MWLCP 18

Chapter 18

‘Eleanor is smart enough to figure that much out.’

No, she wasn’t that smart. Especially when it came to romantic relationships, she was practically clueless.

Eleanor buried her flushed face in her palms as she recalled Usher’s sweet confession. She should’ve rejected him right away—she knew her situation better than anyone—but she couldn’t say a word.

‘Um, I…’

‘Ellie!’

Because Olivia had unexpectedly seen her and come bouncing into the room? No, it was more that she was afraid she’d end up blurting out that she’d say yes.

‘If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as a yes.’

And then Usher, perceptive as ever, had noticed and said that. While Eleanor stood frozen and dumbfounded, Usher made the decision on his own.

‘Get some rest, my lady.’

And with a gentle whisper, he placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand. His long, elegant fingers reluctantly let go, and he turned away with a smile.

“You’re insane, Eleanor Hudson.”

The Fitzman family, with their reputation even close to that of the Duke of Clavern… and the Hudsons, a name that was already fading from history. What a ridiculous pairing.

Maybe Usher was being sincere—for the moment. Maybe he truly wanted to be with her. But how long could that last? How absurd would it be for two houses that didn’t match at all to stand shoulder to shoulder?

If Usher had told his family what kind of woman he liked, she was sure the reaction wouldn’t have been positive. Eleanor knew that well.

And yet, even though she could picture all of that vividly in her head, her heart still fluttered.

“Get a grip.”

Usher was handsome, kind, and he wasn’t like her father, who constantly spewed verbal abuse. He lived a life where he didn’t need to worry about daily survival. Now that her own survival wasn’t as uncertain anymore, she was letting her heart get carried away by something as trivial as emotion.

Eleanor harshly criticized her own shallow patience. But still… even so…

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

“This is crazy…”

Her heart wouldn’t stop trembling.

* * *

“Where did you go yesterday, Ellie?”

“Hm?”

Olivia, sensing something was off about her teacher, stared and asked.

“I went to buy clothes.”

“Clothes? With Usher?”

Eleanor nodded with an awkward smile. Olivia pouted, clearly displeased.

“You left Olive out?”

They’d gone shopping together last time, so Olivia seemed hurt to have been excluded this time.

“You left Logan out too!”

Olivia shouted, clearly upset. Eleanor just blinked in confusion.

Why Logan? Why would she have brought him along? It wasn’t like she had planned to meet Usher. No, that’s not the point…

Eleanor shook her head to drive out the strange thoughts running through her mind and reached out to Olivia.

“Did I do something wrong, Olivia?”

“Why do you only hang out with Usher! You’re supposed to marry Logan, but all you do is spend time with Usher…”

Olivia now looked like she was about to cry. Eleanor stared, stunned, at Olivia’s teary blue eyes.

“Olivia, His Grace will be marrying someone else.”

But she couldn’t just let Olivia live in that fantasy. If Logan ever heard this kind of thing, it might be misinterpreted as Eleanor harboring feelings for him.

“I’m not the Duke’s lover.”

“You’re not?”

“I’m not.”

“Then what about Usher?”

Olivia asked directly. Eleanor froze. Her eyes trembled uncertainly.

“Are you marrying Usher?”

“…No, that’s not it either.”

Eleanor forced a smile as she answered. There had been a moment of hesitation, but Olivia wouldn’t have noticed it.

“Well, does that answer all your questions, Olivia? Should we finally start the lesson?”

Eleanor took out a vocabulary book and a few items, trying to steer the mood back to studying. Her feelings were hers to deal with. Olivia, who still didn’t even fully grasp the structure of language, needed to focus on spelling and vocabulary.

“This is a necklace. You wear it around your neck—‘neck’ and ‘lace’ come together.”

“Necklace.”

Eleanor carefully wrote the word out letter by letter and showed it to Olivia.

“It’s pretty.”

But Olivia’s short attention span was more focused on the real necklace than the word. Eleanor chuckled—how funny to call something so roughly made pretty.

