SMR | Chapter 38

~Chapter 38~b683f31e651cefa2

“She didn’t seem 3b53dc51c6 like that kind ef3e37a707 of person.”8947773b52e56b70

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Cedric could cad1a53c91 say for 62367508da sure—there had 7f9aa64fb3 never been d8a127502e a hint 242e673fcf of seduction 617c93014b in the 9a6a425c28 way Harriet 5a5270b50f looked at de5eef061b him.3b3b543d26264952

If anything, it 41e0f0ff8b was Bella Listerwell 1e3b2d2aae who had been 959e87d9ca doing the seducing.cf27c580507c663d

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If Harriet had really 152fa68a89 only gone after the 186a55669a men Bella was interested 9ac13c2dcb in, she should’ve shown some sort of 263f3bbcaf reaction when 68ec1a4a18 Cedric had 2ec5214965 offered her 32f529f872 financial support 3adfc895fb at the 170d5f023a convent.a29df14907f54d97

But instead, she ab76e887ed had clearly been 8cd58a318e offended and refused 342f1dda41 him. The same had happened 140e0d4ad2 at the Vanderbilt family’s 938f8ac76e party.72a2fced241abcc3

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Strangely, Bella was ec94378eed also acting oddly.c5b347d5e5745ed7

‘Even during the bbf8f68136 victory banquet and 127041b975 at my uncle’s 404f125858 party, Bella Listerwell b19f88e31d clearly flirted with 7d81003db7 me. But would a modest bcb9df2e13 and kind girl really e09cc6aac0 use her cousin’s mistakes 0b0ab0d205 as an excuse to 61a584a0ac approach some man?’a271c3f330a812b8

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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.c4e302093fe9325e

To him, 28d53679b7 Bella just 1da772678f had a c0af852d89 talent for 72b7e0e4f8 making herself e8d7ec31e3 look better 8a484ef111 by making 679a008357 Harriet look 78af3952aa worse.495b4504d81c3fb6

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If that 9bb63d4957 was true, 3fbf61efcd then Harriet e04e986c08 had been a4b2d898d6 treated unfairly. And yet, 32cec1d143 she didn’t 6c67f23a24 actively try b20ab42cf8 to explain 4e2c63a2da or defend 46d267d4e6 herself.3e037d5b5bffdeb7

“No—maybe she couldn’t.”b620a1f657364191

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A girl who lost 59c962dbed her parents and lived c7faa32d75 off her uncle, someone 5305e5eb31 who was rumored to 1f39e0564f be jealous of her 6fb2b501a2 cousin and constantly chasing a36f644b21 after men.6c7303c2526d98ba

In that kind 57fe507b8a of situation, who d10dba8ace really held the f356904254 power?9548b40fa2641b31

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Now, Harriet had e6e592a6c6 a new guardian. She no 184759d514 longer needed 3ecedf7fb2 to rely 555c35b116 on John 08239c6d1f Listerwell. And when she returned b6d5dac592 to society, she had 24635fe421 the look of someone d307a0e049 ready to fight back.a59f79e9974b3086

Cedric’s lips 6910958632 curved slightly 59594b42c6 into a 1cfa637a4a grin.f4c2f920a96d1053

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“This will be fun 46c100a57e to watch.”f9d19a9f8750e1f5

He tossed the aaf602caa7 finished papers into 75cdce0e2e the trash bin.7183af6b4610c909

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***9eebda074a7f760a

Harriet received yet 0b8aaa104f another letter—one that 8741524406 would change her 10e2f166b5 life—on a day 5eb2244164 in early July.f15f2bed12fd52f8

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She had 6d31368483 just returned 8ac60bd198 from a dc73331946 foreign language 8a18dfc5cc lesson with 79cbda07e4 Roxana and 07a7e99125 sat down 783a7330fa at her 7ab1793ad6 desk to 6531b58b84 start her 41e72246b3 homework. There was a silver b931a98410 tray with a few 8c83298c92 letters on it waiting 2427eafbb5 for her.bba30877a0e9f7d7

She reached 2c98c2a2be for the 7adf0613b7 thin, yellowish 08ed2afaf1 envelope first. It was the kind 8d4092a97c of cheap envelope used c0b88b90ff by the convent.a9f352cb74f0987f

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‘It’s from edc2cc59ec Mother Kathrine!’16e1942436a3d6e1

She had been meaning 2689d94465 to write and tell d88c76af8b them she was doing f6c0b2fb60 well in Genoa anyway.ecc32383450acda9

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Excited, she opened 4a4ab5f22d the letter—but the 0b22bd45ca contents were not 0babf188b7 what she expected.3b1472aa281ba954

