The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 63

< Chapter 63 >

“Is there still a mop-like thing in front of the door these days?”

Leon, who was walking with Mabel in Summerhill, casually asked her.

“It seems Mary mentioned it.”

Mabel said, her face turning red. Even Leon, an outsider to Summerhill, felt a little embarrassed to know that Mabel had suffered severe harassment.

“It was just once. You don’t have to worry because nothing’s been happening lately.”

Mabel’s words were true. Since Rebecca, who was essentially the mastermind behind everything, apologized to Mabel, there hadn’t been any threats towards her.

However, there was an incident where a gossip magazine dedicated a whole page to rumors about Silvester. Ironically, it was the same place that had captured Mabel and William’s theater date.

The magazine intertwined Rebecca and Mabel’s stories to mock Summerhill and the ladies’ behavior sarcastically. With the situation turning out like this, not only did the students who didn’t particularly care about Mabel, but even the members of the Home Economics Club seemed a bit tired of this affair.

“I heard you’ve been looking out for Rebecca Silvester.”

Leon’s leather coat made a rustling sound with every step he took. Despite the chilly weather and busy schedules, Leon had been visiting Summerhill regularly since he proposed the trip to America for Mabel.

“Why would you do that? Wasn’t she the woman who tormented Ms. Willis?”

Leon asked, casting a glance at Mabel’s worn-out wool jacket. Oblivious to Leon’s gaze, Mabel answered obediently.

“I understand Rebecca’s actions.”

Mabel adjusted her gray scarf. Her cheeks looked redder in the late November cold.

“Rebecca’s words did leave a mark on me, but it was because of my own sense of shame. Rebecca knew all those things too well… Besides, I had friends like Mary by my side.”

Mabel smiled at Leon. Leon cleared his throat awkwardly and turned his gaze forward.

“Although I felt sorry hearing Silvester’s story, I can’t forgive what she did to Ms. Willis. It was an unforgivable act, even if it was done without malice.”

Leon, driven by protective instincts towards Mabel, said. Mabel was thankful that his actions made her feel like he was looking out for her as a caring younger sibling.

“Someone once told me before. Humans inherently possess both good and bad, and even if they commit malicious acts, with proper opportunities and dignity, they can walk the path of goodness. That’s why creating such an environment is important.”

Mabel said slowly, stopping their steps. They were standing at a crossroads with a leaf-covered path leading towards Summerhill’s north gate and dormitories. Leon’s car was visible in the distance.

“So, I’ve been thinking… What can I do?”

Leon also stopped walking and looked down at Mabel in response to her meaningful words. Mabel, with her white face tightly wrapped in a gray scarf and worn-out coat, looked up at him sharply.

“Students at Summerhill are also shaken by such events. Wherever you walk on campus, you can hear stories of sympathy for Rebecca’s situation, or similar incidents students have experienced or heard about, like laws that unmarried women cannot own property, or discussions about rights such as suffrage.”

Mabel said, breathing heavily. Her words reflected the current heated debates among Summerhill College students about values.

“But that’s not all. Lord Silvester’s determination to send her daughter, who has harmed the family, to Summerhill and turn her into a decent person seems to have triggered the students’ contemplation about the school’s existence.”

Understanding the situation quickly, Leon continued her train of thought.

“Regardless of why each individual came to this college, Summerhill students take great pride in the knowledge they acquire. However, outsiders ultimately view attending this school as an extension of finishing school for the nobility, so it’s natural to feel outraged.”

Mabel nodded in agreement with Leon.

“Yes, perhaps that’s why my humble presence at Summerhill seems to have changed perceptions about this place. How could a place where maids were once students become a finishing school for noble ladies?”

Leon raised an eyebrow with an amused expression.

“Interesting development. So, what does Ms. Willis want to do?”

“Many people are thirsty for new values at this opportunity, not only Summerhill students but anyone, and I wanted to talk about the right for an individual to live for their own happiness.”

“The right to live for one’s own happiness…”

“If a society easily agrees that regardless of one’s background or family, every individual has the right and freedom to be happy, then it would be easier to talk about other people’s happiness too.”

Finishing her words, Mabel took out a thin envelope from her bag. The entrance of the envelope seemed slightly worn as if she had been opening and closing it several times, contemplating.

“What I can do well is writing, and I’ve also pondered a lot about the conflicting values at Summerhill. So, I wrote about my experiences and wanted to submit it to the social section of the Montaire Newspaper. But I wanted to show it to you, Mr. de Percy, first.”

