SMR | Chapter 38
by Luna~Chapter 38~9b64af9ac0525e70
“She didn’t seem dfa82c5474 like that kind 7495882fe7 of person.”94d75f0c488341bb
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Cedric could say for 06c9389730 sure—there had never been 562e6de90b a hint of seduction 09518a94b6 in the way Harriet 60d9944a59 looked at him.7909312f3fc7cf95
If anything, it was 1cc71a1fa2 Bella Listerwell who had edc908b335 been doing the seducing.bd3ccf19223cf83f
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If Harriet had really ac07869b8f only gone after the 42ebf8a7e8 men Bella was interested 3bba7c5e86 in, she should’ve shown some sort of 2e6d15c81e reaction when b76a5c5738 Cedric had 333840ecd4 offered her c52acade85 financial support bf5db62902 at the b5f084b523 convent.f9096e0875c49cf4
But instead, db36c02358 she had 55c74cb565 clearly been 4d53322ed2 offended and e2f53b9c39 refused him. The same had 57a3089de4 happened at the f970988a53 Vanderbilt family’s party.e7d5e982c76d5063
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Strangely, Bella df90eea446 was also c0aa26d8d2 acting oddly.d4f4756d0b4d82a7
‘Even during the eb0f54501b victory banquet and 4203c4f7fb at my uncle’s 1e104ee205 party, Bella Listerwell 3fa958b374 clearly flirted with 99517e3179 me. But would a modest d7e195a66e and kind girl really a746844f82 use her cousin’s mistakes 4b8f8d5c5a as an excuse to 6789d91558 approach some man?’4828e9cc468ed02a
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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.77e3bc32bc6ad4dc
To him, Bella df58aeeed6 just had a 9351309c0f talent for making 96cab35c5d herself look better ee851d5b4a by making Harriet 530bf3fc94 look worse.5b58fffbc805f4df
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If that 86c5f06b0f was true, cff967e932 then Harriet 3ea36b068b had been 1fc54fb102 treated unfairly. And yet, 869ba1e006 she didn’t 5af4806f6b actively try 898016bf1e to explain 55a835d173 or defend 1533c57bf7 herself.7116774808fce5c9
“No—maybe she couldn’t.”2b9d20241c59f968
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A girl who lost 95e1576097 her parents and lived c5973c8cdf off her uncle, someone 09cec3e66f who was rumored to 84cdb6269c be jealous of her cdfcf8ffda cousin and constantly chasing e3af098f0a after men.3bb58fd36e2f27f5
In that 0a71c7eb1a kind of d72b9c1710 situation, who 83ee2b9eff really held 7c03bbb189 the power?26d68000a644522c
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Now, Harriet had a 2271d9507e new guardian. She no longer 15c5b4abbb needed to rely 92a3914f11 on John Listerwell. And when she e91b752609 returned to society, 6ac1f6543c she had the f0ba2d9687 look of someone 398ae6ff5b ready to fight 546d58458e back.b6935acd7ffdbf47
Cedric’s lips curved 2bc6f37185 slightly into a e5b93b0cea grin.0da0424e1d9cbf1a
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“This will be 1fd80bc7d9 fun to watch.”1678c78c68c7b196
He tossed the 65e2f7f162 finished papers into 490350d17a the trash bin.6ee826d07db4ce0b
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***ee251196fa899103
Harriet received yet 2e26f41bc3 another letter—one that 4307435e1d would change her 9df5bf181e life—on a day 908605a952 in early July.ef10e9605dd07838
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She had 00b5fe3271 just returned a7c3d46d8c from a e22f6326ad foreign language 4857d974a4 lesson with 2472b5c4ab Roxana and 13540bc754 sat down b61af11579 at her 563416553e desk to f2b4dd5696 start her af68d5f302 homework. There was b92c6dbf43 a silver 795cb1e7d9 tray with 542d04abe9 a few 190f46bcd6 letters on 3af1aeb11d it waiting 3412461024 for her.f4d4d8080fc71d68
