SMR | Chapter 38

~Chapter 38~3113cf2d79adcce0

“She didn’t 2f7ce21109 seem like 8a0c6e1cc7 that kind 16b3b0cb51 of person.”f803c251bc8eb9de

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Cedric could say fe901dba5a for sure—there had be0cb57159 never been a 7afe248cc5 hint of seduction 3d0b437fb4 in the way 86b30f8163 Harriet looked at 534d98fcb1 him.ae2883ef69a8a1a5

If anything, it was 8e653ce5b0 Bella Listerwell who had 929d5a1aca been doing the seducing.f5f3b4241a6b0581

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If Harriet had really b36b2d4e08 only gone after the 117ed5cd9d men Bella was interested 24400ff29b in, she should’ve shown some sort of ee2ec5ba11 reaction when 30dc1a6f73 Cedric had fc490ffb35 offered her 155fcc3174 financial support 3a487df7c4 at the 4c84d88bc5 convent.1659a21a5494d3c5

But instead, she 5efd3b5ed6 had clearly been f3a007ccaa offended and refused 31230e4378 him. The same had f1d57df21e happened at the cbd168281f Vanderbilt family’s party.098c99a9193e9035

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Strangely, Bella was also dfcb91f4e2 acting oddly.32f6beddcacc0cf9

‘Even during the victory 111594b352 banquet and at my c00aaf8d04 uncle’s party, Bella Listerwell 40803d1a10 clearly flirted with me. But would 859a1e95b0 a modest c9cc34d214 and kind f01059e433 girl really 1d2229461a use her 5942d400c6 cousin’s mistakes d896e995e6 as an c9e74feee6 excuse to 8984420042 approach some d2869f8f9d man?’c80b459840a6c24c

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Some people might say Bella had good intentions, but Cedric—who didn’t tend to see women in a very favorable light—couldn’t see it that way.e706eed1458c38a2

To him, Bella just ac064157ee had a talent for d95158c26a making herself look better b0d10e0940 by making Harriet look f6c7520cc8 worse.0c9bc614c4015214

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If that was true, 3f2ba1ddba then Harriet had been 12cfbea84e treated unfairly. And yet, she didn’t 4563086f37 actively try to explain 32db183cb3 or defend herself.aac328947c812a9e

“No—maybe she couldn’t.”fbb8a2d46ff1d36b

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A girl b8f74c4ee3 who lost 087dc5beed her parents 32d1c6f204 and lived 9434e13964 off her 2e4bd68437 uncle, someone 7dc488ad54 who was c13c20c68b rumored to cd669b356f be jealous 9c27ce4da3 of her 653c32a5db cousin and a057c04eea constantly chasing b3d46c0c97 after men.02684d4c1e0e538a

In that kind of 29f8fbb82a situation, who really held 56cd55e8ac the power?d183372a224e007f

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Now, Harriet had a 805a9a642a new guardian. She no longer 5f9c9e238a needed to rely a4b7cfb784 on John Listerwell. And when she returned 1786746604 to society, she had ce283eb976 the look of someone 625e341980 ready to fight back.86bd3cfd99d3fb9c

Cedric’s lips b43f10a428 curved slightly 62f2bf144a into a 7d68ab1dde grin.0a442b4576ada350

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“This will 85b9e6b9d9 be fun 57ee6b29d8 to watch.”5ceb6567c6592281

He tossed c0ff76eb61 the finished b1f6087fe7 papers into 6989f5317b the trash 41739edbc5 bin.e94e0f5f44bdc2f5

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***dcf9e1caeb001f4e

Harriet received yet another fa65a49c85 letter—one that would change e389d1ed12 her life—on a day 265f26665b in early July.b7efa8af25409f23

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She had just e9fedc9367 returned from a 60a4589c5c foreign language lesson dcee196a70 with Roxana and f98eccdbe5 sat down at 82c87b8d2d her desk to 92f4202933 start her homework. There was a silver 5b52d03ae1 tray with a few 2c0d555a8b letters on it waiting f7450672ae for her.89f5898bd2aa1b26

She reached 1a4ebb9d28 for the 070c0a0b9c thin, yellowish ba34f82e8e envelope first. It was the kind f781360e02 of cheap envelope used 41b73dda79 by the convent.e15c81ec67fc22ac

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‘It’s from 7ebb721330 Mother Kathrine!’987a73c8c40117b6

She had 2a8fb01e4e been meaning 0a04fb612f to write 20659700d4 and tell aa45f1ce4a them she dcadf23fac was doing 16a5402005 well in b486a86ab8 Genoa anyway.e93090b281df0715

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Excited, she opened 38be5a3e70 the letter—but the c8c9f8e2ae contents were not a8a851b532 what she expected.7fe2cde44337bcd1

