50.
Isabelle asked while putting apple jam into her tea.
“Do you want to go to Furness?”
“Furness? No, I have to go to work. I’ve rested long enough.”
Thanks to Brenda’s understanding, she had taken some time off. She had been sick, and she had to go back and forth to the Constabulary headquarters to give statements.
Time had passed busily.
“Why don’t you ask the boss for more vacation?”
“I’m really fine.”
“You’re not fine. Staying like this won’t help either. I want you to go to Furness.”
While she hadn’t been paying attention, the purple chrysanthemum had withered. It had been just as long since she had seen Clive.
Claire spoke, looking at the flower.
“If I go to Furness, what about you?”
“I have to work.”
“Then I’ll work too.”
“Don’t be stubborn, Claire. Marion also went on a trip with Gemma. You need a break like that too.”
Claire lifted her gaze. Her brown eyes looked straight at Isabelle.
“I want you to go with me too.”
“Can’t you go alone?”
Isabelle tried to lighten the mood, speaking gently as if to a child.
But Claire, still serious, hesitated for a moment before speaking about something she had been wondering whether to bring up.
“I know you’ve been crying every night since the first trial ended.”
Isabelle’s smile vanished.
“You think what happened to me was for the same reason Miss Gemma was kidnapped.”
Isabelle’s eyes quickly filled with tears at Claire’s piercing words. Claire felt a bit awkward.
“I didn’t bring it up to make you cry.”
“I know.”
Claire opened the jar and scooped out some apple jam, adding more to Isabelle’s cup.
“What are you doing?”
“Eating something sweet makes you feel better.”
Isabelle looked at the cup, now filled with more jam than tea, and muttered.
“It’d be better to just eat a spoonful of jam.”
“Shall we?”
Seeing Claire ready to scoop more jam, Isabelle laughed, unable to stop her.
As she laughed, tears rolled down her cheeks, and Claire quickly wiped them with the back of her hand.
Claire pretended not to notice.
“It’s not for the reason you think. It’s just… I’m a bit shy and reserved. I guess I thought he didn’t like me, and that made me upset.”
Isabelle blinked her wet eyelashes and focused on Claire’s words.
“Hm. Maybe there was some dislike toward him. He did seem particularly uncomfortable.”
Claire looked Isabelle in the eye once more, adding firmly,
“Anyway, it’s not because of you. So stop crying now. Your nightly crying sounds like a ghost is about to appear.”
Isabelle felt embarrassed by Claire’s teasing.
She had tried to keep quiet, yet Claire had heard everything.
“Alright. Then I’ll try to get some vacation too, and we’ll go to Furness together.”
“Then I’ll write to Aunt.”
And so, the trip to Furness was decided.
“Claire! Are you okay?”
Brenda, who had been guarding the Lemon House, ran over with a surprised face when she saw Claire.
Claire gave an awkward smile.
Even though Clive had explained the situation roughly through Ed, it seemed she had been gone too long.
After the accident, she had been sick for several days. Once she recovered, she had to give statements.
There were many reasons, but now, seeing Lemon House, they all seemed like excuses.
“I’m sorry. I should have stopped by earlier.”
“You weren’t in the right state of mind. Don’t worry about that, just think about yourself.”
Drew came down upon hearing the voices from downstairs.
“How have you been, Uncle Drew?”
“Are you okay now? Brenda was really worried after the Constabulary visited.”
“I was startled, but after resting for a few days, I’m fine.”
However, Brenda noticed faint bruises still lingering.
“Fine? Look at these bruises. Is this also because of that person?”
“I’ve been diligently applying ointment. It doesn’t hurt.”
“What on earth happened?”
Brenda muttered, upset.
“If you’re not busy, shall we have some tea?”
“Since it’s been a while, I’ll make it.”
At Drew’s suggestion, Claire took off her coat and entered the workshop.
“I was just missing the tea you make.”
“I thought so.”
Claire smiled brightly as she boiled water in the kettle.
The familiar space faintly smelled of freshly baked bread. Watching the steam rise from the boiling water, Claire felt cozy.
She placed the yellow cups in front of Drew and Brenda, pouring the tea, while holding the green cup for herself.
The warmth of the cup seemed to warm her heart as well.
“As expected, Claire’s tea tastes the best. Isn’t that right, dear?”
“Of course. Yours doesn’t taste like this.”
Brenda laughed at Drew’s teasing and stepped on his foot.