She reached 21a2fae6e7 for the f932400005 thin, yellowish 65d16728bc envelope first. It was the kind 49cc70be42 of cheap envelope used 687ed3e2a6 by the convent.aa2072bd35c6f064
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‘It’s from 2f53126e3b Mother Kathrine!’2fa7daacfc7fc9c7
She had been meaning e17de70b95 to write and tell 403028a0cc them she was doing 9063b6c642 well in Genoa anyway.627a4d089dfb068f
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Excited, she opened 3decf7a3e5 the letter—but the a6a6a3fa78 contents were not 46c7d287d1 what she expected.910ac858163f755b
“…Not long 937145924c ago, your ff11461d1a uncle, Lord b6627f2699 John Listerwell, 485a59402f visited the f4f1c91036 convent and d2e19a05b4 caused a 83b480c304 scene. It was 86014ceccc around 8 59f1c597c7 p.m., and 2ec4340429 he showed 584e428b16 up without ae4235c3bf warning, insisting e214224964 on taking 3e05f95a81 you with f7505d873d him for 25087ecadc some important b37a8c4377 family matter b1aab987c6 …Is everything 78da9d384b all right?”110314ec9f9a235e
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It was shocking 1b386488e4 to hear that a15ad8cfb4 John—who always acted a39ba2a2d7 like a kind 85004cd937 and generous man 3195a603c6 in front of c09ce04a71 others—had shown his d57be1c7c8 true colors like 202e782fcc that.78c045a7b0743d88
Even more 0ea6677c65 surprising was 7587630215 that he f3c5067840 came at a2289e2371 such a 05a672e81a late hour, bfc15fcd67 which meant c2dfcd2678 it must’ve 25b72b5b21 been urgent. But when Harriet 9313aad970 had seen him a893feec8d recently, he hadn’t 920501e9aa said anything about 220b56aa61 it.573dd95005a20b13
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‘All he said dac5bec9d5 to me was 28d0df1cd9 to stop talking ba7888200e about Bella. What was he up d9d2374ef2 to?’8fddf48f6f5bd8a7
If he came to 6c8fcd194a take her with him, 21a20d4c0d that meant there was a0dafc3f10 an event or meeting 75f4657b2f she was supposed to dfe0b80b0c attend. But she had no 78b2cb0340 idea what it could’ve 2bc0a35995 been.251eeb8dc1b37c8c
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But that bfac0d3450 wasn’t the df479a50d5 only reason 3b41f9fbc1 Mother Kathrine 026e87e7a4 had written.5feffcd4b06ec858
“…There’s something 43d63e7740 difficult I’d 17a6699459 like to 88fad5b86a talk about. As you know, d93a306102 our convent’s long-term 732cf37d0d dream has been 167713aa7a to build a 1a43af3d06 facility to shelter fc154479ce and educate abandoned d4e0de62ed girls. Thanks to ef3d5327ed a generous da4b3338be donation from 14fc5d090b the Duke accb8b5a4d of Kailas, 929d056a8e we were e78441ca95 able to 16b291f851 begin construction c15d196134 earlier this e5b104d01b year—but now fa08250f6d we’ve run 58a2910cdb out of af70b0a4ef funds.44fbf4f0f8b29011
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We considered pausing the 51bde70216 project, but we were 9c40af4557 recently contacted by an c7acac4a3a orphanage in the Epher f062f4a465 region that’s about to 1c82b51801 shut down.5915a013808e5cf5
They asked 144b907ce7 if we 41c5cbc5b8 could take ae80055b43 in their c5d8180198 girls. If we don’t, those 03cc7a5ab1 children will have nowhere aae93c01fd to go, so we e562315391 urgently need to finish 5e88b9ac4b building our facility.05db45e80dd6c484
