Chapter 5 – Bergamot

“……Ansel?”

It was a mistake to call out that name. One might say it was an accident caused by the lingering drowsiness.

All the numerous speculations she had before opening the door had already vanished without a trace.

Eloise felt this bewildering situation was just like a dream.

After all, this was a scene she had seen many times in her dreams.

‘Can a dream become reality?’

No. She had never heard of such a thing outside of fairy tales. And she was no longer a child who believed in fairy tales.

At that moment, the man spoke.

“Sorry for the early hour.”

His tone was both formal and dry, as if addressing a stranger.

His slightly hoarse voice seemed lower and deeper than she remembered. Surely, it was because he had traveled a long way from the capital.

He didn’t look like he had come from Longfield.

Nevertheless, standing there with his silk hat removed and tucked at his waist, he looked impeccably upright.

The cashmere coat that covered his broad chest reflected the bluish dawn light, revealing a solid yet graceful frame, and Eloise’s gaze flowed down the smooth lines of his body like water.

At the end of her gaze were beautiful shoes that were undoubtedly crafted by a master.

The well-polished, glossy leather shone like a mirror.

From head to toe, he was truly elegant without a flaw.

He looked like someone from a completely different world than herself, who had just woken up and was in her nightgown.

“……Ah.”

The moment she felt a vague sense of embarrassment, the reality before her eyes suddenly became clear. When a flustered Eloise froze in place, the man spoke again.

“I’ve come to see your father. If it’s not too much trouble, could you let him know?”

The rich, deep tone that flowed into her ears resonated in her heart.

Blushing furiously at the ticklish sensation, Eloise was too stunned to respond and belatedly bent her knees to show her respect.

Ansel also bowed his head lightly, but Eloise, who had quickly turned and disappeared into the house, did not see it.

“Father! Father!”

Like a puppy that had seen snow for the first time, Eloise quickly ran up the stairs and pounded on her parents’ bedroom door without giving her racing heart a chance to calm down.

She knew her mother would be furious at such behavior, but she had no choice.

Because Ansel Blaine was at the Bailey’s front door right now!

It was still hard to believe even when she thought about it again. It was impossible to guess why he had come. 

‘Why so suddenly…?’

“Eloise! What is all this commotion at the crack of dawn? What on earth…?”

Mrs. Bailey, wearing a nightcap adorned with abundant frills, opened the door somewhat irritably.

Behind her, Eloise could see her father approaching sluggishly, yawning widely. Eloise, who couldn’t afford to wait, hurriedly spoke.

“The Earl of Huntington’s grandson is here.”

“Yawn… It seems he’s come a bit early this year. But Elsie, do you really need to tell us this now…?”

“He’s here on the first floor right now! He said he came to see Father!”

“…”

At those words, Mr. Bailey stopped mid-yawn and froze. His wife had the same bewildered expression.

“Sir Ansel has come to see me? At this hour? Why?”

“I-I don’t know. But it seems important.”

After all, they weren’t the kind of acquaintances who would visit over trivial matters.

But the problem was that she couldn’t fathom what important business Ansel Blaine could possibly have with her father.

Whatever it was, the urgent task was to get her father downstairs immediately. They couldn’t leave such a distinguished gentleman standing in the foyer any longer.

“Honey! Put on your clothes, quickly!”

“Yes, dear!”

Mr. Bailey hastily threw on an indoor jacket and left the room.

It was never a good idea to keep the Earl’s grandson waiting for long.

His wife, who stopped him by pulling on his sleeve, carefully tidied his grayish-blonde hair, which looked like a bird’s nest.

“…Thank you, my love.”

Mr. Bailey, with an awkward smile that poorly concealed his tension, hurried down the stairs.

Not long after, the sounds of greeting the distinguished guest and guiding him to the study could be heard.

By the time the study door closed with a bang, Sarah had also awakened, and the first-floor kitchen had become bustling, indicating that Mrs. Hearst was up as well.

“Surely the Earl’s grandson hasn’t come to swindle my husband. He’s an honorable cadet from the Royal Military Academy, isn’t he, girls?”

The two daughters couldn’t confidently answer their mother’s question.

The honorable cadet, who had been knighted by the royal family, seemed so distant from the boy they once knew.

So they merely exchanged puzzled glances.

* * *

The sisters sat side by side on the bed, waiting for their father to call them.

Eloise suddenly regretted that she had grown up. If she were just a bit younger, she would have stood outside the study door and eavesdropped on the entire conversation.

“Sister, why do you think he came to see Father?”

