Chapter: 11
Time passed quickly, and the day of the event at the Natural History Museum soon arrived.
Inside the carriage heading toward the museum, Countess Bennett continued to let out sorrowful sighs.
“Do you think Patrick will mingle well with the young ladies like we hope?”
“I wonder, dear.”
The Count soothed his wife with a bitter smile.
“I think it would be better not to expect too much.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
Clutching the fan in her hand as though she might crush it, the Countess let out another deep sigh.
The Count felt uncomfortable seeing his wife so disappointed, but what could he do? He decided it was better to keep quiet.
“You saw him earlier, didn’t you? He was dressed so nicely, but he insisted on bringing that briefcase with him.”
The more she thought about it, the more furious she became. Countess Bennett pounded her chest and huffed.
“I should have thrown that briefcase away ages ago!”
“Just leave him be, dear. Today is supposed to be an important day.”
Unable to simply sit and watch his upset wife, Count Bennett quietly shifted over to sit beside her.
“Dear.”
He took his wife’s hand and gently laced his fingers through hers, lowering his voice into a soft whisper.
“It’s the first ball of the social season. Today, forget about our son and pay attention to your husband. Hmm?”
Even though Patrick had everything anyone could ask for, his wife simply could not understand why he continued to remain on the fringes of high society.
Why did the son who would inherit the Bennett family behave like this? Why did he reject the ordinary stages of life that everyone else went through?
“He’ll miss his chance at this rate.”
The Countess muttered gloomily.
“He’s already acting like such an oddball. What if, later on, people treat him like some washed-up old eccentric and point fingers at him as a weirdo of high society? Do you think he’ll be happy then?”
The Count pressed his lips together and slightly lifted the carriage curtain to look outside. Fortunately, the carriage was almost at the museum.
“For now, forget about it. It pains me to see such a beautiful face looking so sad. You’ll get wrinkles, you know?”
“You really are something… So shameless.”
“I’d like you to find this kind of shamelessness cute. Don’t you?”
Having succeeded in lifting his wife’s spirits somehow, the Count gave her a sweet smile.
“Let’s go.”
After stepping out of the carriage to the courteous welcome of the footman, the couple entered the ballroom arm in arm. Patrick, who had arrived earlier, happened to spot his parents and approached them.
“Father, Mother!”
“You look splendid, son.”
Count Bennett gave a bitter smile as he looked at his well-dressed son. Indeed, the briefcase looked particularly out of place with such a stylish outfit.
“Patrick. I’m asking you this as your father. Please make a little effort today, if only for your parents’ sake. If any young ladies speak to you, at least give them a proper answer. Understand?”
“I will.”
After giving a straightforward reply, Patrick quickly returned to his seat. At the table, a man with numerous medals covering his chest was enthusiastically entertaining everyone with stories about crocodiles, elephants, and the like.
Apparently, hosting so-called ‘adventurers’ who talked about what they had seen and experienced during recent expeditions to unexplored regions had become fashionable. It seemed this was one such table.
“It’s nice to see.”
“What exactly is nice about it?”
The Countess raised her fan and pointed toward the table where Patrick was sitting. Most of the people gathered there were somewhat elderly middle-aged men.
“He shouldn’t be sitting around listening to stories like that! He should be meeting unmarried young ladies!”
“Again? Here we go.”
The Count smiled bitterly and gently pulled his wife’s arm.
At the same time, another carriage was making its way toward the museum.
Inside the carriage bearing the Somerset family crest, a chilly atmosphere prevailed. Beatrice had been sitting close to the window without saying a single word since they departed.
Ever since their conversation in the bedroom last night, mother and daughter had been giving each other the cold shoulder for an entire day.
“My darling, you look especially beautiful today.”
Unable to bear the silence any longer, the Marquess awkwardly broke the ice, but there was no response. The Marchioness kept her eyes tightly closed as she cooled her flushed face with a fan, while Beatrice continued staring out the window.
“Try to relax your expression a little. Your uncle will be so happy to see you. Hmm? It has been quite a while, after all.”
“I wouldn’t make this face even for my uncle. I’m only going to the ball tonight because of him.”
At last, the answer came, sharp and curt.
“There isn’t any other reason. So whatever the two of you are hoping will happen tonight isn’t going to happen. I can just sit by myself all evening. That’s fine.”
After saying that, Beatrice turned her sulky face back toward the window. It was a clear declaration that they should not even bring up the subject of potential husbands.
“All right, all right. You should do whatever you want.”
The Marquess obediently raised both hands in surrender.
At this point, whether she married or not wasn’t the important issue. His precious daughter might run away to a foreign country, and he had long since abandoned the idea of pushing some man at her under such circumstances.
All they could do was continue their desperate attempts to somehow change their daughter’s mind…
“Um, but Betty. There’s one thing Daddy just can’t understand.”
Watching his daughter’s mood carefully, the Marquess cautiously began.
“Don’t you feel sorry about it? Edward has only just returned to Brionia. If you suddenly leave for another country, won’t your uncle be terribly disappointed?”
“That…”
A brief silence followed. Soon, Beatrice answered somewhat primly.
“…If it were Uncle, instead of telling me to give up, I’m sure he would support my dream. That’s what I believe.”
Wait.
At that moment, the Marchioness’s eyes suddenly opened wide as she listened quietly from across the carriage. It was an extremely subtle change, but in that brief instant, she noticed that her daughter’s answer had come a little too slowly.
The only weakness of that stubborn, headstrong girl.
The moment her maternal uncle was mentioned—the man she perhaps loved and relied upon even more than her parents—she had hesitated.
What if Edward…
The Marchioness’s mind began racing.
The one person this girl, who would never listen to her parents no matter what, would actually open her ears to was Edward Rockwell. In the first place, Beatrice’s determination to go to Berquion had been heavily influenced by her eccentric uncle.
But what if Edward could persuade Beatrice?
Her reckless younger brother had traveled around the world several times over, despite being nearly in his mid-forties. He would know better than anyone about all the dangers a woman alone might face in a foreign land.
If the matter was sending his niece to Berquion alone, he would certainly object.
The Marchioness carefully gathered her thoughts. Once the ball ended tonight, Edward would be staying at the Somerset estate for several days. All she had to do was sit her brother down tomorrow morning and explain the situation to him.
Yes, there was a way!
“Dear, what are you thinking about so intently?”
The Marquess asked, watching his wife’s expression.
Just then, the carriage began to slow down. Outside the window, the museum rose brightly like a fortress, bathed in the glow of arc lamps.
Even Beatrice, who had been sulking the entire time, seemed distracted by the magnificent sight.
The Marchioness stared intently at her daughter’s face before quietly whispering to her husband.
“I have a good idea, dear.”