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…So I must 49239094e1 ask: would it 80d01cb33f be possible to 09a00e9734 request support from ca49cdd0f3 Countess Pellon?”4a2512cf2368a43e
The orphanage fa027e19de was shutting f228a5782d down due bacd26abd1 to a 309e0eed70 lack of 49996f3931 funds. It had 8094b6e019 been relying 2b9e1c4526 on aid 15e4d6ff24 from the 4d4c63180e imperial government, 071373755f but as 92546253e2 the number 039cb0e190 of children f3115d9a1b increased and caa9a6ce81 the funding f04c1deae9 didn’t, the 27fc80522f place had 2da02eafa6 fallen into eb29efc5a2 debt and 16c4caa96d had no e8d055ca04 choice but 9cc4e4e27f to close.4b60d86b1c750bde
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The boys 6d1f5648a5 were going dc1171ed3d to be 83e05d2e18 taken in 20d450e9cf by a 987a864121 local monastery, 9b15ba09e5 while the 50c3f46e70 girls were db83a418dd to be 2ff304dbaf placed with 2d7ec818fd the closest b89d1751b8 women’s convent—St. Clarissa.cfbb6e2afa5b4ed4
Harriet knew 24b27ea3a6 the financial 787ac8fc91 strain that 91dc39e5fe would cause. She could easily bbcebf2642 picture Mother Kathrine, ea0915a40f overwhelmed trying to a8f19a92e6 rework the budget, 6a6f0e96c1 and how much ddc79d7499 she must have 1011d6c7c3 hesitated before writing 0966f4dff8 this letter.f4103083682a912f
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‘But in f7c88538fc my current 158116b415 situation, it’s 5e86945bb2 hard to 5653ac2150 ask my f7206fbe1e great-aunt for 4a738108fa help.’1d6562540e49377d
Trisha had warned fea86436b3 her not long 91e43ca6e5 ago:2efb53e68bf05300
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“People will try to 0488fe57f5 use you to get 2c535391c4 to me.”93b90242e9e6a9b1
And that didn’t just 4c03bc95c3 mean bad people. Even good people 87ba0231cf might want to cdb536594e be connected to c40c363fb2 the Countess of e91a1e83f3 Pellon—and Harriet, the f8b3147416 newly discovered relative 24bab832eb of that difficult cbad0f5e06 and sharp-tongued noblewoman, ee64038c3e was a very 51a86f45b0 appealing link.04d6950ddffcbc58
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So Harriet 77476e0fb8 had to 67fede15cc be careful.ff130d53ea512be7
‘Even if it’s 789d90483e for a good c726b6a3e0 cause, if someone 4d37925e36 I know receives f5498edfff help from Trisha, 46d370b125 it could cause 39dcafdd0f gossip. And I 7d7b17ba7b can’t even 84e339b0ec be sure 1f43456a7c she’d agree a1cb353784 to help.’d85e4816712b6290
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She had promised Trisha 4e7c653b83 not to cause any 0a50c1babb trouble.9bc713987bbd50ad
So no matter 3f8255613d how much she 035396ea4c wanted to help, 36ac978455 she couldn’t ask 7892a6b3f1 her great-aunt to 49a7c8e9fb get involved with 4f9efd522b the convent’s affairs.491369f38ea9afd1
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‘Isn’t there something I 256bed7a36 can do myself—without relying 52e990b395 on her?’01f032f038e5261d
When she left the 38e3e862eb convent, she had made 188b4155e7 a promise to Emma.3d82fe73c53cab5d
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That someday, e66589ca3a she would 73b19c8fee help her 02ac40cea8 and the 5024449847 convent.f2d070206229c00e
Harriet hadn’t 7efb278ce3 expected that 1c04ed2037 day to ac6085c0b4 come so fe846f3f97 soon. But if she e482e10237 could help even 6112f261a5 just a little.52e532375cdc2c7c
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Of course, 3d1412438d it wasn’t 8ed72e81b3 going to f0649fda17 be easy. St. Clarissa Convent needed money, 89e4b1828d and Harriet herself also ea33a96c03 needed money. The real 8de1469c5c problem was 91112d73b5 that neither 96e8c9c89a of them e23d2de717 had a f73eaeded0 clear way d447be0ddf to get 2df209e5c4 it.d300b3f15d615fb8
