Chapter: 18
Could this be what it felt like when ten years’ worth of wishes all came true in a single night?
It took Patrick some time to return to reality. He stepped out into the garden to cool his flushed face, breathing in the refreshing night air as he slowly walked once around the garden.
Along with the soothing sound of water from the fountain, lively music was still flowing out from the hall. Just as he was about to make another half-turn while gazing at the streams of water, he spotted a familiar head of blond hair sitting on the edge of the fountain and was slightly taken aback.
“Lady Somerset, I don’t think you should be sitting out here alone.”
“So what? I can fend off all the boring men anyway. In fact, this worked out rather well.”
Beatrice, who had been resting her chin on her hand while looking toward the ballroom, scrunched up her nose and pulled a face. At her mischievous expression, Patrick could not help but chuckle softly.
“Come sit here. So, did you get to meet your uncle?”
“Thanks to you, I had a wonderful time.”
Patrick sat down beside Beatrice and murmured dreamily, as though the lingering feeling had yet to fade.
“That’s… really good to hear.”
Beatrice watched him for a moment. Even in the darkness, she could almost feel the warmth lingering on the man’s cheeks. After taking a light breath, the man finally placed a hand over his chest and let out a long sigh.
“Honestly, it still feels like a dream.”
It was completely different from the cold, aloof impression she had seen in the private room, so Beatrice studied the man a little more closely.
For a fleeting moment, she felt as though she could see a hint of her Uncle Edward in him.
‘Beatrice. You know, I really like people who carry a burning passion in their hearts. Whenever I see people like that, my own heart starts beating faster too. How should I put it? I suppose happiness is contagious.’
That’s right. It really is.
Beatrice could not help but agree with him. The man sitting beside her, his eyes shining with overwhelming excitement, looked incredibly wonderful. It was as though there was something deeply moving about him that came from within, something that surpassed mere physical attractiveness.
And that passionate feeling was being conveyed to Beatrice as well.
“Actually…”
Beatrice spoke quietly.
“Today, when I saw everyone crowding around my uncle, I got annoyed for no reason. He was my precious uncle, someone who understood everything about me, but it felt as though everyone else had taken him away from me. Childish, isn’t it?”
My precious person, someone who understands everything about me.
Patrick turned those words over in his mind. Mr. Greenleaf certainly must have been like that. He must have been a dependable adult who supported his niece’s dreams.
“Still, I think I could lend him to you for a little while. That is, if you end up working at the museum.”
“…That is something I sincerely hope for as well. Please wish me luck.”
Patrick straightened his back for no particular reason and gazed into the distance. There was something that had been bothering him for a while.
Whenever he looked at those eyes, which curved softly whenever even the slightest hint of a smile appeared, he strangely found himself staring directly into them.
“I was curious about something…”
Suppressing the urge to take a closer look at those unusually moist-looking green eyes, Patrick brought up another subject.
“I thought that since Director Edward is unmarried, Lady Somerset might receive a little less pressure from her family. Is that not the case?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started.”
Beatrice waved her hand dismissively, looking thoroughly fed up.
“My brothers aren’t married yet either, but they make such a fuss about me in particular. They say things like how, simply because I’m a woman, my value in high society’s marriage market will decline as I get older.”
Patrick nodded bitterly.
“Then, your plan to leave for Berquion…”
“It failed miserably.”
“I’m sorry for laughing.”
Hearing such blunt words come from a refined young lady, Patrick, who had been listening seriously, could not help but let out a small laugh.
“What about you? Are you putting off marriage because you’ve decided to devote yourself entirely to your research?”
Beatrice looked across at Patrick with an intrigued expression. Slightly embarrassed, Patrick rubbed his chin.
“Well, I have been given a little reprieve for this year… but fundamentally, I’m in much the same situation as you, Lady Somerset.”
“Oh, dear.”
“So here I am, out by the fountain on this night, talking to a lady who is just as uninterested in marriage as I am.”
“Ahahaha.”
Beatrice burst into laughter. Before he knew it, Patrick was laughing along with her.
“Patrick, you know…”
She murmured while gazing blankly up at the star-filled night sky.
“If I get married, I’ll become someone’s wife, right? But for now… I still want to live as Beatrice Somerset.”
“I completely understand.”
Patrick gave a small laugh as well. If only other people would think of him that way too.
“Hmm.”
Beatrice tapped the fountain lightly with the end of her fan before suddenly asking,
“If you really do end up working at the museum, I’ll come visit you sometime. Should we team up with Uncle Edward and start some kind of group?”
“That sounds good.”
When Patrick readily agreed, Beatrice spoke with even greater excitement.
“Let’s get together and have tea or something. As an alliance of unmarried people.”
“An unmarried alliance. I like it.”
“Exactly. This group is for everyone who keeps getting nagged to get married even though they aren’t ready to think about it yet. People who still have lots of dreams they want to achieve. People who don’t want to be pushed into marriage, but want to think it over themselves and make their own decision. Those are the people who will gather together.”
Beatrice excitedly continued chattering before suddenly turning toward Patrick.
“You’ll come, right?”
Patrick looked at her with deliberate warmth and, trying to match her enthusiasm, instinctively held out his hand.
“I certainly qualify, so I hope you’ll accept me.”
“Good. Then it’s a deal!”
Once again, Beatrice grabbed his hand without hesitation. Their handshake lasted unusually long, and Patrick felt a gentle warmth gathering in his palm.
He had never imagined that he would be able to spend such an intimate and comfortable time with a woman he had met for the first time that day. In the span of a single night, he had gained a new friend who might perhaps be the person in the world whose way of thinking matched his own the best.
“Well, I should go back inside now. If we stay together too long, people might get the wrong idea.”
Beatrice let out a long, relieved breath, released Patrick’s hand, and hopped down from the edge of the fountain. The hem of her dress swirled around her movements like rippling waves.
“Um, Beatrice?”
Patrick turned toward the hall. The party was still going on in full swing, and the silhouettes of people dancing enthusiastically could still be glimpsed through the curtains.
“Shall we dance together?”
“…Dance? With me?”
Perhaps Patrick’s suggestion had caught her off guard, because Beatrice hesitated slightly.
Patrick pointed toward the little dance card dangling from her wrist.
“You’ll be exhausted on the way home with your parents tonight, too. But if you can at least say that you danced once, perhaps they’ll bother you a little less.”
What a strange night this was. It was as though he had been placed under a spell. His body kept moving on its own, and he kept saying things he had never intended to say.
“I promise you. Even if the world were to split in two, I would never propose to Lady Somerset.”
Patrick stepped toward Beatrice and naturally offered her his arm.
“Tonight, we’re simply creating a brief escape for ourselves. That’s all you need to think of it as.”
“Oh.”
Patrick watched as Beatrice’s eyes lit up more brightly than ever.
There was joy in her eyes at finally finding someone who shared the same feelings, along with a hint of deeply moved excitement.
“Patrick. Do you know something?”
Beatrice linked her arm through Patrick Bennett’s and smiled brightly.
“That’s the most exciting thing a man has ever said to me in my entire life.”
