Chapter 24 –  Silent Ripple

Wear this. Don’t forget to wear the hat too. Your seat is here, no chatting allowed. When the bell rings, you eat, and you must return within the designated time. The end of work time is…

‘Haa.’

The morning of Eloise’s first day at work, which began with the factory manager’s hectic explanations, was already heading towards the afternoon.

Despite the doubled tension of not seeing the familiar face of Mrs. Dunn, time passed steadily.

Old Bridge Bead Factory. The job of the female workers here was to thread beads with small holes onto strings.

The finished products would become accessories for ladies.

As she had heard, the work wasn’t complicated, but threading beads all day made her eyes blurry and her whole body stiff, making it quite a hardship.

‘Isn’t there a job where I can feed ducks all day? Even if I sweat a bit, I think I’d prefer that.’

Of course, if she wrote in a letter that she was working under the scorching sun, Her mother would scream.

Though she wouldn’t be pleased with factory work either, at least the bead factory allowed her to sit quietly, avoiding the worst.

There were nearly a hundred female workers seated in the workshop, but no one spoke as if their mouths were glued shut.

The only sounds were the noise of beads being taken out, beads rolling on the floor, or the legs of chairs dragging on the ground.

Eloise had never seen women quieter than her sister Sarah in her life.

If Mrs. Hearst were here, she wouldn’t have lasted a few minutes before saying:

“I don’t understand what we’re supposed to do with these tiny beads, dear!”

When the bell finally rang to signal lunchtime, Eloise jumped up from her seat with a refreshed expression like an escaped convict.

‘If chatting during work hours is against the rules, then lunchtime is the only chance to get to know my colleagues!’

Just then, the workers began to leave one by one. Growing anxious, Eloise hastily rummaged through her handbag.

Not knowing the area well, she had brought a packed lunch today.

It was just hard bread, an apple, and milk, but still.

“Um, would you like to go out together? There’s a park outside, so we could have lunch…”

Eloise softly spoke to the woman sitting next to her.

Despite the workshop being more than half empty, the woman, who appeared to be around Eloise’s age, was silently continuing her work.

“Um, lunch…”

When Eloise spoke to the unresponsive woman again, the worker suddenly turned around.

The worker, with freckles covering her cheeks and nose, had a face that looked not just dry but irritated.

“There’s no time for lunch. We get paid by the amount of work we do here.”

“What? But skipping meals—”

“Can you not bother me?”

The coldly snapped worker immediately turned her eyes back to her work.

Standing there in a daze, Eloise could only blink blankly.

Her nose tinged with sadness. She wasn’t used to such cold tones and expressions.

Looking around belatedly, she saw that everyone except for her and the woman next to her had already left the workshop.

Holding her lunchbox, Eloise had no choice but to walk away and spend a lonely lunch break by herself. The afternoon was no different from the morning.

Her impression of the first day at the factory was that the work hours felt longer than expected.

The cause was undoubtedly the factory’s bleak atmosphere.

Having left the house early in the morning to avoid being late, Eloise had to start work immediately upon arriving at the factory.

She was thrown into a battle with beads without even having a chance to properly greet anyone.

Although she could breathe a little during lunchtime, it was short-lived, and a longer afternoon shift awaited after the brief break.

Thinking that this routine would repeat daily made her feel hopeless.

Although it was probably easier work than other jobs, the monotonous nature of it made her feel restless.

It wasn’t very ladylike, but there was nothing she could do.

As the sun set, Eloise trudged back to the place she still found strange to call home, her mind tangled like a ball of yarn.

‘I’m so tired I could faint, but I’m hungry… Can I keep working here for long?’

Realizing her own complacency on the first day of work was quite bitter.

But it was an unchanging truth that nothing in the world was easy.

Moreover, it was undeniable that the situation she was in might be a desperate environment for someone else.

‘Yes. This is what I wanted. A job that’s moderately hard and hectic, so I can lightly forget about reality. Plus, earning money with my own efforts, what could be better? I’ll have money to spend as I please! Although payday is still far off.’

Thinking that far, she couldn’t help but smile, forgetting her seriousness.

If she saved money diligently, she might be able to return her sister’s emergency fund and still have enough left to buy a small wedding gift.

Oh, I mustn’t forget to buy a gift for my parents too.

‘Still… I really wish I could make friends.’

Eloise’s eyes, which had been smiling while thinking of her family, now held a hint of loneliness.

