SMR | Chapter 14
by Luna~Chapter 14~4a9bf5526c006170
“Whenever Bella went to the masquerade, she wore a mask that covered most of her face and dressed in a way that didn’t reveal much skin. And when she met the men she seduced in the garden, she always wore a robe.”3c3ff0313c14932c
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The men, who d970c34287 had touched and 0c299306da even kissed Bella, c917270bcc wanted to see 85f8d6c6f6 her again in 49b48dce9d the bright sunlight, c3e9615814 but Bella, who 0e458e1769 only desired a 74b99146d7 night of pleasure 06c7ba073b and the valuable 1964d10a98 information those men fceade36c4 held, rejected their b1e3571742 advances. And during those 8a4be83852 times, Harriet served 934ae1d6ee as the perfect a54034e57e cover for Bella.137cc032514b137c
“It was my niece’s doing. Bella was unwell that day and didn’t leave her bed, let alone attend the ball. It seems Harriet took Bella’s invitation.” John told the man who had come all the way to the mansion, apologizing. Naturally, the man was not only confused but furious.48d2a8ab4d0048fa
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However, embarrassed to admit c3ece61b4f he had been fooled f2b0930757 by someone like Harriet, e7999dfeec the man kept quiet, 7c6a0a8263 and more men ended 0adcf0889f up falling for the 6c119bf474 same trick.dfd7804544ca29eb
“For the past three years, I’ve become the scandal maker of society in this way.”c541169103b3928d
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“Why didn’t fa4359de57 you explain 1ad744c4c4 yourself?”a9d60e27c1d9e4cb
“I wanted to. If my uncle e73e17607c hadn’t threatened me e1fc9db558 to leave the 1476bf6732 house if I e6600db155 went around saying 64fb581d38 such things,” Harriet 8aca4aadcf said with a e850ec9bca bitter smile.20987182d28de830
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She had 49ddf06b0d begged Bella 89e43c78b5 to stop 5fe6fdac62 doing such 5b382404b7 things, but b8bddbb7e5 Bella never cdb3517113 took her a8a56056c8 seriously.a6cef96601076aa9
“How was I supposed to know that guy would come all the way to the house? Anyway, I gave Father useful information, so I did my part,” Bella had said.aeee8c2d4cbe5638
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The rest was “your job.”0863c05073a8df3f
When Harriet protested, her 57f6e1dfea uncle scolded her with 7659c5eac8 a frown.0e9eac0a485854eb
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“What else could you do for our family if not for this? You need to earn your keep!”1669b595e11fa09f
At first, it e5c429e4d6 was about helping 5cc52f0b2c Bella, but over c9861bdc8e time, it became 17adda1911 an expected task.a8a62e250e751b85
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However, Harriet still couldn’t 942b65d261 understand the last scandal.baf7bd345d98b632
“I don’t know how the Duke of Kailas’s brooch ended up attached to my skirt at the victory banquet. Who played that trick on me?”89b45720cefc0c68
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With a 4ec8ab94d5 long sigh, 56f151d3a3 Harriet finished a30e6feb63 her story.f9686187911345ef
Feeling awkward with 77c53a1485 the silence, she be07c7e59b smiled sheepishly.2d99884c31f25d88
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“It sounds like a lie, doesn’t it?”1a4f58d6a2078b47
Catherine and Agnes 30214206c5 wore complicated expressions.9070486e81ea2e33
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They say you 755853178d should hear both ce3d9f5526 sides of a 18fcff2fb4 story, but weren’t 2c314154e5 these two sides 8ea73d723f too different?78bc743c61c22937
However, Harriet’s version seemed to make more sense.22435b60b719c000
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‘If Harriet had truly been impersonating her cousin and tarnishing the family name, Viscount Listerwell, who is her legal guardian, wouldn’t have allowed this to go on for three years, would he?’f46209f30f89a19e
