The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 61

< Chapter 61 >

Mary, pulling Mabel who was reading Daisy’s letter, headed towards Elizabeth Hall where the poetry recitation was taking place.

“What’s going on, Mary?” 

Mary had burst into the dormitory room a while ago, claiming something significant was happening. 

Mabel, being dragged along by Mary, asked as she didn’t understand. However, instead of answering, Mary opened the door to Elizabeth Hall and, holding her breath, entered with Mabel.

“Look, Mabel!”

Pointing with her finger, Mary revealed Rebecca standing alone. She seemed to be reciting poetry, perhaps marking the end of the autumn festival. But her condition was quite alarming, like a drowned rat.

“How dare you… how dare you… You shameless woman…”

A woman wearing a hood was shouting angrily in front of Rebecca, who looked pale. Her slightly graying hair peeking out from the hood suggested she was of advanced age. She was dressed shabbily and held a large jug like one would in a stable.

Fear filled Rebecca’s eyes as she stared at the woman. Droplets of muddy water were dripping from her once tulip-like beautiful poetry recital dress.

“Our son, he’s practically dead because of you… Oh, our poor Thomas!”

Using the jug as support, she burst into mournful tears.

“After you left like that, my husband and I went to find your father to make him pay. He’s the one who made our once strong and clean son, Thomas, unable to walk properly! But Thomas warned us that you would be in even more trouble if he came limping after us with that useless leg of his…”

The woman, who seemed to have a son named Thomas, almost shouted at Rebecca with a hoarse voice. In the dimly lit center stage, Rebecca and the woman confronted each other. Their standoff resembled a scene from a play.

“Before Rebecca came to Summerhill, around two years ago, she fell in love with Silvester’s tenant farmer’s son and eloped.”

Mary whispered for Mabel’s benefit, who seemed to have no clue about the unfolding situation.

“It’s from the documents Leon gave us, didn’t you read them? Anyway, it seems when Lord Silvester, her father, came to take her back, he had people beat the tenant farmer’s son. Since then, he couldn’t walk properly and has been suffering for the past three years…”

Mary said with a sorrowful tone. Mabel vaguely remembered seeing that information in the documents Leon had sent. It only briefly mentioned, ‘There was an affair with a tenant farmer’s son, but the family sent Rebecca to college, and the scandal was hushed up.’

Rebecca, who had been quiet, stuttered.

“I… I…”

Rebecca’s lips trembled, whether from the unknown liquid splattered all over or from the sudden terror of the situation.

“Before Thomas died, do you know what his last wish was? He wanted to see you one more time. For two years, you, who never bothered to send a single letter, that child…” 

Her voice, so frail coming from her small and thin body, was filled with the sorrow of having lost her son not long ago. Her sobbing continued.

“And so, shamelessly, I, his mother, sent you a letter. What? You don’t remember Thomas? You’re nothing but a filthy piece of trash! Ah…”

Thomas’ mother screamed before writhing in pain.

“While Thomas was dying, you were here, reciting poetry so peacefully with that expensive face of yours, which he couldn’t bear to see…”

She staggered as if she might collapse at any moment. Then, once again, she swung the empty jug toward Rebecca before slumping to the ground.

“I can’t do this, we need to get her help.”

Mabel, noticing her staggering, suddenly turned to Mary, who was standing behind her. Fortunately, with Theo, George, and a few other political science students who had come to enjoy the poetry recital, it seemed they could get some assistance.

Understanding Mabel’s words, Mary and Theo approached Thomas’ mother to support her. Other shocked students who had been watching the situation began to take care of the swaying woman.

“Bring a towel and dab her neck. She’s feverish all over. Someone go to Cheshire Hall and call for a doctor and bring back some medicine.”

Mary calmly directed the perplexed ladies around her. Theo, George, and the other students rushed to Cheshire Hall. While everyone was moving swiftly, Mabel noticed Rebecca standing still like a statue.

“Rebecca, stop standing like that, and let’s dry your clothes… Oops.”

Approaching Rebecca, Mabel inadvertently pressed her arm against her nose. The liquid splattered from the jug Thomas’ mother had brought was a mixture of filth and water. Just being near Rebecca was enough to make one’s nose sting from the foul odor.

