Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 78
* * *
A few days after sending Diana away,
Cecilia went to see Adam. He was reading a thin document with a frown on his face.
It seemed to be related to the disposition of Hannah Linfitt.
‘Judging by his expression, he hasn’t found out anything.’
No matter how much he searched inside and out, he wouldn’t find anything. Cecilia was an exception to him.
Likewise, he probably didn’t know about this incident.
Before Diana became suspicious, Cecilia had her sent away. Adam didn’t have the time to delve into the backgrounds of former servants.
Thanks to this, Cecilia gained a valuable piece.
“Father.”
“Hmm? Did you come in without making a sound?”
When Cecilia called him, Adam put down the document he was reading. Usually, he would put it inside a drawer. Just putting it down showed he wasn’t very wary of her.
“I came to ask you a favor.”
“A favor?”
“Lieutenant Harper is coming to our estate soon, right?”
“And?”
“I want to dance with Lieutenant Harper, but as you know, my dancing skills are somewhat lacking…”
“Hmm…”
Adam didn’t outright deny it, thus indirectly agreeing. Cecilia’s dancing skills were honestly terrible, unbelievably so for a daughter of Lilith.
“You might be a bit lacking in that regard, but Lieutenant Harper will lead you well, so don’t worry.”
Indeed. He seemed to have no intention of wasting money on unnecessary things. For the current Cecilia, this was welcome news.
“But I lack even the basics, and I’ll surely step on his feet. I may not dance well, but I at least want to learn the basics.”
“Basics, huh? If it’s just that much…”
Adam tapped the armrest of his chair and then answered.
“Caroline’s governess is quite knowledgeable about dancing. How about learning together this time?”
Just as expected.
Cecilia inwardly scoffed at her father’s predictable reasoning while smiling innocently.
“Yes, as long as I can learn to dance, I’d be happy to do it with anyone!”
* * *
A few days had passed. As Mary brought in tea for Cecilia, she suddenly asked,
“Why did she leave all of a sudden?”
“Your friend, you mean?”
“Yes.”
Since Diana left the Coffret Manor, Mary had been sulking.
“She begged to be moved to the main house, even bothering the ailing Madam with her requests, and then she just left without notice! I feel so betrayed.”
Pouting, she looked just like an angry goldfish, amusing to watch.
“But you moved positions too. She wouldn’t have been able to follow you anyway.”
“Hmm, well, that’s true…”
Recently, Mary had fully transitioned to being Cecilia’s personal maid, abandoning her role as a nanny. Since matters within the main house were under Bernada’s jurisdiction, it wasn’t hard for Mary, who was close to her, to change positions.
‘Margaret cried a lot though.’
On the day Margaret was convinced Mary would never return to being her nanny, she cried as if the entire mansion was abandoning her.
‘Why won’t you come back? Is that wench better than me?’
‘It’s not like that, my lady.’
‘Lies!’
Margaret even screamed resentfully.
‘Mary’s mine! My person!’
Then she collapsed, sobbing.
‘I always lose everything. To Nathan, to Carol, even to that wench. I really have nothing here. Sigh…’
Her curse ended with Cecilia.
‘You’ll get what you deserve, wench.’
For Cecilia, a few curses alleviated some guilt, which was somewhat of a relief.
She didn’t particularly want to take away Margaret’s favored maid. However, there was no one as suitable as Mary for comfortable service.
Mary’s naive and transparent attitude often drew complacency from others. And since she was openly amiable, she was easy to manage.
‘Even Diana Hollings considered Mary a friend, which says it all.’
Diana Hollings was left in the care of Apothecary Gil Holt and Dane. Gil, more talented and clever than Dane, cherished Diana greatly.
‘Gil Holt would recognize her talent right away.’
It was natural for Diana to be skilled with medicine and potions. Her father’s initial business venture was in pharmaceuticals, after all.
Originally, Diana’s father was the president of a fairly successful pharmaceutical company, known for his investment in finding cures for various rare diseases that had yet to see a perfect treatment.
But then he met Adam, and from him, received a proposal for a new venture. That was the beginning of his misfortune—trusting Adam Lasphilla.
