An Early Engagement - Chapter 20- What Happened at the Villa (1)
“The Lafez family’s villa is always so beautiful.”
As soon as the Duchess of Elpart had unpacked, she stepped outside and took in the fresh air of the garden.
“By the way, where’s Shirley?”
“I haven’t seen her since earlier.”
“Where could Shirley be?”
As Anna’s eyes wandered in search of Shirley, a maid approached and spoke.
“The young lady said she’s tired and is resting in her room.”
“Oh dear, is she feeling unwell?”
At the Duchess’s concerned words, Anna shook her head.
“We called a doctor, and they said there’s nothing particularly wrong. It seems she just got overheated early on.”
“Well, that’s a relief, but…”
“She’s probably just lost in thought. It’s that age, isn’t it?”
“……”
Ann, glancing at her friend’s face, nodded cautiously.
“Girls at that age are all sensitive. They’ll make a fuss over the slightest touch. So it’s best to leave her be.” Anna waved her hand dismissively, as if it were nothing.
“She seemed like she wanted to be alone, so I had her room assigned to a different floor. It’s in the farthest corner. Once she gets bored of being by herself, she’ll naturally come out and join everyone.”
“Anna…”
Ann looked at her friend with admiration.
“You’re such a good mother.”
“You’re a good mother too, aren’t you?”
“My health has always been weak, so I couldn’t even properly be a mother to Damian. I just tied ribbons on him.” Ann let out a small sigh.
“Come to think of it, Shirley said on the day she first met Damian that there was a really pretty child living here.”
“That’s right.”
The two noblewomen nodded, reminiscing about the past.
“For a while, Shirley thought Damian was a girl, didn’t she?”
“Damian was worried about how Shirley would react, so he dressed as a girl for a while. Ah, he was so pretty back then.”
Their conversation, which had started with concern for Shirley, suddenly turned to fond memories of the past, and the two women chatted endlessly.
“I can’t wait to have Shirley as my daughter-in-law. I’ll cherish her like my own daughter.”
“Oh? Shirley is *my* daughter.”
“If she marries Damian, she’ll be like my daughter too. She already is, in a way.”
Ann had always been especially fond of Shirley since she was a child. Part of it was because she had wanted a daughter but, due to her frail health, had to settle for just one son. But more than anything, it was because Shirley was the daughter of her closest friend.
“It’s sad if she can’t enjoy herself during the vacation.”
At Ann’s words, Anna shrugged as if there was nothing she could do.
“She’ll be fine. By the way, what do you think about having veal roast for dinner tonight?”
“That sounds good.”
“Let’s have a tea party in the shade of the garden. I’ll bake the pastries myself.”
Watching Anna, who seemed to have returned to her girlhood excitement, Ann smiled.
Ann and Anna had been best friends for a long time. Even after marriage, their friendship remained unchanged and continued to thrive.
During the period when Anna accompanied her husband to his provincial estate, she gave birth to Sully. When they returned to the capital, Anne was overjoyed, her eyes brimming with tears.
It didn’t take long for the two, who happened to be pregnant and give birth around the same time, to bond.
And so, Damian and Shirley became a pair.
***
“Miss, you’ve come all this way, why don’t you go out and get some fresh air? Master Terban won’t be here until tomorrow, and Miss Melissa is coming late too. Oh, and Master Damian, he’s…”
Sophie, unable to bear seeing Shirley cooped up in her room ever since arriving at the villa, began to nag.
“Leave me alone.”
As soon as Damian’s name was mentioned, an uncomfortable tone spilled out.
Shirley tossed and turned several times before suddenly sitting up. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to—being holed up alone in her room for days had become unbearably boring.
The noise of a garden tea party drifted through the open window, but she had no desire to join.
After pounding her innocent pillow a few times, Shirley finally got out of bed.
She had been hiding in her room because facing Damian felt awkward and difficult, but Damian himself was nowhere to be seen. The day was hot, and she felt as if her insides were churning, perhaps from the heat.
Why was that?
The reason was simple.
Since the night of the masquerade ball, Damian hadn’t even shown his face, let alone come to apologize.
After days of agonizing, she finally confided everything to Melissa, who had been clucking like a plucked pigeon, wondering why she was so upset.
Contrary to her expectation that Melissa would take her side, Melissa’s judgment was cold and rational.
