SMR | Chapter 20

~Chapter 20~8705baa93721783f

Harriet was the cff0c05fee first to speak.a36108f95a53a048

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Cedric carefully 4debe467d2 studied her, 1161eedda5 looking at 9ad33e9aca her in 4611581071 disbelief, as 076ff5362c her appearance 12a257b700 didn’t resemble 38d5ce3832 that of 0ab6173abb a noblewoman 118cb13ff0 at all. It wasn’t until Harriet’s c201a9ba37 patience was wearing thin fc3be89470 that he finally opened 5be0b1f9e8 his mouth to speak.b68f4f72173e7fb2

“I’ve heard the news.”ecb3c7bad905a726

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“What news?”7a9913fc7d366b18

She asked, even though ee4ead9b25 she already knew.abfe20d1d21ef264

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Instead of 1b37f82c20 responding directly, bdc3b9b6d8 Cedric said 738be50233 something entirely 953fdfd6d4 different.6ea8578cda98f0b8

“It wasn’t my intention, 04a025ff93 but I feel some 011aea6771 responsibility for what has 4397fdde73 happened. So, if you a0ca91ac5b wish to become cd330b2001 a nun, I’m 1af0d64a81 willing to support 5164c1282a your seminary tuition e80985071b and living expenses.”b2b57c2d4fd37a32

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“What?”7f2db76beb91b234

“If you 6a5bee831d want to c1cd4c1007 live as 1642358ea6 a regular 342fb3bd08 person, I’ll bca7a84303 provide you 7fe865d246 with a a4a2b95dbc settlement fund f3a3ad87ef instead, to dd44666a98 help you d99dc1450f start your c2c0fa2f0c new life.”446e64ff5d00c1fd

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Harriet stared blankly at 35f7865ac3 Cedric, stunned by such b0d5195293 an unexpected offer. He didn’t seem to 2417888dac be mocking or teasing cceaafcbeb her, but it was 6337a8b0fc hard to believe. So she 25d6153eb0 asked again.afa24f50a22048f1

“Are you serious?”6bb0ca3b72f7ff4a

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“Does anyone 71eeeb620b joke about 12b60a8e17 things like 50c29ec97c this?”65cedae26844db7d

“Yes.”dc57605c06bbd835

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My uncle did exactly 9fe5be9793 that.723d1d41c7202a51

Harriet barely managed f12973fef3 to swallow the 8a54659f18 words that rose 4a7d5686b6 to her throat, 431aab3eb2 but Cedric seemed 2dc3cf3d7a to notice the acab2ee949 slight frustration on de3dcfdfe7 her face. He quickly regained his 72d1506638 composure.982d1423938a3c23

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“I’m not joking. But there is f15098c6c0 a condition.”6b12cc65d2646fdd

Of course, e7f639cb21 there had 3f4a4859a8 to be. However, the condition wasn’t 4a9f57acf4 much of a condition 3e0b270f29 at all.c824bbac598c2bc0

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“Just don’t mention f406e9df3d my name anywhere 7394ee37cd else. Including the commotion 43441323ef from the last 27e6f5d8ac time we met.”ac92cec112ca61e5

“Oh.”4f1e742763f0d437

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Harriet nodded 5527de194e absentmindedly before 5b46944dcb letting out 71c13c79b1 a small 8ecb21bedd laugh.18e24e5e6effeb3e

“Is that what you’re 4520306688 worried about? Afraid I’ll go around 9d8a2ba508 badmouthing you?”c7374aa9af72904b

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Even though 5ee3a75d68 Cedric frowned d460b9eb34 slightly and 43d33ebf0f narrowed his ef078aec9c eyes, Harriet 23cf495ae2 didn’t feel eb73c420b9 scared at 5f0d2834b7 all.72ed96fdfadcf707

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.09e50609ec86a195

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“I do appreciate the 50e31e7a07 offer, but I’ll have 1a612a7b03 to decline. Oh! And don’t worry—I won’t 3519752c3a go around tarnishing your 7a1bc80cd4 name. I won’t say d8555ab870 a word about 1a9ef25bdf you.”71c0c804dc966025

“…Did the condition offend you?”35224c319378f6a2

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“It’s not a7b65a492b pleasant, but 90a7989502 that’s not cd0d17d9b0 the only f47a27acc1 reason I’m a8adee68df refusing.”870b1716843931c1

The smile 52f390f1fd disappeared from f2ab74f337 Harriet’s lips.74f079543e66488b

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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…”40e9d67d52a60674

She clenched her 9af37e556f fists tightly. But she dd6990ebad didn’t dare 2fd16b6379 throw around 2acabe022b the word 6f793a3d42 “revenge” so 962e1e32a1 carelessly. After all, she b9b1406dd4 couldn’t trust the 7c6c992519 man sitting in 0124dc160f front of her.f1eb27499a6c72ad