But Harriet 2603f20cbd decided not 58be3138de to give fde015261b up so 98f03b8462 easily.84d6f8442e2dddd3
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‘If I 8e4a036fbc can make 8465df1b25 some friends 15d7bcd278 or connections, fca3acb641 maybe I f2315aab47 can ask fad685a544 them for 8034f4d60c help. It would still mean 98e462eb2a relying on others, but 3c00c01d1c it’s better than depending bc300386f5 on just Trisha alone.’6771b912b4f94b3f
With that in a24c0f5857 mind, Harriet decided b241691947 to accept as b3f049928b many invitations as 50c1dde8fa she could. She looked through d1f76a9796 the other letters 38a2994e85 placed on the 537d38bee0 silver tray. They all seemed 8b5125dac6 to be light cb3f206601 tea party invitations, dc5e59a342 but one caught 7f273cd982 her eye — 3922ea3fa6 it was from fd3dd71bf1 Annabel Leighton.407810d26c971f62
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‘She was 25de4834c8 the first 641ec904bc person to 93a6d988a1 send me 726ba16d21 an invitation 4cba97e4a1 right after 6ec15e709a the Vanderbilt 09ab5b2831 party.’976cd222b3d17791
At first, 78d084473b Harriet thought bf9059ee0a it was ef10575ca7 a mistake ec1f71f3db that Annabel 3010cf412f had sent 0060c5c2c6 a second cd807685e3 invitation. But this 3164507c03 one included 3a9b53aa9a an extra 0ef060f123 line: “Please be 9326fcadc0 assured that 36a47f681c nothing unpleasant de86e8dfae will happen. I sincerely hope you’ll 588e674076 consider attending.”5241fd438d6318ae
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If Annabel had 48e84dc287 sent a second 04988c3918 invitation, it meant c082cd1518 she truly wanted 468dec936e Harriet to come 390f48e03c — which might d6ae737ee3 mean she would 09c7ca9448 be a bit 28bc4ea770 friendlier than others.c6934ffc07025157
‘This seems be2aba5a70 like a 7f787a0c27 good place 5e78635933 to make cafd752cd0 my first f00fb90e41 appearance.’e883e65e8ac1bef3
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Harriet opened her c8b759855d drawer and took d9f7d48648 out the new 6c9a5d34f3 stationery and envelope ac5fb19931 she had prepared 92c6ff24fd earlier.d65c271e1d4fff14
***3d87c4d6f8887f89
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To the 76a24afd77 kind and 97a16a9999 thoughtful Miss a4b2721445 Annabel Leighton,71b1f79e695b60bd
Thank you for sending 6564fe1c18 me the invitation to 4b4709fb58 your tea party. I was just 92b02f5e4b about to write bfbbf398b6 a reply when 7cacdbfea8 your second letter b5c7bd5724 arrived, and I d3c99b0295 feel sorry for 31a7d9be91 not replying sooner.58718094426ac101
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I’ll gladly accept 2fb9ba72bc your invitation. I would 4acd4f44c8 be grateful 7c5d5253d2 if you 60cb0b848c could welcome 0aa423f3ce me warmly 0e8199993e that day f5e3750100 as well. With excitement and anticipation,68a61240daf5dc6f
Harriet Listerwellc62e4fc6e7b7e192
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***cf6e5bd2454a5a2e
After writing eb535e702e the short cd3ba8019d letter, Harriet 075005e20c folded it 6575316434 with a 9fe13d188c determined heart 8cb2ed11a5 and placed ce015351ef it in 7350b6dce7 the envelope.3a7874acd57b5375