“Come here, let’s wash your body first. We need to get rid of this dirt before it poisons you. Hurry.”

Despite the stench of the filth, Mabel supported the wet Rebecca without hesitation. Rebecca, with vacant eyes, seemed to move towards Mabel as if being pulled lightly like a piece of parchment.

* * *

Mabel’s bathroom was filled with the busy sound of water being poured and Rebecca’s body being washed with that water.

Just a few minutes after the commotion had started, Rebecca, who seemed to have aged ten years, still trembled and couldn’t control her body properly. Seeing this, Mabel, separate from her emotions towards Rebecca, volunteered to help bathe her.

“Here, you can come out now once you put on these clothes.”

Seeming to regain some clarity amidst the warm water and steam, Rebecca moved her body in the direction where Mabel’s voice could be heard.

Rebecca’s once magnificent dress was now covered in filth, rendering it fit only for disposal in the incinerator attached to the dormitory. With nothing else to wear immediately, Mabel hastily handed Rebecca a small and shabby dress of her own.

“Put this on and try to compose yourself, Rebecca…”

Mabel handed Rebecca a prepared tea as she emerged from the bathroom. Although her demeanor resembled that of a maid delivering to a noble on the stairs, there seemed to be no awareness of such dynamics between them. Instead, Rebecca seemed to quietly accept Mabel’s genuine sympathy.

Mabel then put firewood into the stove and lit a fire before seating the still-wet-haired Rebecca in front of it. Fortunately, Rebecca no longer emitted the stench of filth, but her gaze remained empty, reminiscent of when she was covered in filth.

“…”

Mabel wanted to say something comforting to Rebecca, but no words came to mind. Even her clear mind couldn’t fathom if Rebecca truly understood what had just happened, let alone the confusion Rebecca must have felt after receiving the baptism of filth during the poetry recitation.

Mechanically gazing at the teacup in her hand, Rebecca, for the first time, spoke up.

“The… Thomas’… mother, was it? How is she now?”

“She’s lost her senses, but she’ll be examined by a doctor soon, so she should be fine.”

Mabel answered cautiously, the news relayed by Mary as she left the bathroom to give Rebecca some clothes.

According to Mary’s added explanation before leaving the dormitory, Lord Silvester had sent Rebecca to Summerhill and sponsored her there partly to restore the tarnished honor of the family due to Rebecca’s elopement.

‘It seems their family, having only daughters, was particularly sensitive to rumors. When Rebecca eloped, it even led to the dissolution of Victoria’s engagement that was being negotiated with the intended groom… Victoria had no choice but to marry into a declining household.’

Mary said, understanding the conversation between Rebecca and Victoria that she had heard from Leon now made sense. There was pity in her eyes as she looked at the bathroom door where Rebecca was.

Mabel’s gaze returned to the trembling Rebecca. It seemed that even the hot flames of the fire could not calm the shock within her.

‘So, perhaps Lord Silvester’s obsession with Rebecca’s honor at Summerhill was even more intense… thinking that if the evaluation of the lady from Summerhill improved, they could marry Rebecca into a good household again…’

Mabel thought as she added another layer of blanket around Rebecca’s body. Rebecca, clutching the edge of the blanket covering her body, sobbed quietly.

“What do I do… What should I do… I feel like all the blood has drained from my body and my heart is about to stop.”

Mabel, who knew Rebecca’s usual demeanor well, comforted her.

“Rebecca, if you’re worried about your reputation and your father… Let’s just focus on warming up your body and recovering your spirits for now. There will be ways to deal with it gradually.”

Rebecca, who had always been careful about her behavior as the head of the house economics club, would be deeply shocked and frustrated to have her own flaws exposed, which the whole family wanted to hide.

But soon, Rebecca uttered words that no one could have imagined hearing from her.

“No. I have no interest in a lady’s reputation or family honor…”

Rebecca, with a pallid face, looked at Mabel and then covered her face with both hands, wailing.

“Thomas… Thomas really died? Is it true, Mabel? Thomas, he… huh!”

Rebecca collapsed, sobbing uncontrollably.