The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 52
< Chapter 52 >
“If Miss Willis wants, she can try writing commercial copy or even a movie script. There are no constraints on what you want to write there. Nobody knows your identity, and even if they did, there wouldn’t be anyone to make an issue out of it.”
Leon’s provocative tone softened momentarily.
“What I mean is, you don’t have to endure this treatment in England. If you come with me to the US, I promise you can try anything you want. I… I will help you there.”
Leon’s expression was determined until the end. Mabel was taken aback by the sudden proposal, but seeing Leon’s sincere attitude, she could tell he wasn’t talking nonsense.
“Mr. Leon de Percy, so, I…”
Mabel, overwhelmed by Leon’s unexpected passion, even stopped her tears and looked at him.
It was an uplifting fantasy.
People who see not who she is but what she writes. A place where she doesn’t have to worry about someone asking about her lineage during a conversation, or fearing that her limited knowledge of the world might be exposed.
A society that accepts her for who she is.
“Next year, Mr. de Percy will become the CEO of Montaire Publishing House.”
Mabel suddenly remembered, breaking her hesitation.
“It doesn’t matter. I was getting bored of living here anyway.”
Leon replied without hesitation, but Mabel still avoided his gaze, seemingly anxious. Since she didn’t have family in England and no reason to be distant, she couldn’t easily respond, especially with thoughts of William lingering in her mind.
“Is it because of Mr. Edmundstone?”
Leon asked with a cold stare.
“Pardon?”
Mabel was taken aback by the pointed question. However, since she believed Leon didn’t know about her relationship with William, she thought he was simply asking about William being her college benefactor.
“No. I’m well aware that gossip could cause significant damage, especially to a politician like Mr. Edmundstone. There’s an election coming up in a few months. But I can’t agree that leaving everyone Miss Willis knows in London is the right move. Especially since, in my case, going to the US with Miss Willis seems more beneficial.”
Leon couldn’t stop himself from emphasizing to Mabel that his situation with William was different, even though he felt cowardly for doing so. It was because the spark he felt when he saw William kissing Mabel’s neck at the last party still hadn’t extinguished and was still smoldering in his heart.
“I was planning to leave London as soon as I received my diploma anyway. Anywhere I can send steady payments to Lord Alfred, even if it means crossing the sea…”
“If you’re thinking of leaving to avoid everyone, is there a more definite way than crossing the ocean?”
Leon said to a hesitant Mabel.
“I’m not saying you have to decide right now. It’s something to think about over time. But you have talent, and some people like you just the way you are, if not necessarily because of it.”
He dropped his usual light-hearted expression and wore a faint, gentle smile that he often reserved for Mabel alone.
“Think about it. If there’s a way to make you happy, I want to help.”
The tender voice didn’t sound like Leon’s. It felt like a voice full of poignant emotion, almost like a crane crying. Mabel had to raise her head and gaze at his beautiful green eyes for a long time.
* * *
As soon as William informed Mabel that Lord Alfred’s condition had slightly improved, Mabel boarded the train to Oxford.
Though William offered to pick her up, she didn’t want to show herself getting into his car in front of the gossip-filled students at Summerhill College.
“Lord Alfred!”
When the heavy bedroom door opened, Mabel rushed to Lord Alfred’s bed without any regard for her dignity. Covered in white sheets and wearing white pajamas, Lord Alfred looked like he could depart from this world at any moment. More tears streamed from Mabel’s eyes at his worse-than-expected appearance.
“What happened? How could you be in so much pain and not say anything?”
Despite her resolution to calmly talk to him, read books by his side, and nurse him, Mabel was shocked by Lord Alfred’s appearance and spoke as if screaming. Lord Alfred, with his eyes closed, only let out weak breaths instead of answering.
“Ms. Willis, Lord Alfred just took his medicine, so it might be difficult for him to have a conversation.”
Vincent Crosby said, a lawyer who Mabel didn’t even know was in the room, calming her down.
“Do you know, Mr. Crosby? How could his original lung disease suddenly worsen like this? Just a month ago, when I visited on the last day of summer vacation, he looked much better…”
Thinking of Lord Alfred, who used to walk with her in Oxford’s gardens, laughing heartily as she recounted her College life stories, Mabel said.