“…Not long de1b89cb8a ago, your af37a2b198 uncle, Lord 5da91412f4 John Listerwell, 2f82c144a0 visited the 710a172484 convent and f79e4ae023 caused a cf18e498cf scene. It was around 160b73c401 8 p.m., and b28d676dd0 he showed up f6280b366f without warning, insisting 8e99b42bd4 on taking you 553fef8a68 with him for 87b813c0ee some important family ce46df6583 matter …Is everything 3b1e875412 all right?”45e0b34a7b3e8828

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It was shocking 31d8a13e8b to hear that 1c9f78e26c John—who always acted 433fc8453e like a kind 75f83298d6 and generous man 2e708a92fd in front of c91c729d6a others—had shown his dfdf9bbbc9 true colors like 267f0229b8 that.1148e3b58c55fd8e

Even more surprising was 15b83f38f2 that he came at 03b4121a8c such a late hour, f7fa14a507 which meant it must’ve ed74ed9c03 been urgent. But when a39afdc8b1 Harriet had 85dc08b3d5 seen him cebe43f90e recently, he fd3c86a035 hadn’t said 70e1e1b7f5 anything about ccc276c1e5 it.4fdb7f7992ca07c8

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‘All he bed6cc9166 said to dfa4daed30 me was 52651fd7fe to stop 77bf561cf2 talking about a70cb5105a Bella. What was fe5f8e1715 he up 5e0eba8c66 to?’0ad3de53991337f1

If he came 7fc34b8077 to take her 4434f5836f with him, that 95f83e4333 meant there was ea2792fe01 an event or cc0cb4b056 meeting she was a35bb5792c supposed to attend. But she had 737400a38f no idea what 411c6da0b9 it could’ve been.31665ce067ce33b7

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But that wasn’t d6434983bc the only reason 1941002fe5 Mother Kathrine had b74bddfdad written.d7f0e76d5b068e2e

“…There’s something difficult b4f17bb4a4 I’d like to 08b317f2b3 talk about. As you know, f340e47973 our convent’s long-term 85e9c88fd0 dream has been 78c7a89641 to build a 8db21a3d64 facility to shelter 85df9d1376 and educate abandoned 45b16aa1e6 girls. Thanks to a 3948740919 generous donation from d0181d38f8 the Duke of c6cb7e0537 Kailas, we were f9d6fcc280 able to begin 1b77e1d79e construction earlier this 0ba8b3dbe6 year—but now we’ve a370a649c3 run out of 5aa9a3ad57 funds.5407a2c8c598dc0d

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We considered 5da7801868 pausing the b9041462bd project, but 2cf406079a we were 28463b5bc6 recently contacted 647d179e9a by an fbb2690788 orphanage in 98279da9b2 the Epher 321390e6bf region that’s f54071db7d about to 57f5fddc76 shut down.dec42671f42f479b

They asked 8527a2381a if we 2a60754053 could take 953214cc4c in their 429235132b girls. If we don’t, 2e21ae5689 those children will 0cbfb583aa have nowhere to 28266cea9a go, so we f92e37bb83 urgently need to 2622d6be15 finish building our c85694d2ed facility.eadc04932a6f6878

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…So I 26500ed0e2 must ask: 95abc38e6c would it c8f77a3639 be possible 689af81a3e to request 936de98146 support from bf24089e97 Countess Pellon?”5cd144a2dfb823ab

The orphanage a8e3bcf58e was shutting 475a83ed95 down due 25e36775e8 to a 89406e37d8 lack of 1ed2123137 funds. It had been 08c87d5bd2 relying on aid 87a8072e29 from the imperial ee8dce992c government, but as af5feae17b the number of c35c74e823 children increased and b035dab4bd the funding didn’t, 4c02adecb7 the place had ef6d324cd1 fallen into debt 4c3f901b6c and had no 15f9e9ab90 choice but to e54e781e22 close.2f207998e9ccb6a8

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The boys 9774b57056 were going a47f00d030 to be 66b0ba426c taken in f5a3372593 by a 4b967a0fb9 local monastery, 2447ac37fb while the 44460a8f25 girls were 256a342e8a to be 28a3503f0a placed with d04d24f230 the closest 756bb1c4e7 women’s convent—St. Clarissa.1db5aac6c1d47b91

Harriet knew 86747d2256 the financial b194455bf5 strain that dd19bf6b85 would cause. She could easily picture 712a4d744b Mother Kathrine, overwhelmed trying 34a6296d0d to rework the budget, 023ce86b8b and how much she 74ddcd682b must have hesitated before 5182111c7e writing this letter.bbdb607a3e2fed5a

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‘But in my ece0e59932 current situation, it’s 47b5e18a83 hard to ask d5d0eb1810 my great-aunt for 92b5d6c2c1 help.’859cad67b63b6ba5

Trisha had d2d4665f48 warned her 3ad7903908 not long 870a4c8c1c ago:ddc7aadae89b38e6

