The Maid Under the Stairs - Chapter 79

< Chapter 79 >

On a day in early April.

My dear Miss Mabel Willis,

I’m sorry for not responding to your letters for a long time. Please understand that I’ve been quite busy with my affairs.

I regret not having conveyed my congratulations on your engagement hastily after leaving England following last Christmas.

As you might have heard from Mary, I’m doing well. I work as the head of the New York branch of Montaire Publishing in the USA, where I meet many young and talented writers. Occasionally, while reading the philosophical and societal works of these individuals, I find myself longing for your innocent yet warm writings.

Your writings evoke unforgettable nostalgia. The influence I received from your writings seems to have been stronger than I initially thought.

I’m not sure when this letter will arrive in England, but I’ll probably be aboard the Carpathia, heading towards England when it does. I’ll be arriving in London in May, just in time to attend your and Mary’s graduation ceremony.

Unfortunately, it seems I’ll have to decline your wedding invitation. I intend to return to the United States before the wedding takes place.

Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, Leon de Percy.

* * *

And mid-April, a hurried letter from America.

To my sister Mary,

Mary, for heaven’s sake. Please stop sending me telegrams. You must know by now that the sunken ship isn’t the Carpathia I boarded, but the Titanic, which sailed from England.

The ship I boarded last night is racing at full speed to rescue survivors of the Titanic and is filled with critically injured survivors. Consequently, the wireless communications on board are overwhelmed with incoming messages; do you need to send multiple telegrams like this?

The arrogance of humans who claimed even Poseidon couldn’t touch that enormous ship is truly pathetic.

The situation is far from good. As soon as it was light, not only our ship but also other nearby ships set out to search for survivors of the Titanic, but most of those who survived in the icy waters of the North Atlantic were women and children who could board only a few lifeboats.

Strong men aboard the Carpathia, including myself, helped transfer survivors with the crew. Their terrified eyes seemed to suggest they would never find joy in life again.

Children cried in fear, and married women mourned their husbands and brothers left on the ship while being carried on lifeboats.

Our ship carrying survivors of the Titanic will return to New York Harbor. So, I’ll be returning to America rather than England.

Damn it, I won’t be able to send this letter until then.

Anyway, unless my life is in danger, I won’t get another chance to use the wireless on this ship. So please, I beg of you, somehow understand this brother’s wish in London and stop sending telegrams.

From New York again, your brother Leon.

* * *

Mid-May.

To my sister Mary,

First of all, congratulations on your upcoming graduation. 

Although the plan to attend your graduation ceremony next week has changed, it’s truly impressive that my little troublemaker has completed two years at Summerhill without being expelled. I’m proud of you, Mary de Percy.

Of course, please extend my congratulations to the other ladies who always accompanied you. Irina Jenkins, Julia Gilman, and… Ms. Mabel Willis as well.

I heard that Jenkins and Gilman have found jobs at the Winterbrook Orphanage, and Ms. Willis is about to start writing for the Manchester Observer, right?

With the ability to write both essays and novels, it seems I’ve recognized a talented writer.

Anyway, you… you must be getting enough questions and similar lectures from our parents and relatives, so your kind brother won’t bother you with the same questions and lectures.

I don’t think I’ll be returning to London for a while. There’s a lot to do as the New York branch of Montaire Publishing expands, and ever since witnessing the sinking of the Titanic, just the sight of passenger ships crossing the Atlantic gives me chills.

Speaking of the Titanic, according to the letter you sent, there was a Summerhill student on that ship.

Mary, you must remember when I helped transfer the survivors of the lifeboats to the Carpathia, right? By some twist of fate, one of the first-class women who held my hand as she boarded the ship was the Summerhill student you mentioned, Rebecca Silvester.

Sadly, Silvester’s maid and cousin didn’t make it…

Trembling with shock, Silvester, who recognized me from London, followed me around back to New York, seeking some comfort.

If my memory serves me right, I wasn’t particularly close to her, yet seeing her rely on me just because she recognized my face made me feel a little uneasy.

Her family might know the news, but she has recovered quite well and is gradually recovering from the shock of that time.

However, she has decided to stay in New York and study poetry instead of returning to England. Although she seems to have relatives here, her family didn’t seem to have sent her to America just for literary studies.

That’s why Rebecca Silvester is hesitant to inform her family directly about this fact. So if you have the opportunity, she hopes you can share this news with the Silvester family.

Give my regards to our parents. 

Once again, congratulations on your graduation. As a graduation gift, I’m sending you the opportunity to come to the US without hearing lectures, a box of Hershey’s chocolates you’ve been craving, and Nabisco’s chocolate marshmallow cookies.