“You’re planning to keep making me do it, right? Don’t worry, I’ll make it for you from now on.”
As Claire sipped her tea, Brenda brought out a lemon cake.
“I heard you were rescued before anything serious happened, but are you really okay?”
Claire nodded at Brenda’s concern.
“Yes, I am.”
“I read in the paper that they’re taking that person to the capital. Does that mean you have to go too?”
“They said it’s impossible to take all the witnesses, so they’re making the testimony into documents. They even took a photo of the bruise on my neck.”
Claire touched her neck.
“My first photo… is of a bruise.”
Brenda’s expression softened slightly at Claire’s light-hearted tone.
“Actually, I stopped by on the way to the Constabulary today too.”
The statement had been finished yesterday.
She had secretly hoped to see Clive, but she had been busy answering Harry and Lacey’s questions in the interrogation room.
Today, they were just going over the completed documents one last time.
“Shouldn’t we go then?”
“Before that, I need to tell the boss and Uncle Drew something.”
“Go ahead, tell us freely.”
Encouraged by Brenda’s warm expression, Claire fiddled with her cup and spoke.
“I’d like to take more vacation.”
“Trauma? Something like that?”
“I want to go to Aunt’s house with my sister.”
“Furness, you mean?”
Brenda easily remembered Rosemary, who had grown up in the same neighborhood.
“That sounds good. Leave the bad memories behind and go.”
Brenda readily agreed.
“You’ll watch the shop while I’m gone, then.”
“Yes. But don’t make me do heavy work.”
“So, you’re telling me not to carry sacks of flour?”
Watching Brenda and Drew bicker, Claire smiled slightly.
She had worried all night whether she should quit so someone else could be hired, but fortunately, she wouldn’t be out of a job.
“Thank you, boss. And Uncle Drew.”
“Don’t worry and go. Iyi will take care of your duties.”
“I’ll do my best. Consider it tea money.”
Drew smiled kindly.
Climbing the stairs of the Constabulary headquarters, Claire felt a bit hopeful.
Maybe she’d meet Clive coming down the stairs—but it was another false hope.
Nothing happened on the way to the interrogation room to meet Lacey.
“You’re here.”
Lacey stood up when she saw Claire arriving at the scheduled time.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No, you arrived right on time. I just got here myself.”
After a brief greeting, Claire sat opposite Lacey.
In the bare room with just a desk and a chair in the center, Lacey handed over a stack of documents.
“I might have misunderstood some of what you meant, so I want to make sure it’s correct.”
Seeing how many documents there were, Claire felt overwhelmed but started reading.
It was her own testimony, so it didn’t take as long as expected.
When Claire returned the documents to Lacey after a short break, she said,
“There don’t seem to be any mistakes.”
“That’s a relief. The schedule was tight; if there were corrections to make, I would have been in tears.”
Lacey rubbed her tired eyes beneath her glasses.
Clive must be very busy too. That might be why he hadn’t visited since that day.
Claire only recently realized he had always been visiting to see her.
“And this is a very personal question.”
Lacey smiled charmingly.
“You said you left a note for Captain Hector Parker on the day you met him, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“May I ask what kind of relationship you have with the Captain?”
Ah.
Claire froze for a moment, caught off guard by Lacey’s unexpected question.
“Did you have prior plans with the Captain?”
“No, nothing like that.”
Claire touched her forehead awkwardly. It seemed Lacey didn’t mean anything else, so she decided to tell the truth.
“Captain Clive sometimes came to buy desserts.”
“The Captain likes sweets, right?”
She hadn’t known that.
“I was uneasy meeting him alone, so I left a note just in case.”
“Luckily, the Captain visited Lemon House that day.”
“Looking back, I could have just let him follow me here.”
Seeing Claire’s bitter smile, Lacey widened her eyes.
“You were prepared. Claire, you were very wise.”
True, but she had worried many people.
“Since this is a case the Crown Prince is overseeing, I think it might receive a high sentence. Just my personal opinion.”
Lacey picked up the stack of documents and her notebook. They naturally got up and left the interrogation room.
“Good work. Be careful going back.”
“Yes, and if you need anything further, please call me.”
Claire deliberately walked slowly down the corridor and stairs but didn’t see a single strand of Clive’s hair.
Outside, the sky was clear and vividly blue, but somehow, Claire felt gloomy.
Had deciding to go to Furness been the right choice?