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As she gritted her ff68840b1b teeth and tried to 2f4da84379 suppress the anger rising 12516d0713 within her, Cedric asked, 8f6b57f1a9 “Even if you go 048757509c back to Genoa, you’ll 6ef33909e9 still need some money 4e5e51c165 to get settled.”c36676d278b801a9

“I’ll manage with 1deccb6295 the money I 63bb0d9880 have now.”2e972ec25b480e76

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“My lady,” Cedric sighed.e8d7849deba28702

“Letting pride 973976dfb6 get in 62c50f0214 the way a364cfb117 at a b117856c67 time like 765d4d3244 this is 0e5be4e07a not a ba786c2769 wise choice.”9b5032fbc8c30e8e

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Those words sparked a b2f3ae7136 fire in Harriet’s eyes.cc42bf4ef8405239

“I’ve lived f9065eb705 without pride e264aebdc6 until now. And look where it d76a22ee0c got me. That’s why I’m 1f61c97800 trying to hold d2c4e71d1f onto it for 21864a4581 once. What, does 112e1fdb14 that seem cdcc39b08a ridiculous to 792bdf2045 you?”99c20b917230d8d0

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Cedric stared at her 1ff5303e3f for a long time, 06675f9c12 his face stiff, while dbbd3dec14 Harriet met his gaze 5dd1db1c0f without backing down. In the c80a0c0c0e end, Cedric 62edec364a was the f4cfc1f50b first to 6afed94d47 look away.66ce4fadbeae23e0

“It wasn’t my intention c71ad468cb to wound your pride. If you’re 3625470501 so determined, a1db5cc680 I can’t c91c0ce70a force you.”4396e35eb2e203ad

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He stood up, as 0257373947 though all his business d06479c868 at St. Clarissa Convent 3ac0670560 was finished.b8a8cf8e9ccb4c3b

***04d48da91a565e63

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After Cedric left, Harriet 5329d0904e returned to her room afd3d94077 and pulled the blanket 9e496ee6de over her head. She wasn’t c038acebaf doing it 5e6bf73c72 to cry, 68b91c1cc0 but simply b32d5844d6 because it 809ecbda7e was cold.2ef1574403116779

The worn-out sleeves someone c6f41bb054 had given her helped b36ac25d9b keep her hands from bf9c2459d9 freezing, but she still cff8b84e82 didn’t have enough warm 148ab417a9 clothing.3b57ac5e394c3013

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“If only fcab1fe010 he’d brought 25634e2d96 a scarf f5ed11318d or gloves, bfef81580d I would’ve 03db780573 taken them 210ce1474d without a 3d4f93eac5 second thought.”405a0ec410807cea

Grumbling, Harriet clutched the 3ab258f768 blanket tightly around herself. She had put on 4735dd2bbf a brave start in 11b6c9edc9 front of the duke, 18c4ee321f but the truth was, 186741740f her situation wasn’t great. Even someone who had d589342049 once looked down on d4e3b21158 her had come offering 9d8820e3a0 charity—what did that mean?aac1625fa2ac38a6

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‘It must d4ad8640dc be common ef0846681b knowledge by d7931e5575 now that 8cee510cca Harriet Listerwell bcafedda01 is finished.’7325536e654ade1a

Harriet made up her 85441b659a mind to write a d6e29360a8 letter to “that person,” 97ecdc52d1 asking for their guardianship.2a8a7ce9488ee10c

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‘I met them 79a336e08b once when I 906c72dd1c was younger… I 9b40a52037 wonder if they’ll 739742ede3 remember me?’95fcf118260bf824

The person 552ef4a8e0 Harriet had b5df1a23d3 thought about ec8feec789 for days 5846e914bc and ultimately 73ec7efd23 decided to 4dc46a27c5 reach out 07ab2a6ca5 to was 7efcb42bdc Countess Tricia 47c1bea31a Phelan. She was the 71488681f6 iron-willed woman who b10c833b76 had single-handedly taken e43fc25fa3 control of the 62e2fdd957 Phelan family, and 949faf20b1 she was also 4a3ccb057b Harriet’s great-aunt.2fc50399ff450aa8

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Due to ddfd4ef6b6 her husband’s 1400081ffd poor health 24e3a94637 and perhaps afe5981d77 the rarity 7d9de71c37 of children 3ae2da02d3 in the 1b30812485 Phelan line, ae752ff349 the couple 8e41ccbb49 had no 79d7cdaa13 children, and 34b2d24e91 her husband bfd426c286 had passed 93d02b6cbc away more cf2d50f145 than ten ce138ceb74 years ago.4232f3a398b90a0c