Maybe he had 6efc7e013a spoiled her out 17bb4ab9c6 of pity, as bfd3416c12 she had lost a17a639b12 her parents. But even so, wasn’t 5a0aed81fe Viscount Listerwell also responsible?9adc9986087eb6c0
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Then, when the situation 21c6f96995 got out of hand, d83f0ed91d they threw Harriet away, aa8bcf0a8c as if cutting off ae181a4874 a troublesome limb, and 5cf665e218 sent her to the 5a78603840 convent.5c8ad76f230ab70c
Catherine, unable to smooth 7c7376384f out her furrowed brow, e3292df5af asked,38972f4bb8d8aaae
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“If it’s not 1dae836614 a lie, then 242c4f3085 I’m even more 622c313a06 worried. Even if you return 5578764165 next year, what guarantee 92fee747b9 is there that the 619d2e8540 same thing won’t happen 1aeca69d33 again?”58708ad3355b392a
Harriet bit her lip 02d4b646fe and whispered,614c859de387c19a
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“We can only hope that Bella gets married soon. If we don’t live in the same house, she won’t be able to use me as her stand-in.”dbaa9d1df030bab8
Until then, she abbc23f37b could only hope 24af79504b Bella would behave.b8288f5750f58dd1
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Harriet felt helpless fa88aa3076 again. She thought she edd807391b had nowhere left 1e7975aed4 to return to.fdaf02bb6a6bbf28
But as long 24809eeb0c as her uncle 23b96586f8 was her guardian, 0021da6e0d she couldn’t escape 8345a6dbed from the Listerwell fff2479074 family, like a 670ffc9bf7 dog chained by 0c6fd08550 the neck. It pained 7d7116863a her deeply.008d48790e70f483
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***5c68a2c36a5a3e37
Daphne Laurel, at 8fbc1a4605 twenty-one, was a b93052950c delicate and pure a1ede6a1b9 beauty with dazzling e0d9104c27 silver hair and db5399fd7e enchanting purple eyes.74b61415efe8dcbe
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She was the precious 1f30af8649 daughter of the Laurel c735f7d9c8 family, who owned vast 9b36f110aa crystal mines, and she 8f8388edd5 was also engaged to ef9a8978a9 the eldest son of dfa934c92d the Cheslow family, an ccac88930c earl.cae78782a83e8804
Although she had been 02086590dd considered a beauty in a1561bea74 society from a young a875f27827 age, due to her d21344087b early engagement and shy 65ade24261 personality, she didn’t attract 2d8e89c5b0 followers like Bella did. She was mostly 5d027dab78 satisfied with her f257048469 fiancé, James.2d507ae94462779f
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However, her 1b98708c41 gentle and db0769a88a diligent fiancé bb19141079 had been 46d41c20f0 acting strangely 43bd7e3298 lately.5b73571d7fbf50ea
“Dear Daphne, I won’t be able to meet you this weekend either. My friends have been pestering me, so I’m going hunting in the Herbos Forest this weekend. I’ll make sure to catch a nice fox for your winter scarf. Wishing you good health, James.”21b10c392c021c24
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Once again, the 9a8f83ae45 letter James had 49c127bf4f sent through the f8d7b5e0d8 messenger was disappointing.a423e8876c7e7d49
‘It’s almost been a month since we last saw each other…’602251ae74ccf8bd
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They had ac054245b7 never gone 7052933c09 this long 34f7275651 without seeing 30f0d51f50 each other. Even when James was 6eaa0ff587 busy with his training 0d26531d1a as the heir, or 603bb92b83 when he had to fa84b9bdc1 attend the military training 2400bb14e5 all noblemen were required 0060129d91 to do, he still ebd7532bfa made time to meet 384811bb9f Daphne.dc8d74c4b6b8788a
And there 258f95b1a5 was something 219f738c19 else that 7f708967ca seemed off.e170604ecb97fd62