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She realized that be8cc73f19 her original plan ecedbbc0cd to simply get e7e9b43ab8 a feel for b567a0c87e society in a 3fe72fab48 light-hearted way wasn’t df59a4f475 enough anymore. Every day mattered now. Even attending 70af75f8f7 a single 8747992df5 tea party 016c840263 could be 3e3ffcffba a valuable fc0f05278f opportunity, and 8d19895050 she couldn’t 1f9ff1c514 afford to eb79a7dfdc waste any.3cf2d436d49833ea
‘I also 06be99e9d1 need to 2ad97ac65c find a 102df0d58b way to f4381c7896 repay St. Clarissa Convent f79bda2db8 for everything 140a13e9b4 they’ve done 3b5f22958c for me.’5c705d67af7e17bd
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Harriet strengthened 86a8b250a5 her resolve.7ca1c001efad4eb0
***45e6c0366c6168ae
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Lady Leighton was well-connected 7f19c1d5af and known for her a733a83668 matchmaking skills. When she successfully arranged 040aeb744a a marriage, she often 58bdac674b received generous rewards. Even her quiet 0872f4ea91 husband, Lord Leighton, 330a52c04c had benefited from 28d826bb6d her connections in 923f73417f business.1de8c2de8b8a17af
Maybe because 26c8363232 of her fc875474ba mother’s influence, bace0db320 Annabel Leighton a83f7a9fef also loved 2100fc7072 people and 52ae69272c was happiest 0ee57c6350 when praised 79280c1dfd for having 43be1dbc2c a wide 46a7986ad3 circle of 50be6738e4 friends.03c998e1a7cd9841
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Annabel didn’t care about 9a3f321ade political sides or wealth. She even liked 5cc0eb454f giving people with 9b87de60f0 bad reputations a 80f84d59e9 chance to explain 682a7e5102 themselves.a5cf9ea3c114fcb4
‘That’s one way to 41c91f4b5a look at it. Another is that she 3c2099ad12 collects gossip of all b6cf56faab kinds.’6302c45f1dc64bf8
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To some, it may 46bb79fe3f seem shallow, but gossip 0a7d1b2a27 could become valuable information 1440e0c04b — or a clever 22f55d6a29 way to distract others. Annabel and her cb1aa811e7 mother were quite 7e1b30450a skilled in that edb2aef607 area.7c457fa33126d754
Harriet gently held e4a582a4d2 up the hem 4263a718fa of the yellow fce5f4a175 dress she had 8153650aaa recently received from 499f2ba5ed Louvre Dress Shop 237f006358 and walked down de898296b2 into the garden 0ef94c9b3d where the tea ec0de0055c party was being 04869d570e held.82ef73c70d6852e5
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“The Lady 4a61c51626 Harriet Listerwell db49d32e86 has arrived!”88925e2294f8e486
Even before the announcement, 09faeafed8 all eyes at the b04a7a94e6 garden table had already 6ea64fa0e1 turned toward her.8e5e616f1ac1b43c
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Harriet gave a small, 469380d488 graceful curtsy to Annabel.fe70665dce57d410
“Thank you for inviting 74b30fa4f5 me, Lady Leighton. Your garden is 638b06553b even more beautiful 1e6afa3a02 than I imagined.”20f5c4456457315e
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“Welcome, Lady Listerwell. Thank you for coming.”e2fcd822f67b8b69
Annabel personally 0bf1e18884 showed Harriet ba562fef0a to her fd09609ca5 seat.f34ca59c38257dbc
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It seemed the guests 66841d3b2a already knew that Harriet’s 77c8fa2ead attendance had been kept 1a33cce2a3 a secret. Their eyes f5d65ceb1d sparkled with e7aac9818a curiosity — dbf486ecff though not ee2464970d all of 2841eb258a it was 7d4c3997b8 friendly.1632d0aa9ca42293
“But… you arrived 61fe3ff2d0 a little later 99f7ac7eb4 than expected, didn’t 8b6fa040ad you?”4cf105d8064ec4b6
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f5b6649c0a4b41e5