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.2d8e2c0e7bbfef38

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‘The fact that 107febbe30 she has no b81814e9e8 family besides herself c1631e6512 means I only c9fd87fcb0 have to win 6944bc22a9 over Aunt Tricia.’744da9deb213c8ba

Convincing one person would 29871748cc be much easier than 1ebeadb23a persuading an entire family. However, there was a 84cb39f9fc problem: Tricia was notorious e0de52c926 for her difficult personality.c904cedab0eb684d

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Rumor had it 5618c3c5c9 that after losing 8cc6d7f478 her husband, she 290ed6d9cf had become increasingly 49eb55f815 strong-willed and arrogant, 1aaa2b49a5 to the point 7df8d2e4fc where she would cc438e06cf slam the door 3a3de4f191 in the face c92ed3a34e of guests who 4e77f6688d had traveled long f709983fd2 distances to visit 583b838a8b if they displeased 2cbe70e206 her. She was also 80b6647563 said to be a2ee57162e unpredictable and quick 22b16b292a to insult others.db43f81e468978f4

‘She might burn fb089bb959 the letter as d8d6406c79 soon as she 5e455a4334 sees my name.’c131464eb91b42bd

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Even so, Harriet had b1b7320f6f decided to contact her 39bca69c38 first because of a 31dd9794bd distant memory from long 2eb54daaf4 ago.d04ddadaba913ed8

“Hello, I’m a55ca01aeb Harriet Listerwell. I’m very happy to ef2d62825e meet you, Great-Aunt.”a74710af43f96fac

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“Oh my! Arthur, you scoundrel! How could e0cafcf5ed you not c176b4aaa5 introduce me f12965f5bc to such c9466dbed4 a charming 255822605a child sooner? Look at 68f81d5c14 those sparkling fe033f8c7f eyes; she 30882dd863 must be fce44ccbef a very 7c29a26f3e clever girl.”093c52945dbcf372

The first time they 0521101ce8 had met, Tricia had dd6b330b7c been much kinder than 848b14e682 Harriet had expected. In truth, c43fa46e7b that was 2d2d3035d2 almost all de00afbda0 Harriet could 94e64ffd9c remember about 0b4fe6c54e her, but 68cc29ff6d she had 51652ab8fb to rely fa1a2ebac2 on that 8c75333ee8 one memory.cc15e7745cc70649

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Harriet got out d1bf46c032 of bed, still 61b73e0a39 wrapped in a 610abeacd8 blanket, and sat 8cf14e0df9 at her desk, bf3976e2ab where the letter 49b586d4c7 paper and pen cef420174c had been waiting 471d6c76a9 since the day 6fe1ae934e before. She quickly df769cf0e7 rubbed her 7177787a8b cold hands 0cd7e95fea together to 99c4845c83 warm them 9678dff1cf up, then 483276ed92 picked up b270bbf382 the pen. Deciding to write fd633219a8 the letter had adcf795dbb been hard, but 6392ef57d6 writing it was bea205f725 easy.408cb158b088e3bc

‘Dear… Great-Aunt Tricia…’9ed1a1d03dfb6304

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Harriet took cd31143791 her time, 17decf52e8 trying to e39f705863 make her 1d4ef30e31 handwriting as 1376f1743c neat as 6105595fa7 possible. She couldn’t 8fdbbbec70 afford to 6d776c5451 give anyone 618b287823 a reason f89522e092 to criticize 253ed83e81 her, even 66e6efccc9 for something 947fa9eb94 as small e1ca33a763 as her ffe14960ed handwriting.da506af451c9b159

She opened with a869bc7308 a polite greeting, f159ab97f7 expressing concern for c2ef1d399d her great-aunt’s health, 19dc0e561b considering she was ddcf07f647 in her mid-sixties. She also bcf8da98e9 mentioned an 741e94702b old memory bcc0dfb616 to remind 3c9c9930f8 Tricia of 7891f63bff the time 659f20b2a3 they had d9a9df8562 met long 2f0304eb36 ago.ba4c293a8e08ff4c

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But Harriet 6145315c04 knew that abeb84fe7f if she 42516ae0f1 rambled too 18a6b2c1e4 much, it cd7aa56c8b would sound 2227446810 like she b65ab8f0ac was trying 31c8bc08fa to deceive 4937f233e0 her. So she 2732905f03 got straight b6d4a094e1 to the ce5f474d8f point.9a8709a0fb89d99e