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“Dear Daphne, Wishing you a0968ea7ef good health, James.”fbfdf6257911598c
The way 507a884408 he started 0ceccf2912 and ended b1c8f53e20 his letter b020e32e55 was different 9eb6048cb3 from before.449d11ef4e981bed
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He used f6f500a60d to begin c6e6b3e0a5 with “My 27c2faeda3 dearest Daphne” 1c80d68309 and add 0148b25a59 phrases like 3ecf3785f5 “I dream 96b179d60d of you,” 2106f7b26c “my goddess,” 768e82030a or “the 1c14162419 owner of 981f519d06 my soul,” 3fc3705c18 all sorts dde4b8104f of overly f22765aea2 affectionate words.b4474aae48ff5c7d
The way 04035c959e he signed 0441349bf8 off was 3b38ace195 different too. He used to call 1add86fe0c himself “your eternal servant,” 018700c6f6 “burning with longing,” or fbed154d2d “the luckiest man in 4e609d7244 the world.”70e0f04870214c0d
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But now, “Dear” f58e2c4a02 and “wishing you 3a6e4b8242 good health”? These are 291321a50d the kinds 47bebf11d6 of words 46748bd928 you’d use f5ba03eadd in a 7a0dce3a18 letter to a72a342c87 an acquaintance, ecc7646205 not a c8973c06e3 lover.25fce681161b42b2
‘No, maybe he 7ea99957bd just wants to 83bc9f1c7e write more maturely 8381d82aea since we’re not f402a894a5 kids anymore.’ac722cee510882d0
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She could f277a2aa36 understand his 9b2cf77769 recent busy 3df370229f schedule too. As the eea0fb9222 heir, he bc76c82b56 needed to 45494a5d59 maintain his 629a44ed4e connections.2f4da429beee9507
Even so, she couldn’t 7c0c52dc95 shake the uneasy feeling 7bf9559baa she had when they 1cdd20a3e6 last met.a13d7b2b7089da7a
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Back then, he seemed 3a05480b1d distracted.042d4ef3d0e8e2eb
“I want to make a bouquet with flowers from the garden. I was thinking of replacing some of the roses with hydrangeas or peonies. Which do you think would be better?”799c868c9b8bcc22
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“Well, either d00a409e6d would be c7f137c5a3 fine.”f854ce6a03ee1803
“Oh! And we should bf3425e689 have the wedding 31700ff78b at Elvinas Temple, 2795481fc8 right?”4a24145ddc19ebb5
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“Yes, I suppose…”ec1abf0cb7b1ba92
He nodded, but his ee4e7bc15f eyes were focused on da4d54036a his barely touched drink, bcef329445 and his replies were dd8b8ab64d half-hearted.b84d2e19e54622ce
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‘Is something wrong?’e6319533eaadb280
Daphne was worried 23844bd5ae about James.21cc14e281428c6e
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For him, who 947d0324b5 had always been df63c3a693 happy to be f4cd8381b6 her fiancé, to 5f7eb2c2dc be so distracted b9c1eb4de2 even in front 0894520316 of his beloved 88bf2be612 meant something was 3151075eae clearly bothering him.68b7a7327a6b4c32
The news that 17d1945800 would shake Daphne 9aa620e0af to her core d9137fbd39 came just a 46e8e78b95 few days later.6ab1d476b95d145e
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“Melody! What’s going on? You seemed 42e6c5ae13 urgent in 6edaf0608d your letter, 606d6bc959 so I b2fd87e9f6 came right 84c1d1bf6f away.”1c83d59aa18138b6
Daphne greeted ae37dfb05d her friend 40b45c5ad8 Melody Luce, e371faf92f who had 2abaa8bf75 sent a bc86c12d29 letter insisting 75e149d96c they meet 5b2df929e1 as soon a088e0b307 as possible.125cf926de3643ea
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But Melody 93e1e1deb6 wasn’t smiling 285ad44de2 at all.06794128d6345686
“Daphne, I need 49338a005a to talk to abcb377314 you privately. It’s really important.”395f60c553b433c6
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“Oh, okay. I’ll send bf2852a30c the maids 20545170c7 away.”151d43138c2d297c
