The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 32
< Chapter 32 >
Thud.
Mabel placed the empty teacup loudly on the table.
“Lord Alfred didn’t say anything? He’s been urging me to spend the summer vacation on the Isle of Wight since a few weeks before the holidays started… There’s no way he could have forgotten that I’m here.”
Mistaking William Edmundstone, who came to the villa for a summer vacation, for a ghost or a villain, Mabel attacked him sharply. She still held onto her fluttering heart.
“That’s strange. Uncle Frederick asked me to manage the summer villa while he’s away for some rest since my last visit.”
William remembered Lord Alfred, who had sent him letters several times and even sent him a ticket to the Isle of Wight.
“Uncle insisted that I arrive at the villa today… Ah.”
William’s expression became momentarily ambiguous as he brushed his hair back.
“I didn’t know Mr. Edmundstone planned to spend the summer here. I came with the idea of writing here, too, perhaps?”
Mabel, unable to see William’s expression, looked puzzled as she stared at the empty teacup. Her disheveled reddish-brown hair swayed over her shoulders in surprise.
“I didn’t mean to inconvenience Miss Mabel. Oh, I did inquire about Miss Mabel’s summer plans in my last letter, but unfortunately, there was no response.”
Despite saying he didn’t mean to inconvenience her, William shrugged with a nonchalant expression.
“Oh, I’ve been busy preparing for exams… I guess I just forgot about it.”
Mabel, who had a clear intention to avoid him, faltered in her speech. Her face was still pale from the recent events, but William’s gentle voice brought some life back to her.
Watching her quietly, William chuckled softly.
“It can’t be helped. Miss Mabel also needs a quiet place for rest and writing, and I need a place to retreat from the hustle and bustle.”
“Pardon?”
As William leaned comfortably against the sofa in the reception room and spoke, Mabel exclaimed in surprise. She couldn’t understand William’s meaning. However, William got up from his seat without paying attention and walked steadily towards his luggage by the entrance.
“I understand there are two bedrooms. Is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right. Why…”
With his luggage in hand, William hung his coat on the wall. Seeing this, Mabel jumped up from her seat.
“Wait, are you saying, you are planning to stay here?”
“Yes. Is that not allowed?”
William smiled casually as he spoke. His smile was charming enough to make any young lady’s heart flutter, but Mabel’s mind was anxious for a different reason.
Mabel asked in a trembling voice.
“Just for tonight?”
“Well, I was quite looking forward to spending the summer on the Isle of Wight.”
“In that case, I should, I should go somewhere too, right? Like, like Oxford Manor or…”
“Hmm.”
Mabel uttered words that seemed to be either muttering to herself or questioning, while William’s eyes had a mixture of ease and amusement. However, his voice was as serious as ever.
“Oxford Manor is busy with interior renovations. Most of the staff will be spending this summer outside the manor.”
With that, William picked up Mabel’s book that had fallen to the floor with the hand that wasn’t carrying his luggage. It had seemed like the thickest and largest book to Mabel’s eyes, but it looked quite feeble in William’s hand.
“Did you intend to attack me with this?”
William, who had been inspecting the book for a moment, asked, waving it up and down. He had an expression of surprise, then chuckled again.
Mabel, embarrassed, stammered in response. If it hadn’t been for Mary and Theo, she wouldn’t have made such a statement about being afraid of ghosts in front of William. Despite her efforts to explain, Mabel’s voice eventually faded away due to embarrassment.
“If the villain or ghost had been very small, it might have been a good idea.”
After briefly looking surprised, William chuckled again. Mabel had a feeling that William had decided to stay here, just as always, having the power to steer the situation in his favor while Mabel remained unaware.
“Mr. Edmundstone, do you, do you have another villa suitable for a summer vacation, other than this place?”
Mabel asked, trying to hold onto her waning composure as she was drawn into William’s relaxed smile. She hoped her hastily spoken words wouldn’t sound too presumptuous to William.
“Oh, there are plenty of family villas.”
Contrary to Mabel’s worries, William answered calmly. It was an answer that essentially acknowledged his wealth, but there was no hint of boasting or consciousness in his composed voice.
“But Uncle Frederick probably sent me here on purpose out of concern for Miss Mabel.”
William said, lifting Mabel’s book slightly again. He seemed to be making no effort to suppress his amusement now.
“Well, that’s…”
Mabel’s face turned red once again as she saw the book in William’s hand.
‘Whether it’s two days or a week, I’m not sure, but if I can spend even a day with you, all the efforts I’ve made to keep my distance from you will become futile sooner or later.’
Mabel barely managed to swallow the words trying to escape her lips.
How much she had suffered restraining her desire to respond to his affectionate letters throughout the semester. How delighted she had been to receive his letters regularly, even without replying. How difficult it had been to search for articles about him in the political section of newspapers instead of contacting him.
Having barely concealed her feelings for him and now possibly spending time with William at this small villa, Mabel’s vision blurred.
“Uncle Frederick must be very fond of you, Miss Mabel, to send me away without a word.”
Whether William knew what was on Mabel’s mind or not, he still spoke in a calm voice.
“I can’t afford to disappoint such a person.”
Upon hearing William’s words, Lord Alfred’s face with a playful smile hidden behind his white beard flashed in Mabel’s mind. She acknowledged that Lord Alfred, endlessly kind and gentle, had his quirky side too.
‘Above all, he’s the one who suggested sending me, a maid under the stairs, to college.’
Lord Alfred, understanding Mabel who never wanted to burden anyone, would have probably realized that silently sending off William was a good idea.
After all, it wasn’t just anyone but the noble and astute William Edmundstone.
Anyone who knew William’s thinking and insight would undoubtedly want to spend time with him.
As Mabel realized that William being here might have been Lord Alfred’s plan to help her, she couldn’t find any reason to push him away anymore.
“Staying alone in the villa as a woman might be a bit risky, as Mr. Edmundstone said. I’m not yet used to staying alone on the island….”
Remembering throwing a thick textbook at someone she had just considered a villain, Mabel avoided William’s gaze again.
‘Mr. Edmundstone is probably going to help me get used to the island for a few days and then leave, considering how busy he is. Maybe I’m overreacting.’
Watching Mabel reluctantly convince herself, a faint smile passed through William’s face.
“If it is Lord Alfred’s will…… then perhaps we should stay here together for now.”
Mabel hastily finished speaking while clutching the shawl around her shoulders. Her inner turmoil was a mix of wanting to hide from his gaze and the joy of being able to see him again under these circumstances.
On the other hand, William responded quietly with a rather indifferent voice.
“It’s good to hear you say that.”
Mabel couldn’t shake the feeling that she might have overreacted on her own, given William’s very composed demeanor.
And just as William was about to ascend to the second floor to find his bedroom, he paused on the staircase landing, looking at Mabel as if he had almost forgotten something, and spoke.
“I’ll be counting on you for the next month, Miss Mabel.”
“Uh… what? A month?”
It took Mabel some time to understand what William had casually said.
“W-wait, did you say a month?”
Mabel repeated William’s words, doubting her ears.
However, her voice only echoed against the walls of the staircase, failing to reach William who was already ascending the stairs.