The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 22
< Chapter 22 >
Fortunately, thanks to Mabel’s check on Anton, the child was able to receive care in time.
It was the beginning of a nasty cold that children often suffer from.
Mabel confirmed Anton taking cold medicine and falling asleep before leaving the orphanage for home.
After sending word to her friends that she would call a carriage to wait for her and take her home, Mabel decided to walk back to Oxford. She was afraid she might catch a fever from taking care of Anton.
‘I can’t have someone who’s going to be with his family for Christmas getting sick.’
Looking down the snowy pass, Mabel was tempted to call for a carriage, but she resisted.
Lord Alfred’s Mansion and the orphanage were about an hour away by carriage, and it was too difficult to walk quickly on the snow-covered roads all afternoon. As she reached the outskirts of Oxford, sleet mixed with sharp winds chilled Mabel to the bone.
Mabel shivered to the core in the wind that penetrated her bones. She tightly pulled down her soaked hat and muttered to herself.
“We’re almost there. Just a little more…”
She left the orphanage in the afternoon sunlight, and suddenly, the sky was filled with stars. Was her body tired, making her mind weak too? William, whom she had been thinking about for days, kept coming to her mind.
‘Mr. Edmundstone would probably say to me, ‘Why aren’t you thinking about yourself and doing such foolish things?’ …No, he’s always thinking about others and believing that everyone deserves to be treated well. He might even praise me for choosing to walk alone instead of spreading the fever to the maids.’
Thinking of William’s firm demeanor when she made immature remarks, Mabel smiled.
‘If it were him, he could have said better things to Anton than me.’
Mabel shivered again with regret, thinking about herself, who had once believed that everything was determined by social status.
When she considered what she had said to Anton and other orphanage children today, William’s firm assertion that one’s nature isn’t determined by their social status seemed right. No, she desperately wished it to be right.
Mabel spent a long time watching the snow, thinking about William and the children.
About five hours after leaving the orphanage, when she arrived at Lord Alfred Mansion, she encountered William Edmundstone, who was starting the snow-covered car as if responding to her thoughts.
“Mabel!”
William shouted as he slammed the car door and came out. He seemed ready to leave somewhere in a hurry, dressed lightly in a white shirt that enveloped his broad chest and a black coat.
Each time she wrapped her wet coat around her while crossing the darkening hills, Mabel wondered how terrifying and lonely each moment must have been.
At that moment, Mabel noticed William running towards her with a worried expression. Mabel’s frozen legs, stiff from the cold and tension, suddenly gave way as she hesitated right in front of the mansion.
“Mabel, did you walk this way? What happened?”
William’s large hand, glimmering in the snow, supported her. His clean and gentle scent lingered around Mabel’s nose.
“You’re burning up. Let’s get inside the mansion quickly.”
Before William could finish speaking, he swiftly picked her up. Despite her coat dripping heavily from the rain, he seemed unfazed.
“Oh, hello, Mr. Edmundstone. I met Anton today… so the carriage…”
Mabel mumbled in a feverish voice. William’s arms around her felt incredibly warm.
“You might catch my fever…”
Her feeble arms and tiny voice were drowned out by fever-induced delirium.
* * *
When Mabel opened her eyes, she could see the ceiling of Lord Alfred’s guest room, and at her feet a fireplace filled with logs crackled and burned.
She found herself wearing a long nightgown that covered her ankles. Looking around, she saw William sitting on a chair by the bed, his long legs crossed under the oil lamp’s light.
The light accentuated his face, casting a gentle glow.
“You’re awake.”
William looked up at Mabel’s movement, his blue eyes slightly disheveled with a lock of hair falling onto his forehead.
“How are you feeling?”
William stood up and approached the bedside slowly. His scent filled the air again, and his broad shoulders leaned down into Mabel’s view. His muscular body, only covered by a shirt, looked robust in the dim light.
“When you arrived at the mansion, you were burning up. Thankfully, it seems the fever has subsided a bit now.”