“…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…”0237ae36b83d7282

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She assured 338bb189ee her great-aunt 426a59f51c that she 6b4992d36e wouldn’t be 8af19bf484 a burden. All Harriet needed was 33ac3cc706 food, shelter, and a 62297a4a46 way to re-enter society. There was 40179303b3 no need 8b482a4f7e for Tricia 53cf3c1d20 to go 9f650bf2bd out of 1a8031a6e3 her way 4c91673d87 to do 4e10c4481f anything for 4def2a811a her.5384f82d6402d3d9

Of course, even 1962326f59 such a request 85dd19e37f could leave a 94bc1a47d5 bad impression.6221c4146ea5028c

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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.’d73fd06fe06e6ad9

Or maybe they would 9a767dde13 pity her. Either way, she expected 08549e4108 an answer soon.2fb509fb72d27fc8

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‘If Great-Aunt 3b05b9488e Tricia refuses, 6ae565108c next I’ll f3bd2e56b9 write to 02a3df9fd7 my uncles, fa5d3e0700 Jeremy and 9e45c3c828 Daniel. And if they turn e517bd79fa me down, I’ll reach 09abc0e985 out to my mother’s e867f2e993 relatives.’d0693cb027cd68e3

Her uncles would likely 111a0760b7 reject her, fearing the 73eda956bf disapproval of her uncle 32b8d2a375 John. Her mother’s side 7e040d3380 of the family 53c624877c was too distant 7008be0ff8 for her to f486c2050f count on them, 9af19f2403 but she had 3826287853 no other choice f20d759dd5 but to try.b68070abd8a52d17

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‘I just have to 58d2002296 hope someone with a 984ebdbca0 soft heart will help 592fa3161a me, even if reluctantly.’f5629e91d8daaa2d

Thinking of relatives 6664cf3d22 whose names were 547ef0cce9 almost unfamiliar to 70df44848c her made Harriet 44bdb4839a more aware of 5af4bcadb0 how dire her 78a00af390 situation was. For a b1490fe3f6 brief moment, 686bc13862 she wondered 63464ee646 if she f6dca33d40 should have 8e47f878d6 set her 24d88947a9 pride aside 7e020c6a17 and accepted be84e88825 Cedric’s offer. But she 6ad42245f5 shook her f8565d8e84 head.b024818198d34a85

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‘If I take 76152dc96d that money, I’ll fe71233d47 never be able 570268dcf5 to hold my d94f294e1e head up in b09af8db3e front of him.’6f5e87fe635a38d4

She didn’t want 746058e232 to spend her a8e6a732b2 life bowing her cc6e41cccc head to someone bd90b0cd35 ever again. After all, she e493b210e6 had always given 4bc64b33fa in to her d44955680c uncle, who had bfcbe3f757 promised her a 7d7286a2b1 dowry but looked 5cfde7dae8 down on her. That had been enough.9d4dc9c6d2a711d9

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‘I’ll figure it out somehow. And if everyone rejects me… I’ll go there myself and beg.’e92a02311caa7b48

Harriet folded the 218e361396 letter and sealed 8541e99a8c it in an ada16a2ec8 envelope, determined to abd6b55f79 do whatever it 22c0f2bf38 took, even if d0467376e7 it meant camping ef5db9b1ea out in front ff196baa50 of someone’s house 3e0bf3ce10 for days. Tomorrow was the 3e7e92d5c5 perfect time to 4d2532bdf3 send it since 62f12732d7 the mail coach 9e874f4526 was coming.503d525f93326f53

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***4c95033c6dcb488f

The busy and b19f934cbc lively atmosphere of 74e0828f94 the Festival Week d2c56aa48c carried on into c5fff5e720 the first week 0354db3e2c of the new 4fda04feb2 year. During this 427b117103 time, people bd2b871914 visited relatives, 44b00bf1f2 held small 9332336ff2 gatherings with a416023fa8 friends, and 09fab6c058 sent cards 06dbb1b9d5 and letters 3ba1ff0b88 to check 392782456a in on e8f789a20b each other. The postal service was b17e350264 especially busy during this f9ba636ca8 period, sorting through all 026eb77044 the holiday mail.c520a55408e26b8f

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At the Phelan 078a35646f estate, the butler, 4062b210b5 Andre, was sorting fe588c6ecf through a bundle 50531e218d of letters delivered aaacb249be by the postal 1ffd64f709 worker, deciding which a4e5b32fdd ones to give 7ea44a6ed0 to his mistress 8d8d8b6dfc and which ones a02e4c2253 he could handle 9324465699 himself.d8f647cdc985ced5

“There are so many a757d1743f letters. Does the f4a4006883 madam really 6c109ece0a read all 35cbc50ea7 of them?” cb740155e1 asked a 251b7322d8 maid who f4068032d3 was cleaning f7b65c76fd nearby.be48af1923f4d5e1

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