The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 24

< Chapter 24 >

“Ouch, it’s hot, it’s hot!”

Mary grabbed the hot iron comb from the fire and fluttered around.

“Is it okay to do it like this?”

Julia, who entrusted her hair to Mary, looked at her disapprovingly.

It hadn’t been long since the spring semester started, and Mary had found a new hobby. It was fixing the hair of Summerhill girls with the hot iron comb she received as a Christmas present.

“Yeah. About ten years ago, twisted hair was in fashion, but now sleek and silky hair is the trend. Just stay still for a moment.”

Mary, who convinced the hesitant Irina and disbelieving Julia said loudly.

“Mary, don’t even think about coming near me with that hot iron comb. The way you’re doing it, it seems like you’re about to burn and eat someone’s hair.”

Irina, who had distanced herself from Mary long ago, said arrogantly.

While they were bickering, Mabel was concentrating on reading Montaire’s magazine.

After her article was published, Mabel became deeply immersed in reading “Modern Woman” by Montaire.

With two months of the spring semester filled with various block seminars, it took a lot of effort to read all the articles and writings in magazines, including past issues.

Mabel was enthusiastic about “Olivia Panthera,” a female poet who regularly contributed poems to “Modern Woman” like other female students.

“Listen to this. Another poem by Miss Panthera is published.”

Mabel twinkled her eyes and started reciting the poem.

“Sorrow teaches me how to smile, injustice teaches me courage. Freshly picked flowers in the morning signify someone’s funeral, picked from a flower bed where the paper bells toll.”

Mary, holding the hot iron comb, and Julia, who pressed down half of her hair flat, looked at the magazine together.

“Well, that’s poetic.”

“Mabel, it’s a great piece. Miss Panthera must be Greek judging by the name, right? Did I tell you that I spent last summer in Greece?”

As Mary nodded without much enthusiasm, Julia, who continued the conversation after spending the vacation in Greece, was picking up.

Julia stopped talking and started looking around.

“Wait, don’t you smell something burning?”

As Julia sniffed, Mary also raised her head.

“Oh my, Mabel!”

“Goodness, Mabel!”

Mabel’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up from her poem, and Mary and Julia scrambled to clear the smoke from her hair.

As Mary approached Mabel while reading the poem, the hot iron comb in her hand accidentally burned off a section of Mabel’s long hair.

* * *

On a damp day in February in London…

A mysterious woman took a seat across from Leon at the café table where he was sitting. She wore a narrow-brimmed hat with pumpkin-colored trim on her shoulder-length chestnut hair.

“Miss, I’m currently waiting for someone and don’t have time.”

Leon, who often attracted confident young ladies who knew him when he was alone, replied absentmindedly without taking his eyes off the manuscript he was reading.

Normally, he would engage in conversation and banter with such ladies, but for some reason, since last Christmas, he hadn’t been interested.

However, despite Leon’s curt response, the woman in front of him didn’t budge. With a sigh, Leon reluctantly turned his gaze to the stylishly dressed lady commonly seen in London.

Her sparkling brown eyes partially concealed by the shadow of her hat, and her smile with lipstick-free crimson lips, seemed oddly familiar.

“I’m waiting for someone now… Ah!”

Leon looked at her in surprise, almost spilling the coffee he was holding.

“Surprised, aren’t you? Mary burnt my hair, so I had to cut it.”

Mabel awkwardly smiled and touched her seemingly empty chest. As she removed her hat, her shortened hair swayed around her neck.

Leon’s surprise wasn’t just about her suddenly changed hairstyle. Instead of the plain wool sweaters and brown dresses that Mabel usually wore, she was wearing a sleek black dress that accentuated her hair color.

“Haha, Mary felt sorry and gave me this dress as a gift. There was no need for that… Um, is it really that strange?”

As Leon continued to stare at her, Mabel asked, feeling embarrassed.

Although he had watched Mabel with curiosity, she was just his younger sister’s friend. Perhaps it was because of Mary’s childish antics, but Leon had always thought of Mabel as a young lady.

But as he saw the soft curves of her neck hidden by her long hair, that perception began to crumble. Mabel’s mature atmosphere puzzled Leon.

“Well, not really… You look a bit different.”

He barely managed to say. Leon, living in London, had seen enough well-dressed beautiful ladies to be proud of his discerning eye. Yet even he couldn’t take his eyes off Mabel’s makeup-free face and white neck.

“Oh, by the way, thank you for this.”