William’s hand gently touched her forehead. Mabel, startled by his touch, pulled the blanket up to her chest, trying to collect her thoughts.
“You should take a warm bath. The fever hasn’t completely gone away yet.”
“I’m sorry…”
As his bright blue eyes gazed at her with concern from dangerously close, Mabel hurriedly apologized.
She felt guilty receiving his worried gaze when she hadn’t even had the chance to apologize for raising her voice at him just the other day. She felt ashamed for showing him her vulnerable side.
“I was angry with you the other day, Mr. Edmundstone. You were only speaking the truth… I must have looked pitiful.”
Even with Mabel’s sudden apology, William remained seated quietly, looking directly into her eyes without any sign of surprise. Comforted by his calm demeanor, Mabel spoke up.
“The luck I’ve had and everything I enjoy now… It’s all so perfect that it feels too good to be true. But I’ve always been anxious because everything I have is acquired by hiding my social status and background. The thought of my status being exposed, whether on the day of graduation or even before that…”
Mabel’s voice grew slightly more agitated.
Mabel was terrified that her newfound friends and Leon, who recognized her talents, would turn away from her once they learned about her background. She was afraid of disappointing Lord Alfred, who trusted her despite her humble origins, and William, who might be disappointed in her failure.
“So I… I want to stop… I don’t want to get used and lose things…”
Tears welled up in Mabel’s eyes, but she wasn’t crying. It was just a natural reaction to facing her fears.
On the other hand, Mabel was glad that she had someone to confide in.
Without a word, William gently wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Daisy and other maids used to say that when things got tough, they thought of their families. They said families always support each other or rely on each other. But I couldn’t understand that. I’ve never had anyone in my life who would hold me and support me willingly, someone who would willingly help and sympathize with me.”
Mabel felt a sense of shame revealing her true feelings. But she continued speaking because it was a confession she couldn’t make unless she poured out her feelings.
“But earlier, as I walked through the snow-covered streets, I thought of you, Mr. Edmundstone. I thought, ‘Oh, I could ask for help on such a difficult day, and you would surely say the words I need to hear.’ Because you were there for me on my first scary day going to London, and you always said to contact you whenever I felt lonely in college…”
In William’s kindness, she realized that someone reliable had entered her life for the first time. Yet, she felt uncomfortable receiving his kindness because she knew it was something she would soon lose.
“Thank you, Mr. Edmundstone…”
As Mabel finished speaking, William suddenly pulled her into his embrace. Only then did she realize that she was shaking all over. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the fever or because she had revealed her vulnerable side.
“It’s okay.”
William pulled her closer and spoke slowly.
“It’s okay to cry and lean on me now.”
His voice sounded low and powerful as if echoing from somewhere deep within.
“If it’s tough, say it’s tough, and ask for help from me. Got it?”
William tightened his arms around her. As Mabel was enveloped in his embrace, his warmth slowly seeped into her heart.
As Mabel’s trembling body gradually found some stability, William slowly released the strength of his arms that were embracing her. The fluttering butterfly, which had been flitting about busily, seemed to have finally found a place to rest in his embrace.
“Why are you being so kind to me, Mr. Edmundstone?”
Mabel asked, lifting her head through the gap in his arms. Her eyes, moist with tears, seemed to have found a bit of calm, but her heart was still beating rapidly.
“Because…”
William’s gaze wavered. His lips, which had always uttered logical and clear words, fell silent.
“…”
William’s silence made Mabel’s heart restless as well. However, she suddenly remembered what William had said by the lakeside.
“Because we’re friends?”
Mabel smiled softly.
“Right? The words you said about becoming friends, Mr. Edmundstone, were truly sincere, weren’t they?”
Mabel felt as if she had found the answer that satisfied her heart. She believed that this excited feeling finally stemmed from the fact that she could share a genuine friendship with him.
William silently looked at her. His gaze contained both the concern about the depth of his feelings towards her and the pity for Mabel, who was like a small butterfly barely finding a place to rest.
With a desire not to leave her alone in anxiety and confusion, he replied briefly.
“Yes. It was sincere.”