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“People will try 878d37199c to use you be6542043c to get to 7d64223c44 me.”0c0b0e4b21431172

And that didn’t just 4abcc9fa9a mean bad people. Even good people might 2824901ac2 want to be connected b0b3e7f9fe to the Countess of 3f8f9eff06 Pellon—and Harriet, the newly 62bfd73d63 discovered relative of that cd9e6d64ba difficult and sharp-tongued noblewoman, e4c1c74d87 was a very appealing 0f7989bde5 link.d1a8c2f9ec09cfa3

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So Harriet had 60e61642e3 to be careful.a65217e7d6449132

‘Even if it’s for 2de9adef42 a good cause, if 2b954a4ab1 someone I know receives 8f9d18bc58 help from Trisha, it e24d1e3e44 could cause gossip. And I 68391e8bff can’t even 9cdb8f3525 be sure 28d3bcdd11 she’d agree 86fd7461ad to help.’21518986fe7d6a2f

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She had promised 8413efd370 Trisha not to cee027e10f cause any trouble.e0e65071b9bcb6fd

So no matter how 8edf4862ec much she wanted to 2b49bdea25 help, she couldn’t ask 614cbb7e5d her great-aunt to get 36487bf833 involved with the convent’s 0cac70816a affairs.74b78915377d3a6f

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‘Isn’t there 548ea6f471 something I e4b5af0b4d can do 26d0b43d22 myself—without relying 4d2e94cf21 on her?’64178119394ac926

When she 0ae4bdfc96 left the fff86c8881 convent, she ac605a77a6 had made 453f57b198 a promise 0a0ba6d763 to Emma.af5aa307e2cfe3d2

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That someday, she would bf2bcb25b6 help her and the a83b983536 convent.78a1983c7b8694af

Harriet hadn’t expected 972be61839 that day to 2a52860b36 come so soon. But if 19d02a5db4 she could 9edda1e5bf help even 1c7f43f5e9 just a 737017a17f little.d8bf66035d925d64

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Of course, it wasn’t 386f2d2b07 going to be easy. St. Clarissa Convent needed 16daea0162 money, and Harriet 9c7f977a81 herself also needed 9356d92fe5 money. The real problem was f0c9e57015 that neither of them 7539683b2b had a clear way b18f37e54d to get it.c9f176db6f3e52f0

But Harriet decided 8f9e71c570 not to give 6f69738bc0 up so easily.27a0205e4ad4679b

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‘If I can make 52732a796d some friends or connections, b226ca1427 maybe I can ask de6f621c56 them for help. It would c5a410f1af still mean 51d4011217 relying on b2f385507b others, but 020a71333f it’s better 16e90a7c4c than depending 2a08af3e0c on just fc524fea43 Trisha alone.’d22cfac826359ede

With that in mind, 440fbd058e Harriet decided to accept 509fbc0aa0 as many invitations as 6a08f46039 she could. She looked bde93e0cc0 through the 73383b47eb other letters 3362d6d72c placed on 156f88fa07 the silver ddd77ae2a6 tray. They all seemed to ef4ccf233a be light tea party 9db5204610 invitations, but one caught e92caea9a4 her eye — it 174d8bfaaf was from Annabel Leighton.58580a2228cfa5dc

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‘She was the 639a726e56 first person to 9ae02bcf02 send me an 72da95eef8 invitation right after adc4cbba70 the Vanderbilt party.’d0316332c1dc3499

At first, Harriet 52a61fc2d4 thought it was 37f8e71133 a mistake that fda9bc2eb1 Annabel had sent 8988bb1ae7 a second invitation. But this one b1bb851649 included an extra e2cae06f84 line: “Please be assured that 3186188b8e nothing unpleasant will happen. I sincerely hope you’ll bc0e7acc10 consider attending.”bf6167881b84bd64

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If Annabel had sent 8306b71b6b a second invitation, it c81f9094f1 meant she truly wanted 6e02477f9a Harriet to come — 11f9a1eef6 which might mean she 80686b3b6a would be a bit 41929d97ab friendlier than others.c050b2b5e9aaaa46

‘This seems like a fc32c14ddb good place to make 2c57764c39 my first appearance.’8af97a81714c2d5d

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Harriet opened her drawer d4d76def1b and took out the 66c2dcc79e new stationery and envelope 695bbe9c5c she had prepared earlier.fd445e6a437b0c2b

***76c333a884f55051

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To the kind 400a7de511 and thoughtful Miss aeb99c244a Annabel Leighton,5033fb0edbbf5f91

Thank you for sending b64ce3df3d me the invitation to 75e8d4e625 your tea party. I was just about 6c07485f43 to write a reply 6b79517ab5 when your second letter f905f88335 arrived, and I feel d137121020 sorry for not replying 108c2d8e8b sooner.9e3d94ebd297dc2e