The only people she could call friends so far were her sister Sarah, Archibald, and Ansel Blaine…

Anyway, making friends was one of the things she had dreamed of before coming to the capital.

‘Expecting to make friends on the first day was greedy. But from now on, I’ll gradually have colleagues to eat and chat with.’

Concluding this, she felt much more at ease.

Though her legs felt as heavy as rocks, Eloise walked briskly through the evening streets of the capital.

Thinking that tonight’s dinner would taste very delicious and that she would fall into a sweet sleep tonight.

* * *

When Ansel, who had returned from the capital, visited the Bailey residence, his fiancée was out with her father to meet the pastor.

Without showing any sign of discomfort, Ansel sat across from Mrs. Bailey.

While waiting for Sarah’s return, he calmly updated her on his recent activities.

He mentioned that he had moved all his belongings from the capital, that the restoration of the grand garden at the Earl’s mansion, which would be the wedding venue, was in its final stages, and that the mansion had beautifully prepared rooms for both the couple and their individual personal spaces.

Despite having been so eager to propose, he seemed remarkably composed, even though the excitement of the imminent wedding should have been hard to hide.

Mrs. Bailey, feeling both pleased and curious, wondered if his composed demeanor was due to inherent noble elegance or the blood of a long-standing military family.

“I haven’t yet received a reply from my grandfather, so I don’t know when you and your family can move in. But I won’t keep you waiting long.”

“Oh, Ansel! Don’t push yourself. My husband is quite a handful…”

“No, it’s a joy for me too.”

The sleek, sculpture-like man smiled neatly.

It was a perfectly measured modesty, neither excessive nor lacking.

This man, more beautiful and noble than the statues decorating the Earl’s mansion, was to become the only partner of the daughter she had given birth to and raised.

Mrs. Bailey felt her heart swell with pride at the thought.

This marriage was indeed a monumental event in her life.

Unlike her husband, who was not very talkative, she found herself more talkative whenever Ansel visited, for this very reason.

“Sarah’s dress is almost finished too. As you know, our daughters have slender waists. When we tried it on during the fitting, it looked so picture-perfect that we were all speechless. Imagine how beautiful it will be when it’s complete!”

At that moment, the housekeeper, who had come to warm the teapot, enthusiastically agreed and made a fuss.

As the two women’s laughter continued endlessly, Mrs. Bailey, feeling embarrassed about raising her voice, laughed awkwardly.

“I’m sorry for talking about things only we know. You must be eager to see it too, Ansel?”

Ansel responded with a gentle smile, lifting the corners of his soft lips, and continued drinking his tea.

“But today…”

He spoke again when his teacup was nearly empty.

“The house seems quieter than usual.”

“That’s because my husband and Sarah… Ah.”

Mrs. Bailey, puzzled by his question about such an obvious fact, clapped her hands lightly.

“Eloise isn’t home. That’s probably why it feels that way.”

“Has she gone out alone?”

“Oh, she’s in the capital now.”

At that moment, a silent ripple appeared in Ansel’s otherwise calm eyes.

It was a subtle disturbance, so slight that even the lady sitting across from him didn’t notice.

Ansel, placing his cup back on the saucer, responded indifferently.

“What brought her to the capital?”

“It’s not a pleasant story, but she’s been unusually down. She begged with all her might to see the wider world before it was too late, so we had to let her go. She won’t stay long anyway.”

“I didn’t think you would allow it. Isn’t it dangerous?”

“Who can stop Eloise?”

Mrs. Bailey shrugged her delicate shoulders and touched her eyes.

“She’s incredibly stubborn. She tried to persuade me by saying there are many men in the capital, and maybe she could find a wonderful match like her sister.”

“…”

“She’s never been interested in marriage, but now that her sister is getting married, maybe she’s changed her mind.”

When Ansel didn’t respond, a brief silence followed. Mrs. Bailey sighed softly and continued.

“Actually, we sent Eloise to a distant relative in the capital. But this morning, we received a letter from her saying that the relative had moved away long ago. My heart sank.”

“…”

“But it seems she’s managed to settle in somehow. She’s a very spirited child. Sometimes, I wonder if I raised a girl or a boy.”

At this, Ansel slightly parted his lips to say something. But all that came out was a nonchalant response, “I see.”

Picking up a small biscuit, Mrs. Bailey naturally brought the conversation back.

“By the way, the wedding is really just around the corner now, Ansel.”