“Olivia, pretty things aren’t just these—”

Oh, right. Eleanor paused mid-sentence. She had been meaning to tell Logan that the gift from Usher was too extravagant, even if Usher said it was fine. Logan would probably just accept it if she said she wanted to return it.

“People call children like you pretty, Olivia.”

At Eleanor’s words, Olivia burst out laughing. She seemed genuinely happy to be called pretty. Eleanor smiled back at her. Still, she had already decided in her mind to speak to Logan as soon as the lesson ended.

“Oh my goodness.”

But maybe she should’ve hurried. Eleanor stopped as she came down the stairs. She spotted Cindy standing with someone at the bottom—and in Cindy’s hand was the emerald necklace Usher had asked to be delivered to the Clavern estate.

“Who sent this?”

“Lord Usher of the Fitzman family…”

“To whom?”

Cindy’s eyes sparkled as she asked. Usher had always been kind to her, so she likely assumed the gift was for her.

“He sent it to Miss Eleanor Hudson.”

“…Who?”

Cindy’s smile cracked like a shattered mirror. She frowned, tilted her head slightly, and asked again.

“The recipient is Miss Eleanor Hudson.”

The jeweler’s staff member, who’d come to deliver the necklace, now looked like he was being interrogated.

“Why would he send this to Eleanor Hudson?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Isn’t this some kind of mistake?”

Cindy pressed him further. As the staff member started to sweat, Logan returned from his outside appointments.

“What’s going on here?”

“This man came to deliver a necklace, claiming that Lord Usher gave this to the governess. That makes no sense.”

Cindy scoffed as she tossed the necklace case back at the staff member. But then she spotted Eleanor standing on the stairs and gave her a mocking smile. Eleanor flinched instinctively.

“Is it true that you received this from Lord Usher, Eleanor?”

Cindy asked confidently, as if it were impossible.

“No way, right? Seducing a man and accepting a gift, when you’re not even in a relationship…”

“…”

“A governess teaching Olivia would never behave so improperly. And Usher isn’t that kind of man either. Right, Eleanor?”

Her voice was icy. Eleanor hesitated, not knowing how to respond. The insult didn’t even matter as much as worrying about how Logan might react.

“I might not have made the purchase, but I’m the one who paid for it.”

Cindy, who had been staring daggers at Eleanor, turned to Logan in shock.

“You gave the tutor a gift? Why?”

“I asked Miss Hudson to accompany me as a partner to Princess Daphne’s wedding and reception.”

“Logan!”

Cindy screeched.

“Are you trying to disgrace the Clavern name? I told you I’d write to Lady Claire of the Marquess of Perseus—how could you—!”

“That’s your will, Mother. Mine is different.”

Logan replied firmly to Cindy, who was trying to push the Marquess of Perseus’ daughter on him. Then he picked up the case that the staff member was still holding dumbly.

“I believe Miss Hudson will serve as a perfectly appropriate and respectable partner at the banquet.”

He opened the lid, defending Eleanor against Cindy’s scorn. The servants watching looked wide-eyed at the scene.

“It’s a fine piece.”

Logan glanced at the necklace briefly, then looked away. Even though he hadn’t paid for it yet, he must’ve known the price—and yet, he called it merely fine.

“She was kind enough to grant me a favor, so I believe Miss Hudson deserves a gift.”

A maid quickly stepped forward and took the case from him. As Eleanor reached out hesitantly to accept it, Cindy let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Ha!”

“…”

“So this is how you treat your stepmother. How could I not feel humiliated? I can’t live like this!”

Cindy, unable to endure the disgrace, glared at Logan and stormed off to her room. But Logan didn’t seem to care. He watched her briefly, then turned away indifferently.

Eleanor, looking between the direction Logan had gone and the necklace case, quietly slipped back into her room. Logan was in a bad mood now—and returning the necklace would only make it worse. There was nothing to gain from upsetting him further.