“I don’t know…”

Sarah, wearing a pensive expression, started to answer but then stopped. No matter how hard she thought, nothing good came to mind.

“You said his expression wasn’t good, right?”

“Yeah. He didn’t seem angry, but… he looked cold, somehow, sister.”

“….”

Just then, a commotion arose from the first floor. As the two women looked at each other in surprise, they heard the sound of a carriage leaving.

“Oh? Leaving so soon…”

“Sally!”

Before Eloise could finish her sentence, the door burst open. Mrs. Hearst’s cheeks were even more flushed, likely from running up the stairs.

“Mr. Bailey is calling for you.”

At those words, two pairs of bright blue eyes widened simultaneously.

“Go on, dear, go see him.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

Sarah, after taking a quick breath, stood up gracefully. The neckline revealed beneath her elegantly styled hair was remarkably beautiful.

Eloise, staring blankly at it, noticed that her sister’s hand, which was brushing the back of her neck to check for loose strands, was trembling slightly.

Left alone in the room in an instant, Eloise felt a strange sensation.

The surprise and excitement she had felt when she unexpectedly encountered Ansel still seemed to linger at her fingertips.

For some reason, he had said he wanted to see her father, and after meeting him, her father had immediately called for his eldest daughter.

Only the eldest daughter…

“What on earth is this about…?”

Several guesses flashed through her mind, but none of them made any sense. So she had no choice but to wait for Sarah to return and explain the whole situation.

To quell her bubbling curiosity, Eloise sat down at her desk.

With a serious expression, as if performing a secret ritual, she took out a key and opened an old jewelry box embossed with acanthus leaves.

With a small click, her modest treasures were revealed.

A dove’s feather, her grandmother’s ring, a shiny pebble, and a seashell…

Carefully sifting through these small, precious items, she grasped a diary with a dark brown cover.

As she flipped through the faded pages to find a blank spot, the smell of old paper wafted up.

Breathing in that scent deeply, she gradually felt more at ease. It was indeed the right choice.

“Oh my, I’ve fallen behind by several days.”

Lately, feeling unusually restless, she hadn’t been able to write in her diary at all.

She couldn’t just scribble her unsettled thoughts into her precious diary. But perhaps it was because she hadn’t been writing that her mind remained so chaotic.

More than anything, there was something she absolutely wanted to write down now.

As soon as she thought of that, Eloise’s hand was already opening the ink bottle.

‘It was a reunion after many years. It must have been eight years since we last spoke?’

Of course, he was extremely dry. Even though he had the moist dawn dew on his shoulders.

And that wasn’t all. His calm, emotionless eyes and voice clearly indicated that his visit was not for Eloise Bailey.

But Eloise wasn’t so young as to be hurt by something so obvious.

“Today, I woke up early because of the sound of rain, and in that early dawn, I found myself thinking of him.

Yes. For quite a long time.

At that moment, an unexpected guest arrived. Of all times, it was when everyone was asleep.

But can you believe it? When I opened the door, there stood Sir Ansel in front of me.

So, this is… because I don’t want to let the emotions I felt today fade away.”

After a brief hesitation, the tip of her pen began to move busily across the paper again.

“Yes. That’s all.

Even if you don’t believe me, I have nothing more to say. I wouldn’t have believed it myself. But to avoid being misunderstood as a liar, I’ll write down a bit more detail.

When I opened the door, there was the scent of wet earth and roses. It was definitely the scent of Maybury, mixed with a very elegant and delicate fragrance.

First, there was bergamot, followed by a faint hint of rosemary…

You probably don’t need me to tell you who owns this scent.

The color of his eyes was very light and transparent.

I was really moved because they were the same eyes I liked. I never thought I’d see them again.

You can’t even imagine how perfectly he stood in front of me. Unfortunately, I don’t have the confidence to express it in words. But what I can say for sure is that, since it’s been so long since I last saw him, I once thought that maybe my memory had idealized him… 

But Sir Ansel before my eyes was several times more beautiful than my memory.”

Just as she wrote that, the door suddenly opened.

Eloise, who hadn’t heard any footsteps, was startled and flinched, causing a drop of black ink to fall from the tip of her pen.

“…Oh.”

She needed to close her diary before her sister saw it, but the ink was spreading in a round blot.

Eloise glanced back and forth between her diary and Sarah with a flustered expression.

“Sister, Father…”

“I’m getting married!”

“What?”

At that moment, Sarah came closer and grasped her sister’s hand tightly. As if that hand were her only hope, she held it desperately.

Her delicate lips uttered an unbelievable phrase.

“Elsie… He proposed to me.”