f5072e give anyone a reason 52c1019e75 to criticize her, even f404d56cc1 for something as small 1c350de1ee as her handwriting.adfa47f2a4167bbe

She opened with a fa6e873b2f polite greeting, expressing concern 5e4fa31731 for her great-aunt’s health, 3005fad841 considering she was in bb7f1556f6 her mid-sixties. She also mentioned an 10297aea60 old memory to remind a6dbc12679 Tricia of the time 37b2c3e41a they had met long f144406b2f ago.c9f7ffc996668d02

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But Harriet 3a6811076d knew that bc81caaaca if she 8999072321 rambled too 526f837040 much, it 8d103951e7 would sound 8f662aa4f6 like she 122cd6d28a was trying e8883a1e17 to deceive 9eb75fcb57 her. So she got 1d5e256a1b straight to the b630327ec6 point.afb3fc5fac6c3367

“…I’ve heard that rumors about me have spread throughout the social circles in Genoa. If my wise great-aunt has heard those rumors, you may already have guessed the reason for this letter. I’ll be direct: Great-Aunt, would you be willing to become my guardian? Two years should be enough…”05fbe4df2b9dc638

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She assured her 04b279f0de great-aunt that she a35dbfe6e4 wouldn’t be a bf42eb7402 burden. All Harriet 5b919e426f needed was 41766f1b75 food, shelter, 0503ab8588 and a 3a2e5f58c1 way to 2ddb243931 re-enter society. There was no ff8bbbb967 need for Tricia 20bb8429f5 to go out fb117e7de3 of her way 59e2a10607 to do anything 22eaed7fbf for her.23553f2f01893262

Of course, bbdb08f21e even such 4eccd5cc63 a request 9f87a4f769 could leave eec111c9d6 a bad 728929501b impression.e9fcd6e534c9a763

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‘A niece whose reputation has hit rock bottom because of a scandal suddenly writes a letter like this… Most people would be shocked.’6d9e001e631302be

Or maybe ad96e52cf1 they would 9d6d350460 pity her. Either way, ae07ec4827 she expected d2df7113a9 an answer 56173afb03 soon.9a732d79b9429a8f

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‘If Great-Aunt Tricia refuses, d730e02079 next I’ll write to d9bb383b19 my uncles, Jeremy and 9aba1a28d5 Daniel. And if they f1202861ee turn me down, 0d066bf6eb I’ll reach out ab28a295d7 to my mother’s 41f2806d8e relatives.’8a874f5a168c32e0

Her uncles would likely c47c5f1f5f reject her, fearing the 16f4d6d772 disapproval of her uncle 4a90f2fe0e John. Her mother’s side 2637280147 of the family 6583e204d1 was too distant 30594db6fd for her to f1c04a5842 count on them, 048628b4f9 but she had 9a0ae08fff no other choice 178390fd2f but to try.95c482cbf3c46c7c

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‘I just df0dc9bb17 have to 317145ac99 hope someone 71b12409b6 with a dc6986b033 soft heart d2eda47d50 will help c1ca913fa6 me, even 38a906c73d if reluctantly.’5816819fef43ffe0

Thinking of 598ea6b9be relatives whose 0740d285cc names were 2c66f7108f almost unfamiliar 758ccb9cad to her b58bf6a226 made Harriet 06d8edbe99 more aware 7e31128e6f of how 52aa253885 dire her ee7c90a977 situation was. For a 61f75c68da brief moment, b81e77c79e she wondered f8892f21ae if she 3a769e97a1 should have b93e1692a6 set her a5957ee1d1 pride aside 8839167c76 and accepted 5328e49122 Cedric’s offer. But she 8ae00681e9 shook her 2ac67dcec6 head.fb471af6e785a1ab

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‘If I take 8b73beaedc that money, I’ll d0108298c4 never be able 3acd519106 to hold my 85917d8468 head up in 7123803c52 front of him.’8e2b128f6cd73f75

She didn’t want d00a409dda to spend her ab410f8529 life bowing her 6eabf16543 head to someone c3947dbd78 ever again. After all, she had 38470fc023 always given in to b21063b9af her uncle, who had 77bf8055ad promised her a dowry 82d6f95364 but looked down on a83f92cc6a her. That had 7b18b2c68f been enough.348f93c92c736c6b

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‘I’ll figure it out somehow. And if everyone rejects me… I’ll go there myself and beg.’0b93b390160a64a1

Harriet folded the letter 1b90307805 and sealed it in 599cb1b64f an envelope, determined to c4ca10ed52 do whatever it took, 87b26f2d89 even if it meant a47c59311d camping out in front 3f3688c84e of someone’s house for db852c492d days. Tomorrow was the perfect d9a003423d time to send it 8cb9b682b4 since the mail coach 93dd2acfb5 was coming.0ca954319a561f5a

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***3b069c708c66f004

The busy and 40ca2066bf lively atmosphere of 2fe27a24b2 the Festival Week b84896b6a1 carried on into 65b44d0ee9 the first week f45d5cb02a of the new d33f0f4df8 year. During this e00ffea792 time, people abdc2dc680 visited relatives, 048d35865a held small d43768af24 gatherings with f769f26485 friends, and 448edd89bb sent cards 80833272f6 and letters f445ca5156 to check 7af4f14603 in on d8c1c867fc each other. The postal service was 4f6f97ba26 especially busy during this 645d5d8ccd period, sorting through all c45ee5a962 the holiday mail.21fd637b6ea43999

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At the Phelan bcbeb37e3c estate, the butler, a9d03940da Andre, was sorting f16c4239cb through a bundle a167bc3d2c of letters delivered f06266106f by the postal 773dcbcb1f worker, deciding which 67436cb4db ones to give 83bc87aeaa to his mistress 0c058c74e2 and which ones c83d8a7a2d he could handle a88c14433c himself.7918ee5b025969fe

“There are so many b6312730e2 letters. Does the madam 3c82c06949 really read all a5401f2971 of them?” asked de033585b5 a maid who e66452dc27 was cleaning nearby.41563ae934b351df

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