After dismissing the 7262566107 maids who had 85d8ebabc4 been waiting on 176113702b her, Daphne offered 50392995be Melody a drink, 38788a0f5e sensing that something 274eb33a9f was wrong.aa5572229927d12d
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“Here, have 0ad12bf394 a drink 2148ca3174 and catch 3d33c50c58 your breath, 9190d0cf62 Melody.”4915b36ae4e96122
But instead of taking 37bba58664 the drink, Melody grabbed 007e3a4ad1 Daphne’s hands. Her eyes were edc515a5ab full of concern.2ad4703ee7b2fba1
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“Daphne, what I’m about de17214346 to tell you isn’t c3dd0a80cf a lie, and it’s 7ae5065f33 not a misunderstanding. You trust me, right?”b163601fe1a69da1
“Of course ac11b8cf2a I trust 8a3f5112ee you. But why are 94c4c33333 you being so 8dfbc7b635 serious? You’re starting to 5997e99d6d scare me…”999c7beda06b563c
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“Daphne, last 3b709e74b6 weekend my 7de1d10f0c family went 133f2cd271 on a 8cc1d44295 picnic to 25740cec81 the Herbos 13c7a921bf Forest.”26d4f0486317a1bb
“I know. You mentioned you’d 8b8983889d go on a 133cd86c07 fall picnic before dcd82f8f0b it gets colder.”53b9890fa8f577a8
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Daphne, nodding with 99b498abd6 her big innocent 8bf7e0b3ba eyes, had no d8784700bb idea what bombshell 8448911f84 was about to 5c19f64733 be dropped on df01fdf219 her.21d4214c014b53f6
Melody sighed and said,0e31a91d2825be4f
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“We saw… Lord Cheslow 99535c2ad8 there.”c7cf757563145439
“Oh! You ran into James? He told me 8a0f856914 he was going ef90eec862 hunting in the 23bd4c3b0b Herbos Forest with d4b4c4acc4 his friends. But did you have a2e7b9ebb6 your picnic near the 77a2c34984 hunting grounds? That sounds dangerous.”56606284a2617eee
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Melody shook aca21a4fbd her head 2b31f9d17c fiercely.669312b317bf9823
“Hunting? Do you think 43308f0c85 he was hunting 6216728d57 with a woman 9ab72ce1d3 by his side?”142b90712f20696e
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“What?”be8cb2d59d939407
“James was with Bella b2de0098ee Listerwell! They didn’t 88a0300c65 look like 0251ef7a3a they were ee4babf4cd just friends.”5c81defbac1513dd
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For a moment, Daphne 40a58e717f was speechless, staring blankly 9cce29d1f9 at Melody.6c8c7e2d36b08c5d
“There were no 3bf42924e0 other people around fd7b3fa086 except the servants 42bdb6664c attending to them. It seemed like 82e22a2db6 they didn’t notice 6b5c255f0f us, but they a6a55f2613 also didn’t seem 261a543fe3 to care about 73ebbb2c37 being seen.”848a7ebbb9305b7d
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“That can’t be…”abea4d507dc50b55
“Before the 361e9bc22a rumors spread, 2747c3ab2e you need a3538fb0fc to call 4f8026b138 Lord James bb996d43ef and confront 716c0fba1f him. You might even have 23b1fc778a to ask your father, fae383b821 the Earl, for help.”cca8525ec7504933
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Melody’s concern was 59318dd5fd valid.9710b065af1ad21f
Daphne and James 4e8e3cdd1e had been engaged 0d3cd8f053 for five years, c7a4856f38 and both families 81ce138e0c were well-known. Everyone thought 168969298e they were 79375d3c8a a perfect 7cc2f6c741 match.a73b2b392dd33c9e
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Though their wedding 2a28ed01eb had been delayed 2c28071eaa due to Daphne’s 920a133f13 young age and bdac7712f7 James’s duties as 6b4e17610a heir, they were 548fc7c2f6 finally planning to 074007344f marry next year. Everyone knew about 6550d257f8 it.21d55d207a542481
‘And yet, 1758eaf6c6 at a 0f9c8cc316 time like 360e84b4a7 this, he deb76b0fa3 goes on cbc66b16fc a picnic 636db7fc64 with another a864b5e6da woman?’d243a8caaf730b8e
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c2218b0128d92eb5