The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 69

< Chapter 69 >

The next evening, Lord Alfred’s mansion was filled with guests. 

People gathered to celebrate the return of Lord Alfred, who had been away for a long time, and the Christmas party at the mansion, joined by students from Summerhill and the London School of Economics, marked a successful beginning.

However, Mabel wandered away from the crowd of friends and found herself pacing the central entrance of the mansion, stealing glances at the staircase leading to the second floor.

Mabel had trouble sleeping after her brief conversation with William yesterday. It felt as if a warm spoonful of soup had quenched the thirst of a long-starved person. As she caught his scent and heard his voice, her longing for William, which had been suppressed, surged through her body.

‘I’ll apologize properly this time and try to have a conversation. Perhaps in the atmosphere of the bathroom… Maybe even if we can’t go back to the way things were before, we could remain good friends.’

Mabel repeated these words to herself, knowing how false and hypocritical they were, but she pretended not to notice.

She secretly hoped that William, who had always shown her unwavering affection, might forgive her. No, perhaps she didn’t even know if he still harbored affection for her.

As Mabel was lost in her thoughts, a tall shadow approached her and spoke.

“Miss Willis, care to dance with me?”

Turning her head in surprise, Mabel saw Andrew Woolf, his fair hair slicked back with oil, standing there.

“Oh, Mr. Woolf…”

Mabel glanced around cautiously but didn’t see Leon, who could rescue her, or William, whom she was waiting for.

Andrew chuckled as he looked at Mabel.

“You owe me several dances, haha! If Miss Willis isn’t available for this song, I’ll patiently wait until she is.”

Despite his laughter, his gaze was devoid of humor, filled instead with an unsettling intensity. Mabel had no choice but to accept his dance request.

Fortunately, Andrew led Mabel into the heat of the contradance, where partners changed intermittently, allowing her to return to her original partner. The waltz, with its intimate pairing, was too provocative for her conservative nature.

As a refined dance tune fitting for Lord Alfred’s estate played, Andrew followed Mabel with unwavering eyes and struck up a conversation.

“I heard you received an offer to go to America from Mr. de Percy. Do you plan to go there after graduation?”

Mabel raised her eyebrows at the unexpected question, perhaps something she had heard from Theo through Mary.

“For now, I plan to return to the mansion and write some more. I’ll consider the offer.”

Andrew kept pace with Mabel, stepping slightly ahead of her. He seemed oblivious to the music, always a beat faster than it, and continued speaking to Mabel.

“Thinking of going abroad with a foreign man, I must say, Miss Willis… As someone from a maid background, it’s natural for you not to understand the ways of a lady, so as your generous friend, I feel compelled to offer some advice, haha.”

Andrew leaned in to whisper to Mabel, and the scent of hair oil subtly wafted over.

“In the land of freedom where all sorts of behavior are tolerated, especially with the notorious womanizer Mr. de Percy, if you were to go, finding a suitable husband in England might become difficult. So…”

Mabel frowned at Andrew’s disparaging remarks towards Leon. As the first stanza of the music was nearing its end, Andrew now stood behind Mabel and continued speaking.

“Before you leave, consider marriage, or even a marriage of convenience. I could assist you with that.”

Mabel turned around abruptly at Andrew’s sudden words. As she did so, his hand, which had been stroking her long, chestnut-colored hair, jerked in the air.

Although it wasn’t a formal proposal, Andrew had hinted at himself as a potential marriage partner.

But what shocked Mabel even more was the term ‘marriage of convenience.’ This often referred to unmarried lovers spending the night together and promising the semblance of a marital bond.

Having been a maid for a long time, Mabel was well aware of men who mocked innocent women using such pretexts. So, she replied in a more playful tone, trying to foil Andrew’s plan.

“I thought you respected Mr. de Percy when we last met, Mr. Woolf, so hearing such words is surprising. But whoever I marry has nothing to do with you, so don’t worry about that.”