In New York, from Leon.

* * *

As the graduation ceremony approached next week, students from Summerhill began to leave their dorm rooms one by one.

Since regular classes had ended earlier, most students planned to spend time with their families at home and attend the graduation ceremony.

Mabel had finished all her classes last semester and essentially only participated in research activities under Professor Webster this semester, so she could vacate her dorm room faster than others.

However, for some reason, Mabel had been postponing this task every time. It was because the realization of leaving Summerhill, where all her dreams could come true, hadn’t sunk in yet.

To help Mabel with this, her friends gathered in Mabel’s room.

Mabel’s room, which was larger than any other dorm room in the dormitory corner, had become a sanctuary for the four of them. So, while Julia was moving her last belongings, she said with a nostalgic smile on her face.

“It seems like today is the last day the four of us are together in this room. So many things have happened here…”

Seeing Mabel, who had already reddened her eyes while watching the rooms being emptied, approaching Julia to comfort her, Irina, in her usual pragmatic tone, complained as she loudly pulled the old curtain.

“Ah, I’m so glad I won’t have to see this dusty curtain anymore. Remember? We used this curtain for all the buildings at Summerhill. We should donate a new curtain.”

“I understand why you’re making complaints since you’re sad about leaving Summerhill, Irina.”

Knowing that behind Irina’s haughty expression, there was a warmer and more tender heart than anyone else’s, Mabel smiled at her and said.

Just then, Mary, who was bringing in all the remaining mail from Cheshire Hall, entered the room.

“Mabel there’s a parcel for you. Here, your last parcel is addressed to Summerhill. The next one will go to the hostess of Edmundstone Mansion!”

Mary handed a small box to Mabel with a cheerful smile. Mabel examined the parcel she received from Mary.

“Miss Willis. Olivia Panthera?”

Upon opening the parcel, there was a fountain pen with a valuable-looking gold frame inside. Along with it was a short card that said, ‘Congratulations on your graduation, Miss Willis.’

Mary’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Oh my, isn’t this a fountain pen from Parker in America? Since the poet Panthera started her activities in America, it seems like she remembers you from her friendship with Leon and sent you a graduation gift!”

Feeling a bit flustered by the gift from Panthera, with whom she had no personal connection, Mabel’s heart was somehow touched by the familiar handwriting.

Regardless of who sent the gift borrowing Olivia Panthera’s name, Mabel could feel that the person loved her writing and wished her endless success as a writer.

“As Leon de Percy’s younger sister, the only gift I received from America is this strange chocolate marshmallow cookie.”

Mary pouted, and Irina, who had approached to get a closer look at the fountain pen, spoke.

“You used to love that thing. You once said that sometimes eating is the best gift.”

“Well, that’s true. Hehe…”

Mary’s expression softened again, and she chuckled while scratching her beautiful blonde hair. Mabel carefully placed the fountain pen in her handbag and accepted the box Julia was holding.

“Oh, Julia. Is this the last box?”

“Yes, Mabel. Once we clear this box, officially, we won’t be living at Summerhill anymore.”

In a sad tone, as Julia responded, Mary turned to her friends.

“Don’t be so sad. Irina and Julia will still work together in the future, and Mabel will travel between London and Oxford for her writing. As for me… well, anyway, even after leaving Summerhill, we must meet in person at least once a week, okay? You must never forget that!”

“And we should write letters often too.”

Julia chimed in with Mary’s words, her eyes now filled with tears. Seeing this, Irina nodded solemnly.

“In a world where ships that seemed unsinkable sank… Yes, let’s make that promise.”

However, Mabel gathered her friends with a warm voice and embraced them.

“In a world where we don’t know what tomorrow holds, today and this moment with you all are even more precious.”

In the past, Mabel herself would have been most afraid of the uncertain future, but now it was different.

The world, where she had been a maid under the stairs, had transformed into a place where she could graduate from college and become a writer amidst uncertainty and constant change, making it all the more beautiful and astonishing. 

So she decided to cherish each day as a gift and to love the people around her instead of trembling with fear of impending misfortune.

“That’s right. Even if we part ways, this moment with all of you right now is truly precious to me.”

Julia, in Mabel’s embrace, shed tears and said. Upon hearing this, Mary also hugged Julia tightly.

“If someone sees us now, they might think we’ll never see each other again. We’re crying now because we won’t shed tears at the graduation ceremony next week.”

Irina, still grumbling but blushing at the tip of her nose, leaned on her friends.

And so, the four ladies stood in the empty room of the old dormitory, bathed in the warm spring sunlight.