The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 15
< Chapter 15 >
William plopped down on Mabel’s couch and stared at the moon in the window.
As even the coat vanished thanks to Mary, it became clear that William would have to spend the night here until the students finished their party and returned to the dormitories.
They had to wait until they could no longer hear Mary’s footsteps before they could emerge from the closet.
William recalled the situation before coming out of the closet. Himself lying bare on the floor and Mabel on top of him, wriggling incessantly. The feeling when he embraced her slender waist.
He had used Mary as an excuse to stop Mabel from leaving the closet, but in truth, he needed more time to compose himself. Perhaps Mabel would never know this fact forever.
‘Where is the maid who puts gentlemen to sleep on the sofa, no, I mean, where is the lady!’
Mabel, who had been wrestling with the bedclothes, changed her tone immediately when William raised his eyebrows again. It was because of William’s stubbornness and clumsiness that had been so politely and harmlessly displayed tonight.
Poor Mabel, who couldn’t even stare back at the stubborn William, was now sitting under the swaying oil lamp, nodding off. Surely it had been a difficult day for her.
William cautiously picked up his dry shirt and looked around. Mabel’s room, as he knew it, was neatly furnished with sturdy hazelnut wood furniture and warm-colored fabrics, giving it a clean yet cozy feel.
He approached Mabel, who was uncomfortably leaning against the bed. Mabel was sound asleep, her small shoulders twitching. Her face bathed in moonlight somehow looked pitiful.
‘No, she seems anxious.’
William thought.
‘Or is it just her way of being beautiful, like the moon?’
William was seized by the impulse to stroke her chestnut hair cascading over her white face once again.
‘I just wanted to see your eyes twinkling behind the veil one more time.’
The warm yet perplexing eyes that he had seen from the closet were now peacefully closed. Below them, her cute, curved nose and slightly parted moist pink lips tantalized him.
‘I know you’re happy now, but I can’t stop being greedy.’
William Edmundstone’s reputation as a politician was more than just a courteous gentleman from a reputable family. Despite having much less experience than other seasoned politicians, he was quicker and more accurate in understanding information and making appropriate judgments in various situations.
Thus, his nickname as the busiest man in Westminster was not untrue. And he had made an effort to come to Summerhill, just one of the many colleges he sponsored.
Listening to the thoughts and imaginations coming from her tiny head once more, to see her shy smile.
William was not one to be swayed by self-denial or fear. Thanks to that, he had already realized what he wanted.
William remembered her face, tainted with guilt and shame when he met her again. She still seemed to hope that William didn’t remember her from Herbert’s.
‘But you seem to need more time.’
William gently laid Mabel on the bed.
He decided to wait until Mabel no longer wanted to push him away. Whether it was because of their difference in status, guilt over her lies, or fear and sadness in her eyes, he hoped there would be no shadow of fear and sadness when Mabel looked at him.
“…Don’t make me wait too long.”
William’s voice echoed softly.
The moonlight subtly illuminated the two as if to witness his confession.
Patience brings reward to the one who waits.
Withdrawing his gaze from her small lips, he kissed her forehead lightly.
* * *
The two-day festival at Summerhill and London School of Economics came to a splendid close with the dance party of the Political College.
Mary and Irina seemed to fully enjoy the exciting aspect of college life, strolling around the campus until the last day and making new friends among the many male students of the Political College.
However, after William left, Mabel couldn’t fully enjoy the rest of the festival as her mind became more complicated. How confused she must have been the day after unintentionally spending a night with William in her room, seeing herself lying comfortably in bed.
‘As if spilling syrup on Mr. Edmundstone wasn’t bad enough, I wiped his body clean, groped around, and later in the bedroom, I pushed him into the closet and climbed on top of him…’
Mabel banged her head on the desk like Mary studying Latin.
‘No, maybe it’s rude for someone like me to keep attributing meaning to his gaze and atmosphere. Maybe I’m just deluding myself because I’m used to being with noble ladies.’
On the other hand, she also felt somewhat resentful towards him, a high-status man, for being overly kind to someone like her, a low-status woman. There would be no woman who wouldn’t fall into such a dream of being treated like a lady by a man like him.
Fortunately or unfortunately, busy college life didn’t let Mabel stop pondering over the subtle night with William.
“Can you believe exams start right after the festival next week? Professors are so cruel.”
Mary said, munching on a “Venus’ breast” sweet. Since the first week of November, as firewood had been supplied, they had decided to gather in Mabel’s room on the second floor of the dormitory, which had a fireplace, and study geometry together.
Julia, uncomfortably watching Mary put the third “Venus’ breast” into her mouth from across the table, gestured to Irina.
“What will happen if you serve such sweets at the gentlemen-filled fundraiser, Irina? Look, there’s only a handful left of these sweets!”
“Why not? It’s my favorite sweet. Plus, it looks fun.”
Irina, wearing a luxurious fur cloak over her inadequate attire, bit into the “Venus’ breast” as if to say, ‘Look at this sweet.’
Unable to bear Irina’s audacity, Julia pursed her lips. After being preached about modest women by her fiancé, Robert, throughout the festival, Julia, who could only participate in the orchestra performances after giving Robert a glimpse of her eyes, hadn’t been feeling well since the festival.
“I’m so disappointed that Mabel and Julia couldn’t come to the dance party on the last day. How stylishly Irina and George danced…”
Mary suddenly blurted out, diverting her attention from the geometry book. Mary and Irina, who had attended the dance party organized by the London School of Economics, always seized every opportunity to talk about the dance party and the male students.
“Irina not only danced with her date George O’Connor but also with Andy Woolf. Irina led so well that she danced splendidly with all the male students, but Theodore Amide was still the best.”
Mary lay on the sofa, pen stuck behind her ear, recounting. Her interest in geometry study was lost.
Although Mabel hadn’t attended the dance party, she had encountered some male students from the Political College thanks to Irina, who was well-connected among young Londoners.
They were all in their early twenties, wearing stylish suits and greased hair. Despite their efforts to maintain manners, they would easily approach female students, leaning against them or striking up conversations with them whenever there was a bit of music and alcohol.
“I didn’t go to the party to save face, but I’ve also heard about Theodore Amide.”
Julia said with a still sulky voice.
“I heard the Amide surname was received from his father, who was a colonialist. According to Robert, who mingled with Political College students during the festival, one male student from the colonies is called ‘that person.'”
Being called ‘that person’ meant he was rumored to be homosexual. If a young gentleman from a good family who attended prestigious universities was rumored to be homosexual, it was not only a risk of expulsion but also a dangerous rumor that could obscure his future.
Thud?
The table they were studying at shook.
It was Mary, not Irina, who had known Theodore Amide, who had leaped to her feet, angry at Julia’s words.