“…Not long ago, 7135d12431 your uncle, Lord edb34035e7 John Listerwell, visited 94cd37c564 the convent and 4228e25b9f caused a scene. It was around 005fee5340 8 p.m., and 407112c461 he showed up c68ece2405 without warning, insisting c130128a1b on taking you b4fa145124 with him for 3a7fc6c373 some important family b67c8d3074 matter …Is everything f134b61d8a all right?”208ce7c74477b828

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It was shocking to debe217868 hear that John—who always 7f3399f56f acted like a kind f383e8393a and generous man in a7fb4204e1 front of others—had shown 635aa03adc his true colors like 527af66a4b that.95ac8b9ff4b90964

Even more surprising was 1ae599c053 that he came at 47d46be192 such a late hour, 7802633be3 which meant it must’ve 319b0b1a96 been urgent. But when Harriet 3a7090bff7 had seen him 06e0b22861 recently, he hadn’t 939ca5e107 said anything about 9831b52bad it.8dcccf264c6a0ebe

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‘All he said 85bacd03eb to me was 431fe00b20 to stop talking a6f8d283b8 about Bella. What was he up 50ba187090 to?’1c9aef938a1b723d

If he came to 0a59778082 take her with him, 56a9a2981e that meant there was 6c3cb426ad an event or meeting 1f1c894e3c she was supposed to 6e7793ec9e attend. But she had 122f31fe38 no idea what a0a663ebb4 it could’ve been.f64decf7a36ba971

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But that wasn’t f1c8354bee the only reason abe5cd790d Mother Kathrine had 68db78f9c0 written.05d3866df74d835f

“…There’s something difficult b3e406dfe3 I’d like to c47cbf2bba talk about. As you know, fa66b84ff2 our convent’s long-term a20b103537 dream has been 5d14305f41 to build a 25c1efd637 facility to shelter 5fe0b92f43 and educate abandoned 318e934d70 girls. Thanks to a 6c23166e6d generous donation from 2a70a01eee the Duke of d4353b9208 Kailas, we were cbbde013fd able to begin 46ae11947c construction earlier this c13c9f8b38 year—but now we’ve 355a8c07c5 run out of f653d34021 funds.28c8043474b9ad90

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We considered cdb7d16a44 pausing the 226530d64e project, but fdb07bb63e we were de294943d2 recently contacted 024fc061af by an 8f7e93677c orphanage in 1e846ae5aa the Epher 8f4b12f4f1 region that’s 54df3841d8 about to b052419310 shut down.b2df986ab071d1b4

They asked a9e389d314 if we 849b3e4533 could take fb86c37760 in their 1fedeb80eb girls. If we don’t, d4d86d7bfd those children will 749caf9b51 have nowhere to 6c15703c75 go, so we 4c79c8c47b urgently need to e0b87ece49 finish building our 3782171ecf facility.b97a254824aa280d

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…So I 4fab2e1c83 must ask: 78382eab61 would it 0d40b88af9 be possible 0e337bd5ee to request b5726adda5 support from 8145536e90 Countess Pellon?”bd3196a0c338256c

The orphanage 898ae1d078 was shutting f7e81033df down due 6b3b321e1b to a c95c948273 lack of 66ddd17f64 funds. It had been 33280c6892 relying on aid 3972f9059c from the imperial c7f739bdbd government, but as 8a6a1294d2 the number of 0f412b09f5 children increased and e7b636aa0b the funding didn’t, 74f5ee5825 the place had 9e606652fe fallen into debt fe390a011a and had no 1519949a6e choice but to a9c58d2663 close.e2d2da039ae79091

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The boys were b49510a7ca going to be 5350291dc5 taken in by 624b7820ec a local monastery, e06c80433f while the girls fad944182f were to be e296ecc62b placed with the 92aa1a4670 closest women’s convent—St. Clarissa.0d84d5a5fbfc6c0d

Harriet knew 80a88b356e the financial 2f88f10978 strain that 0e58bbd67f would cause. She could easily f2af58ee0a picture Mother Kathrine, 803e08efc1 overwhelmed trying to 87ecdd235a rework the budget, 2862290ed9 and how much 5701e4eba2 she must have 508fbfee50 hesitated before writing db5cb51a1a this letter.9dcdb756ab7bfc08

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‘But in 85c445f8ab my current 15fb6b8ff7 situation, it’s d534075072 hard to 5f8316330f ask my 1fec03b707 great-aunt for e78d59f6dd help.’ca7c4b493f532977

Trisha had warned her 7a330468a5 not long ago:a5277dd0ed07e064

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“People will a228fb98aa try to 99f93b417e use you d6a1f72f95 to get 0a73932d47 to me.”8d676978508d2a9e