“Because of his age… it seems like the flu season has affected his chronic lung disease.”
Vincent said sadly, shaking his head.
“How much he didn’t want to let others know about his illness… I found out very late, and even the people of the Edmunstone family, who are his only relatives, found out very late, too, which is disappointing.”
“Oh, poor Lord Alfred. Did you think you were a burden to others? Or were you longing for where your wife is?”
Mabel murmured as tears streamed down her cheeks onto Lord Alfred’s pillow.
“William.”
Vincent, who was watching Mabel’s tears with sympathy, called out to William, who was quietly standing in the doorway. William nodded slightly and walked steadily to the side of Lord Alfred’s bed where Mabel was sitting.
As the cool and smoky scent of William came closer, Mabel, with her eyes closed, could still sense his presence beside her. It had only been a few days since their brief encounter during the hearing, but she had missed his scent profoundly.
“Lord Alfred is about to fall asleep due to the effects of the medicine, so could we have a brief conversation, Mabel?”
Following his gaze as he spoke in a low voice, Mabel looked up to see William, who looked much more exhausted than usual, gazing down at her.
Guided by William, outside Lord Alfred’s room, the kitchen maid, Aunt Louise, was waiting.
“Aunt Louise!”
Mabel hurriedly hugged Aunt Louise, who was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. Aunt Louise, whose hair was turning gray, spoke with tear-stained cheeks.
“My goodness. I only arrived at the mansion yesterday and heard all the news about Daisy and Lord Alfred. What on earth has happened while I was away in my hometown?”
William, who had been watching Mabel and Louise’s reunion, spoke up.
“I’ve dismissed Lady Margaret from the mansion, so now Lady Louise will take her place.”
Surprised, Mabel held onto Aunt Louise’s hands and turned to look at William.
“Lady Margaret… Could it be because of that letter last time?”
“Yes. And I plan to send Sally Roby, who used to be a kitchen maid, to Worcester where Daisy Smith is, to assist with Mrs. Smith’s preparations for childbirth. Mabel, what do you think?”
“Mr. Edmundstone, of course, if Sally can help Daisy… First, Aunt Louise, who will now be the housekeeper, must give her permission.”
Mabel responded to William’s proposal with a mixture of joy and confusion on her face. At that moment, Aunt Louise interjected.
“Master Edmundstone, if you’re willing to do that, I’m happy, of course. There’s not much need for many hands in this mansion anyway. Mabel, or rather Miss Willis, will be pleased too.”
The experienced housekeeper, who had noticed the strange dynamics between Mabel and William since last Christmas, understood William’s intentions and gave the right answer.
Sharp-eyed, she had been thinking that, despite the rumors that Mabel was to be Lord Alfred’s foster daughter, perhaps she would become Alfred’s hostess in some other way.
“Oh dear, get a hold of yourself. I should go and tell Sally to prepare to go to Worcester. Miss Willis, you said you’d be in Oxford all weekend, right? I’ll have the maids prepare the guest rooms.”
Whether Louise sensed the tension between William and Mabel or not, after giving Mabel another tight hug, she hurriedly left.
“Did you really drive Lady Margaret out? She’s been working here for decades… since Lazy Elizabeth Alfred was still alive.”
Watching Aunt Louise disappear like a squirrel, Mabel asked. She had decided to leave William countless times, but she still couldn’t figure out how to treat him, making it difficult to meet his gaze.
“It’s a trivial matter when you think about what you’ve been through.”
“But I would have asked you to delay that decision until Lord Alfred is a little more recovered. It’s an action taken with Lord Alfred in mind.”
William, instead of answering, looked piercingly at Mabel, then sighed, elegantly arching one eyebrow as if giving in.
“Let me think about it. I have decided to reflect your wishes as much as possible in the future maintenance of the mansion.”
Mabel didn’t understand how the renovation of Lord Alfred’s mansion was relevant to her. She thought perhaps William wanted to hear the opinions of someone who had worked as a maid under the stairs for a long time.
“Actually, there’s something else important I need to tell you, Mabel.”
William, smoothing out his wrinkled forehead, approached Mabel cautiously and said.
“I have found Birdie, Mabel. Your family.”