The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 74

< Chapter 74 >

As a log crackled and slowly crumbled within the fireplace, the two individuals feverishly explored each other’s lips. 

As William softly sucked on Mabel’s lower lip, stealing her breath away with each repetition, Mabel inadvertently let out a whimper.

“Ah, mm….”

At her faint whimper, William’s lips gradually retreated with a smacking sound. Mabel, with an expression of longing fleeting across her face, opened her closed eyes.

“Hah….”

The man gazed at her persistently with determined eyes. If those eyes contained pity and tender affection, was it just her imagination?

“Mabel, let’s stop now.”

William’s restrained voice resonated from beyond the crackling logs. He gently wiped his reddened lips from their passionate kisses and spoke slowly.

“I don’t want to tarnish your honor any further.”

Mabel, still clutching his white shirt with both hands, looked up at him and spoke.

“Mr. Edmundstone, how could someone like you tarnish my honor?”

Her voice was still dreamy and dazed, she felt impatient that this moment, so eagerly awaited with William, might slip away again.

William gently took Mabel’s hand and continued speaking. 

“We both understand that this attraction and desire could be harmful to us, especially to you, Mabel. Even indulging in kissing you like this, even on the Isle of Wight…”

William tilted his head slightly. His desire for her flickered in his blue eyes, slightly dimmed by his restraint.

“I’ve thought for a long time after you rejected my proposal. I believed in our love, Mabel. But perhaps your dismissal of our emotional connection made me doubt. I was cautious because you denied our shared emotions. I feared you might see your feelings for me as frivolous. That’s why I was careful.”

William looked at Mabel, wanting to embrace her with his moist face but suppressing the urge.

“Mabel, regardless of how much your rejection hurt me, I respected your decision. Because I love you.”

A rueful smile flickered across William’s face as he spoke.

“If I loved you any less, I couldn’t have let you go so quietly, without a single groan of pain.”

William’s blue eyes locked onto Mabel with profound sorrow. Even if she spoke harsh words to him, he could endure that much. He saw her indescribable sadness amidst the thorns of her words. That’s why, even after hearing her words, he couldn’t easily let her go.

“But Mabel, I haven’t given up on you. You’ll probably despise me for not being able to let go, despite your firm words.” 

His pained voice stabbed at Mabel’s heart. His words, uttered with determination to push her away, clearly pierced his heart. In reality, he was the one who felt fearful, yet even as he first held her, he only contemplated fleeing…

Mabel sensed tears different from before, streaming down her cheeks, as she spoke.

“So… so you distanced yourself from me. You avoided speaking to me at the party…”

At this, William gently wiped her tear-stained cheek and replied.

“That was because some journalists attempted to use the time we spent on the Isle of Wight to make unfounded threats. But don’t worry, everything’s been handled. Nothing you fear will happen.”

Mabel wasn’t surprised or worried by his words. She had been waiting for the chance to be with William again, and now, she thought, she didn’t care what rumors spread. However, unbeknownst to her, William spoke with a locked voice.

“I understand you’ve always worried about such things. The potential harm my family and social status might bring you… But Mabel, if your rejection of my proposal wasn’t due to lack of affection but because of status or societal attention…”

A faint smile passed over his face, still slightly creased with sadness.

“… If that’s the case, then I’ll prove my love to you again, even if it means enduring your disdain at this moment.”

In his confession, mixed with sorrow and determination, he couldn’t be accepted, yet he couldn’t help but say it. But even so, as he spoke, he remained dazzlingly beautiful and noble.

Mabel felt ashamed of everything she had done in the past. Yet, as she listened to William’s affectionate words, hope welled up within her once again.

Mabel was about to quietly rest her cheek in his warm hand, but she hesitated at William’s words about paying a price.

“Would that price… by any chance, be because I rejected you, causing you to resign from the Senate? Mr. Edmundstone, please tell me. What about the rumors of you relinquishing your noble title?”

Mabel’s moist eyes looked at William. Perhaps the warmth from the fireplace and William had warmed her soul, as her cheeks were tinged with a rosy blush.

“Mabel…”

William barely suppressed his desire to kiss her lively cheek as he spoke.

“It’s true that I gave up my noble title and my Senate seat. My social status was one of the reasons… it burdened you. But…”

Mabel interrupted William with a leap in her heart.

“Oh my, Mr. Edmundstone! What about your dreams, the world you want to change?”

William chuckled as if he had expected this, then gently squeezed Mabel’s shoulders, who seemed at a loss for words.

“…It’s not just that. I’ve come to realize that the ideals I strive for shouldn’t rely on the power bestowed by birthright, but rather on the strength of the people. Mabel, my dear Mabel. I swear I will never cease to realize our shared ideals. So, please, answer me now.”

William spoke with a hint of urgency but still in a gentle tone. The chilly breeze swept in through the slightly ajar cabin door, tousling his hair.

William strode toward her, his sparkling blue eyes reminiscent of the snow falling outside the window, his scent wafting through Mabel’s mind again, and now they were as close as they had been when they kissed.

William spoke quietly, his lips barely touching hers.

“You make me impatient, Mabel Willis.”

His nose brushed against her cold one.

“Your questions now, your expressions, the way you look at me, they give me hope again. So, tell me, Mabel. Can I hope? Is there a chance for me to show you, from the beginning, how precious you are to me, how my heart is never light?”

His sweet question echoed in Mabel’s ears. She felt her entire body shiver at his slightly husky voice. With a rush of breath, Mabel exclaimed as if calling out.

“Oh, William. Hope? Can you hope? Your presence is hope to me.”

Fear and joy that had been building up inside Mabel burst out simultaneously. Mabel tightly embraced his neck. His cool scent enveloped her surroundings warmly.

“I was so scared, thinking I had lost you forever. Because of my foolish words, I thought I would never see your beautiful face, your smile, and the affectionate gaze you cast upon me again…”

Tears of joy and relief streamed down Mabel’s cheeks. William wrapped his arms around her petite frame. Mabel buried her face in his broad shoulder and wept.

“Ha, asking me if you have a chance, after seeing all my lows… I’m sorry for not believing earlier, for running away…”

William gently separated the crying Mabel from him and looked straight into her eyes. He gently pressed his lips against her tear-stained cheeks, made pale by the incessant tears.

His crimson lips touched Mabel’s wet eyelids, the bridge of her nose, and the corners of her mouth repeatedly. With each touch of William’s affection, Mabel’s sobbing gradually subsided, as if her trembling were calming with each lie William whispered.

Mabel and William gazed quietly into each other’s eyes again. The only sounds between them were the occasional gasps as Mabel caught her breath. Outside, the dawn light tinted everything with shades of blue.

William spoke.

“I love you, Mabel.”

His confession resonated deeply within Mabel’s heart. His gaze was as clear and bright as the morning sun. 

Mabel took a deep breath once again, suppressing the overwhelming rush of emotion. Then, with a trembling but sincere voice, she made the first confession of her life.

“I love you, William.”