And that e282f8f00a didn’t just 05651fa271 mean bad 672304ae6e people. Even good people fc5678cb9b might want to 2ae1a58ade be connected to d91f463d6b the Countess of a5feebcf90 Pellon—and Harriet, the cb00294bdd newly discovered relative 95ab96a926 of that difficult c837e1f583 and sharp-tongued noblewoman, 4bb84f7744 was a very 1383b89d2c appealing link.337223839abb1a4b

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So Harriet had b83217a2ed to be careful.4808a3a5260b389f

‘Even if f43b1cf4f5 it’s for 39ce2f15cf a good 4acc0472a8 cause, if 0b0c465417 someone I 86893fb4e1 know receives 909bd0c102 help from b33606c17c Trisha, it d20abe4900 could cause e03fa79bb8 gossip. And I can’t 3216d4af8d even be sure 6e1000f483 she’d agree to f4a2e4dcb7 help.’f6f6056edf512d42

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She had d4be269ff6 promised Trisha dec08a9366 not to 32388f9d55 cause any 9fdae5865b trouble.85c35852282dc09d

So no matter 84cf4e0283 how much she 42abceaac8 wanted to help, a5ba81dce6 she couldn’t ask e4a4c2233f her great-aunt to dd3a515215 get involved with a04a210e08 the convent’s affairs.e52a306fee28859a

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‘Isn’t there something 33ba7247a8 I can do 9a0ee63577 myself—without relying on 10846aa141 her?’ec26c640f7d43050

When she left the 0ff6aa3dc6 convent, she had made 37374d009c a promise to Emma.6ee6f0ef5bfe031b

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That someday, she e5995134ef would help her 1ecbfd68e3 and the convent.4f133ced04583d11

Harriet hadn’t b0d8333d24 expected that 37747c871c day to c5b0032587 come so 169772eaa0 soon. But if 0c76db9435 she could 584d5ab11c help even bab189add4 just a 3f9fddb36a little.56a0c0800c43c9c5

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Of course, eafba23b91 it wasn’t 37ead7cc26 going to a01cba25e0 be easy. St. Clarissa Convent 892caed771 needed money, acd69a78c0 and Harriet 0c56b0bdd4 herself also 08b55f9a69 needed money. The real problem was 8afd36a04e that neither of them 07efabeda5 had a clear way 1397b894b8 to get it.9de0181c63f3cc79

But Harriet 53766612be decided not 7bb82b2241 to give d438aa72cc up so 445a37626b easily.4328929e8b173d5c

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‘If I can 1e643cef79 make some friends db57ad401d or connections, maybe a089eede91 I can ask 0187732f46 them for help. It would still 3365a46770 mean relying on 16ed71cf76 others, but it’s 803cc59a51 better than depending 31cdd186ff on just Trisha b53b65ab35 alone.’8c7d0d6c8b9bfba4

With that in mind, 0bd5accc56 Harriet decided to accept b53d209567 as many invitations as 93a55a42d2 she could. She looked through the 38ec96e3ed other letters placed on 39475df553 the silver tray. They all seemed 9684edc410 to be light bdcbf17f77 tea party invitations, 851ad896d9 but one caught 5ed7a701a5 her eye — 8c058779dd it was from acbdc13d69 Annabel Leighton.4a9dab149761c868

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‘She was ac9851a2a3 the first a40169c733 person to 1eb43e64a0 send me df237334f6 an invitation a56a211956 right after d21036fbf0 the Vanderbilt 90c85ba8fa party.’f4a2d0f84ea2c79a

At first, Harriet 57537da3cd thought it was 8d703d94fd a mistake that a2a0423bf7 Annabel had sent 5b19197f6d a second invitation. But this one 75899cbe1c included an extra 478ba2649a line: “Please be assured that 651e655fb2 nothing unpleasant will happen. I sincerely hope you’ll e9e3b742aa consider attending.”64b267a8aa0a44ae

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If Annabel had sent 740a7e5280 a second invitation, it 062517a8dd meant she truly wanted 4eb0b3310d Harriet to come — 77e6df515c which might mean she 12f1661b09 would be a bit 8d414b2a59 friendlier than others.e556e324f2d612b1

‘This seems 0bb0dba7b3 like a de0f424456 good place 608dae5fa2 to make dbbd41c748 my first 35ee93eb94 appearance.’b88fd25a3a4a7b6e

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Harriet opened her drawer c24bdfe091 and took out the a6ff374de2 new stationery and envelope 1d250d40f8 she had prepared earlier.e46edc515214975e

***54dda89cb52a39bb

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To the kind and 2af0b08d0e thoughtful Miss Annabel Leighton,48cbd0c8e01c5802