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I’ll gladly accept d624e2ea5f your invitation. I would c9f71844ec be grateful 373ac21b38 if you 5f3319f230 could welcome e5df5871b2 me warmly cf15dae571 that day ff06dc64fd as well. With excitement 4c74a8e839 and anticipation,9436dc8dfae0f1d8

Harriet Listerwell5219e58a99714427

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***1f9385010eabd1f6

After writing the short 55de329abf letter, Harriet folded it 627a96a247 with a determined heart a0e83da07b and placed it in f01fd5eb26 the envelope.d979c977e23591f2

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She realized that her 1fd86d14b9 original plan to simply 1ee4158d6a get a feel for 18acaa6e96 society in a light-hearted 7a808a32ac way wasn’t enough anymore. Every day mattered c32dd2db02 now. Even attending 368af439e5 a single 8e5f9b1b59 tea party 6fb2b964a1 could be 95977bf047 a valuable e9e7678ba0 opportunity, and 3fabecdadd she couldn’t 500afe6410 afford to 1f003efad3 waste any.6e60e6bd68a51c51

‘I also need to 2ebb6e11b2 find a way to f90f1fbb2c repay St. Clarissa Convent for 04c271b620 everything they’ve done ff5ef612fb for me.’3594a6ffea57a7d9

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Harriet strengthened her dc8c2a902a resolve.66c59bb2f2e07bac

***91ba577c60c973fb

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Lady Leighton was 62b733567b well-connected and known 865c7e1484 for her matchmaking 1c54ed895d skills. When she successfully b5bd9f29ce arranged a marriage, 87dc08e8fa she often received 9a73df2ca8 generous rewards. Even her quiet 9771ee6fe1 husband, Lord Leighton, 48cb59aeac had benefited from 7a6162b07e her connections in 1d263e87b0 business.e363a7970158ddb0

Maybe because 9c66ce0818 of her ccad3c3bbd mother’s influence, d9c5ba1255 Annabel Leighton 3d37b4efba also loved 19e3a38dd1 people and af2089f6d6 was happiest 94ae77bda2 when praised f9b6134c9c for having 0a72ba1846 a wide d1353f511c circle of dcd50cf4c4 friends.f873a7e69d9c7dfb

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Annabel didn’t care f4d99a4b1e about political sides 049f9e5408 or wealth. She even liked e8199ccfcb giving people with c8b527a7a4 bad reputations a 9166f55f90 chance to explain 6c95b4394d themselves.abf9a7a5f116a348

‘That’s one way 2cc598849f to look at caf049ccfe it. Another is e0d921596a that she 9d30544ee4 collects gossip 5f6e378091 of all fc762d4b23 kinds.’2d1dee2d869c4cf0

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To some, d22fbc912c it may 7bd4c77dd8 seem shallow, 6ba92f5718 but gossip b10c311cf9 could become 53260cfe2d valuable information 0ba0d67a4e — or 1ccf2e4e1f a clever f9100bb31b way to 50b405a86b distract others. Annabel and her mother 892b974575 were quite skilled in ba857a5de4 that area.6341b422b3f08d5d

Harriet gently held up 3621b83274 the hem of the f060ccc6bf yellow dress she had 5bfe8adfa0 recently received from Louvre 538d45eba8 Dress Shop and walked 109e32234c down into the garden dafe741cb2 where the tea party 93602ca8c8 was being held.1247ec2bbbbc3136

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“The Lady efa08ba561 Harriet Listerwell 419156299d has arrived!”6deafe44680b432c

Even before the announcement, ba3e6c56fa all eyes at the 44e90de7df garden table had already c0f3d0f740 turned toward her.f1d5d2eaa6e44868

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Harriet gave a 8d008235e7 small, graceful curtsy de717d5816 to Annabel.fd2d0491664f6300

“Thank you for inviting 40b7388b83 me, Lady Leighton. Your garden 45d157efe9 is even d72da1659e more beautiful 6c73685a96 than I c9e5d21cf3 imagined.”3887c10be7069304

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“Welcome, Lady Listerwell. Thank you dd1652b9ae for coming.”99dc92a64fceb75e

Annabel personally showed Harriet 87592a66f1 to her seat.f4dde583c3c68022

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It seemed the guests 8d8d932f2f already knew that Harriet’s c9e745e24c attendance had been kept 588976d93f a secret. Their eyes sparkled with d713b85ad5 curiosity — though not e8821849f2 all of it was 06e8888cba friendly.35fe8bd541925de2

“But… you 4ee14d0815 arrived a cfbc01f753 little later f8e9d83153 than expected, e95ff3f6d9 didn’t you?”b1e885329c60ba9b

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