Luckily, the music changed before Andrew’s expression could contort further. Mabel naturally found herself facing the man behind Andrew and dancing with him.

While matching steps with her dance partner, Mabel couldn’t believe what was happening.

Despite clearly showing her dislike when Andrew had approached her last time, he persistently mocked her again today. No matter how informal the setting, proposing marriage-like words during a group dance was simply rude.

‘To denigrate Mr. de Percy like that…’

Mabel shivered at the thought of Andrew’s two-faced nature. Suddenly, she noticed Andrew’s gaze from a couple of lines away, firmly fixed on her.

As Mabel trembled under that gaze, the music played the third stanza. She turned and stood in front of her next partner.

“Oh!”

For a moment, Mabel missed a beat and hesitated. Standing in front of her was a man much taller than Andrew. A solid chest, broad shoulders that seemed to carry everything, and a handsome, chiseled face came into view, one after the other.

Someone she could never forget no matter how hard she tried.

It was William Edmundstone.

Encountering him whom she had been searching for so desperately, all the words she had intended to say vanished from her mind, and her mouth wouldn’t move.

“…”

However, the music continued playing, and William, with an expressionless face, made a slight bow towards her and extended his hand. Of course, this particular song required holding hands while dancing.

Flustered, Mabel delicately placed her gloved hand in his. Through her thin muslin gloves, she could feel his warmth.

For more than half of the short song, he danced with her without saying a word. He looked as gentlemanly and flawless as ever, but Mabel couldn’t shake the feeling that he seemed indifferent.

Growing increasingly frustrated with the situation, Mabel finally spoke up.

“Mr. Edmundstone, I-I have something to say.”

She felt her voice trembling more than she expected as she looked up at him. Then, she noticed the slow movement of William’s sharp jawline, as if recalling an unpleasant memory.

“You needn’t worry about yesterday evening.”

His tone seemed to suggest that he didn’t want to hear more from her. Desperately, Mabel continued, her words rushed.

“I, it’s not about that… I want to apologize for what happened last autumn…”

As she followed the dance steps, William, who was lifting her hand, paused for a moment. Then, his gaze sharpened as if remembering something unpleasant, and he replied to Mabel.

“You needn’t concern yourself with that anymore.”

William’s cold tone made Mabel feel like her feet were sinking.

He had never ignored or interrupted her before. His voice had always been gentle and soothing, and whenever Mabel spoke hesitantly, William’s affectionate eyes would always shine warmly upon her.

“B-but… Mr. Edmundstone, I visited Winterbrook the day before yesterday. You were anonymously donating there, weren’t you? I wanted to thank you for that, and…”

Mabel pleaded earnestly while looking at William, who wouldn’t even meet her gaze. Despite her growing impatience, there was no change in William’s expression.

‘Mr. Edmundstone, did you happen to see the seabird painted at the orphanage in Winterbrook? Can I believe that you still think about me, the foolish and frustrating person who hurt you? Because… ever since the last day we spoke, I’ve thought about you and missed you every day. I regret everything I said to you…’

Mabel’s lips trembled with sincerity that even she didn’t realize, as she slightly tightened her grip on William’s hand. However, William either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it, focusing sharply on something beyond Mabel’s shoulder.

As the short piece of music ended, Mabel gathered her courage and spoke.

“Could we spare a moment to talk privately?”

Unfortunately, Mabel’s voice was drowned out by the applause for the musicians, and William, seeming unaffected, withdrew his hand from hers and stepped away.

“Well then, until we meet again.”

Mabel stared blankly at William’s formal farewell.

The previous William would always briefly grasp Mabel’s cuffs, strands of hair, or fingertips whenever he passed by her. Mabel would then blush furiously while glancing around to see if anyone noticed.

However, after they exchanged greetings, William promptly walked past her and headed elsewhere. 

In his demeanor, there was no trace of the warmth that he used to show to Mabel in the past, nor even a faint hint of the faint smile she had glimpsed in the mansion’s bathroom.