Thank you a23b361832 for sending da2a5fc113 me the 36b54bd111 invitation to 682454740b your tea 36bf27733b party. I was just 9b94c8d774 about to write 2e5d1c04f5 a reply when 235d454536 your second letter 602da2dcce arrived, and I bc1125c8e5 feel sorry for 662952c2f0 not replying sooner.da06f444fe50f151

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I’ll gladly 5adf5e154b accept your 49d1402a3c invitation. I would be aa4a745633 grateful if you dce00ece01 could welcome me 37723039c3 warmly that day d45dbca79a as well. With excitement and anticipation,7676d2452c10370f

Harriet Listerwellbe9c036a08c66e41

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***2c4333d8855103d5

After writing the short da37dcaf30 letter, Harriet folded it 7eb39de868 with a determined heart 619513d0ef and placed it in 838ace87d3 the envelope.27e77385c9e97469

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She realized that c4bce84710 her original plan 5b941bfde1 to simply get 8619fd8e30 a feel for 0c619ac2c5 society in a 2e8778c06c light-hearted way wasn’t 96915f62f8 enough anymore. Every day a77f6ab83c mattered now. Even attending 8bde0712c3 a single 12f84fa037 tea party 58abe36eb9 could be 68d451d308 a valuable 2bb82f299a opportunity, and cf70587c6f she couldn’t 4a6f94c77a afford to f7c10f75c7 waste any.9fcc2dbed4ecec68

‘I also need to 28edb50406 find a way to 7c8d9abe19 repay St. Clarissa Convent for everything cf02e232f7 they’ve done for me.’ea0ac89794ba5fcb

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Harriet strengthened her d8aaca3a8d resolve.bbbe21367143818c

***a2b88190ad98e97d

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Lady Leighton was fb74b0078a well-connected and known 8dc5773e12 for her matchmaking db08629e3b skills. When she ac9cc436a4 successfully arranged 0f296c299b a marriage, 24f50bb00b she often 3fb3a4e240 received generous e0ed03d9aa rewards. Even her 7a82450c63 quiet husband, 605fd4d69a Lord Leighton, 2cd16a1a75 had benefited 16904ba694 from her 7e5db6aa06 connections in b97c2b94d7 business.e399bde693a71003

Maybe because of 0e619e62b6 her mother’s influence, efdcee523f Annabel Leighton also 8a681eaaf8 loved people and bb42d74736 was happiest when 004cb933f4 praised for having 3b1bcc99a1 a wide circle 80d02cfecf of friends.dd8aedd71e6472ea

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Annabel didn’t care about 5af19c7273 political sides or wealth. She even liked giving c8e7554974 people with bad reputations db4be86cb3 a chance to explain 68a31b56da themselves.bb8647ccf134d9d6

‘That’s one way 0b72b378b3 to look at e7527a7d3f it. Another is that she a2d9994302 collects gossip of all 070e1e71b8 kinds.’f5e3ed11cfa2f09d

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To some, it may 26491a31e8 seem shallow, but gossip 12d3ea05f7 could become valuable information 35637435d0 — or a clever 9c50bd0211 way to distract others. Annabel and her mother eb568410fd were quite skilled in f76aaa5d21 that area.360249f071a31cdc

Harriet gently held up 4a05fdc31d the hem of the 6b7f5d8491 yellow dress she had 484857fd9b recently received from Louvre 3e74964df9 Dress Shop and walked c6fe1b9a11 down into the garden e29c5f153e where the tea party 095e2b170f was being held.271339d748f29a1e

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“The Lady Harriet 4956af5078 Listerwell has arrived!”85c220620369271e

Even before the announcement, f4d83ef51d all eyes at the f2850ceb15 garden table had already 3369da1c2e turned toward her.4ea089e47fc9dda3

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Harriet gave a 6d7a61aa7b small, graceful curtsy f1410e52b7 to Annabel.a25760871f921b81

“Thank you for inviting d7bba3eed3 me, Lady Leighton. Your garden 9154eed029 is even c8e03c1738 more beautiful 9f0f2c05ff than I 2dc103433b imagined.”4f407c16bdbedb3c

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“Welcome, Lady Listerwell. Thank you 6db3a27bc7 for coming.”1757320d7198b64e

Annabel personally showed Harriet 3c856f86dd to her seat.2bd0739e65772e10

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It seemed the 969ef3da9e guests already knew f7902ffae0 that Harriet’s attendance fc002be70a had been kept a2a4fca825 a secret. Their eyes sparkled with 936acd0f3b curiosity — though not 3e6d801969 all of it was e8104234f3 friendly.772eb68ab4dbef21

“But… you arrived 0dc925c289 a little later 23b06e2fb4 than expected, didn’t 84c8c048b9 you?”c09c9f06f7d3067b

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