Mabel shook the hat she was holding to snap Leon out of his reverie. It was the hat that Leon had bought for Mabel at a hat shop during their last shopping trip in London.

“You sent it as a Christmas present, right? I spent the whole holiday in Oxford instead of going to Cheshire Hall as planned, and I just found it now that the postman is holding onto it. Better late than never, so thank you.”

Mabel’s words caused a slight distortion in Leon’s demeanor. It reminded him of William Edmundstone, with whom she had planned to spend Christmas.

“Okay, is it worth taking a look at like you said?”

Mabel playfully tilted her hat here and there. However, Leon remained silent, neither offering any response nor changing his expression while simply gazing at Mabel.

Normally, he would have teased her several times, but today, his silent demeanor felt awkward.

“Hmm… … Enough for clueless guys to court me?”

That’s why. Mabel, feeling self-conscious due to Leon’s silence, made a cheeky joke using Leon’s previous comment.

‘Ha, I might just end up being one of those idiots, Miss Willis.’

Watching her cautiously tuck her short hair behind her ears, Leon’s insides churned even more.

After a moment of deliberation, Leon chuckled and shrugged, putting on a polite playful expression.

“Short hair suits you. After being Mary’s brother for so long, I’ve learned to anticipate my sister’s mistakes.”

Thinking she finally got a Leon-like response, Mabel relaxed and spoke again.

“But I didn’t prepare a separate Christmas present for you. If it’s your birthday, at least let me know next time…”

“Ah, it’s okay. It was sent without much thought, so there’s no need for unnecessary trouble.”

Leon adjusted his glasses and replied.

“By the way, I have some news for you. I suggested meeting because…”

Worried that his previous tone might have sounded too indifferent, Leon adjusted his voice and tried to adopt a more relaxed attitude.

“The reader response to ‘The Lieutenant and the Maiden’ in this issue is quite good. So, I’d like to ask Ms. Willis to contribute a middle-length novel for the winter issue of ‘Modern Woman’. What do you think? The pay isn’t particularly high, but even if you forget that I’m the editor of Montaire, it’s a decent offer for a novice writer.”

“Really? The middle-length novel is always featured on the page right after ‘Olivia Panthera’s’ poems, the most eye-catching page!”

Mabel exclaimed with joy. Her voice revealed her excitement that couldn’t be hidden.

“Do you… like Ms. Panthera’s writing?”

“I do. She writes such beautiful poems. This hairstyle is similar to accidentally burning my hair while being too focused on her poems. It’s like my writing being published alongside hers. It’s just as joyful as having my own work published this time!”

Mabel’s face, praising Olivia Panthera, shone brightly as if she possessed the world.

“Could it be that you’ve actually met Ms. Panthera and received her poems in person? After all, nothing about her face, her place of residence, or anything else has been revealed.”

“Uh… something like that.”

Mabel asked with a twinkle in her eye, and Leon replied with his usual smirk, but with a hint of awkwardness. Mabel, who understood his reaction as the editor’s reticence to keep a secret about Ms. Panthera, Mabel’s eyes sparkled even more.

“Goodness, to think that Mr. de Percy might have met Ms. Panthera, whom I admire, makes me so excited. I’m sure she’s just as beautiful in person and would be a delight to converse with endlessly.”

Amid Mabel’s incessant praise, Leon quietly took a sip of his drink and redirected the conversation.

“Anyway, this time, not just me but other editors will also be judging, so it’s better to put more effort into writing.”

Initially given as an opportunity out of curiosity and skepticism, Mabel’s writing had garnered more reader responses than Leon had anticipated. So it would be wise to give her a bigger opportunity.

“As you know, publishing a middle-length piece in the magazine is akin to officially debuting as a writer. So…”

Leon paused for a moment, glancing briefly at Mabel, who still seemed to be in a dreamlike state.

‘Aren’t those innocent young ladies falling in love and experiencing romance what makes the world go round?’

Leon recalled Mabel’s words from their first meeting, when she looked at him sharply, wide-eyed.

Considering the explosive response to her short story, perhaps her words were true. Maybe people falling in love is what makes the world go round.

Her face, which had seemed sharp and weary at their first meeting, now felt more lovely than anyone else’s.

“Mr. de Percy…?”

Mabel tilted her head, smiling at Leon, who was lost in thought. Today, Leon’s behavior seemed unusually different from usual.

With a somewhat dejected expression, Leon shook his neatly arranged hair with one hand and said.

“So, we’ll be seeing each other more often from now on. Yes, it’s better to be prepared.”