Mabel handed the manuscript she had written over several days to Leon.

“It’s a piece for an editorial I’m writing for the first time. You can reject it if you want, so please give me an honest evaluation.”

Leon looked silently at Mabel’s serious face. He was quietly amazed by the charisma emanating from her small and slender figure. Come to think of it, Mabel had changed noticeably every time they met, like grass growing differently each day in summer.

“Alright. But keep in mind that newspapers and magazines have a huge difference in readership, with newspapers being much stricter, you know? You should be prepared for that.”

He thought she was just a patch of grass giving up. But now, Leon couldn’t help but think that Mabel, with her long and sturdy stalk like a Mayflower, looked elegant and confident.

“Again, even if there are issues with my status this time, I’ll submit it anonymously…”

However, Leon just smiled at her and put the documents in his pocket.

“No, I’ll submit it under your name. One advantage of the strict and arrogant editorial department is that they don’t let articles be influenced by mere reader complaints.”

Leon looked at Mabel silently. His gaze slowly traveled from her reddish hair to her firmly gathered feet.

When did she grow like this? She used to be as wary as a cat when they first met.

There was a radiance emanating from Mabel. She broke through her tough shell and illuminated herself. Leon would remember this moment forever, the moment when he admired someone as a pure individual.

But then he realized something. Mabel’s sparkling eyes and the firm atmosphere surrounding her resembled someone else.

‘William Edmundstone….’

The emotions that had just overwhelmed him vanished in an instant. After a moment of silence, Leon relaxed his tense expression and spoke.

“Then will you grant me one request?”

Leon said, taking off his coat and putting it around Mabel’s shoulders. He had taken a liking to her old coat earlier.

“This time, instead of wearing another man’s coat, wear mine and go back to the dorm.”

There was a mischievousness in Leon’s voice as usual. However, there was a hint of bitterness in his gaze that Mabel couldn’t see.

* * *

The students at Summerhill, who had just finished the unusually long November exam period, were filled with excitement for the upcoming Christmas vacation. 

Irina and Mabel, enjoying a special meal to commemorate the first week of Advent in the student cafeteria, noticed Mary rushing towards them with a loud commotion.

“Mabel, Irina… Have you seen this?”

Mary, with her skirt not particularly long, rolled up and clutched the newspaper with both hands as she gasped for breath.

“What is it? Another grand critique of Mabel’s editorial?”

Despite Mary’s loud entrance, Irina elegantly took a spoonful of pudding and said.

Mabel’s essay had been published in the Montaire Newspaper’s reader commentary section a week after she sent the manuscript to Leon. The response to her essay was explosive, and Mabel and her friends were enjoying the pleasure of seeing rave reviews of the essay they had been hearing about everywhere lately.

The article edited and published by Leon started with a brief introduction of Mabel Willis, a Summerhill College student. It then continued with how she, as a former maid under the stairs, came to Summerhill and what lessons Summerhill was imparting to her and her friends.

[Summerhill wasn’t just a home for me, an orphan. It was a place where, unlike the predetermined lives we were accustomed to since childhood, we could unfold our hidden intellect and curiosity.

In this way, Summerhill became the most genuine place for all of us, providing each of us with the opportunity to be our true selves, the most home-like home.]

Mabel’s article garnered great empathy from Summerhill students. But it didn’t stop there. Even those who had reservations about the idea of the first women’s college in Britain were intrigued by the friendly portrayal of Summerhill’s interior and its students.

[……At Summerhill, we learned about individual happiness and how valuable life is, which breaks the contradiction of not being able to pursue our own happiness.

We realized that the path to true happiness is not the path of a suitor or the path of our parents’ origins, but a society where even the maid under the stairs in our house can be happy.]

Her article, written in a language that everyone could understand, addressing the topic of individual happiness, which might seem radical to some, caused a stir.

In an era of inevitable but slow change, people who had been wavering between tradition and modernity were ecstatic about Mabel’s perspective and the presentation of new values.

As a result, from the day after her article was published, not only the Montaire Newspaper but also the reader commentary sections of popular magazines in London were flooded with articles discussing the experiences and stories of people who shared Mabel’s thoughts.

“That, that’s not it….”

However, Mary spoke with a very different expression when sharing her new critique of Mabel’s article.

“Mabel, it’s about Mr. Edmundstone…”

With a trembling voice, Mary placed the newspaper she had been holding on her lap.