05. The Last Train to Crimsworth

“I’ve never been so disappointed recently.”

At another time, her employer’s words would have made her heart sink. Bronwynner felt relieved instead.

Baroness Bingham, who returned late in the afternoon from Perth, seemed to know nothing about yesterday’s events. Rather than Alec’s unusual absence from the house, the nanny’s sudden notice of resignation was a much bigger issue for the baroness.

Naturally, the baroness was angry.

“Don’t expect a letter of recommendation.”

“I know I don’t deserve one. I’m truly sorry, Madam.”

“And I can’t give you this month’s wages either. I’ll need to hire a nurse in a hurry and pay a premium, which your month’s salary won’t even begin to cover.”

So the baroness admitted she had been paying a nanny’s wages while expecting the work of a nurse, but Bronwynner didn’t point this out. Even when told she couldn’t receive severance pay after working for over two years, she just bowed her head.

That seemed to further provoke the baroness’s anger.

“If you’re quitting, you’d better pack quickly. I’ll have Miss Carter look after the children’s lunch, so leave right away.”

“But I’d like to say goodbye to Elise and Kaylee—”

The baroness snapped.

“Who do you think will have to comfort them if they cry? I’ll tell the children you left very coldly, without looking back. That way they’ll get over it quickly. This is why I hate hiring orphanage girls as nannies……! You’d understand if you’d experienced love as a child. You think everyone is as irresponsible as you and the people who gave birth to you.”

Bronwynner bit her lip hard. The inside of her cheek was raw from where Alec had hit her. The fact that no one had mentioned the bruises on her face was simply because no one cared about her.

“Then, would you at least give these to the children……?”

What Bronwynner offered were candies she had bought for the children yesterday in Bathgate. She couldn’t buy many due to her tight budget, but the children loved them.

The baroness struck her hand, causing the candy package to fall.

“Enough of this! Do you think our children are beggars like you?”

Yet it was the baroness herself who had entrusted her children to this “beggar” twelve hours a day.

Bronwynner silently picked up the candy and retreated.

When she went up to her room, a maid who had received instructions from the mistress was already packing her belongings and placing them in the hallway. She was a senior maid who had been at the mansion longer than Bronwynner. The maid asked with a face mixed with apology and curiosity.

“Um, can I use this room now……?”

Bronwynner nodded weakly.

As expected, no one had cared about her when she returned like a drowned rat at dawn. She had managed to find the bridge the carriage had crossed and retrace her steps before the downpour washed away the wheel tracks. The rain that fell all night had washed away all traces of blood.

Nevertheless, she scrubbed her body thoroughly with cold water. She washed her hands dozens of times until they were chapped and even sprayed herself with outdated perfume the baroness had discarded as a gesture of generosity.

There was no news of Alec until the afternoon. With no reports of a dead body being found at a nearby mansion, she even allowed herself to hope that perhaps Alec hadn’t died and his friends had taken him to a doctor.

However, if Alec were alive, he would certainly report her. Bronwynner needed to leave the Bingham household as soon as possible. She planned to go far, very far away. Somewhere like the capital, Whittingham. In a big city with many people, she might find a place to hide.

Outside, it was still raining.

She hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning. She had been soaked in the rain for hours and was still terrified, so her trembling wouldn’t stop. She hesitated to venture outside in such a state. The old umbrella the baroness had given her would surely break in February’s harsh wind and rain.

“Miss Harcourt.”

As she stood at the back door watching the endless rain, someone called her.

It was Miss Carter, the governess. Before the other woman could speak, Bronwynner apologized.

“I’m sorry for increasing your workload, Miss Carter. Something suddenly came up……”

Miss Carter handed her something. It was an umbrella with an elegant peacock head carved into the handle. It was a luxury item that couldn’t be compared to Bronwynner’s old umbrella.

She stared blankly at the governess.

“Why are you giving this to me……?”

“I heard you’re leaving in a hurry, and this is all I have to offer as a farewell gift.”

The governess smiled awkwardly.

“Giving notice and quitting on the same day is truly irresponsible, Miss Harcourt.”

“I know.”

“But I can’t say you haven’t worked hard all this time.”

Bronwynner’s vision blurred. But she didn’t let her tears fall.

The reason Miss Carter commanded a high price was that, regardless of her educational philosophy, she was an excellent governess. Being fair and moral—these were the primary qualities any family sought in a governess. Occasionally, that fairness extended even to someone like Bronwynner.

“Thank you so much.”

“Write to me when you settle somewhere. I’ll pass news to the children too.”

Bronwynner nodded.

The governess accepted the candy package she offered. Clutching the peacock head tightly, Bronwynner forced herself to speak lightly.

“When Kaylee eats two pieces, give Elise only one.”

* * *

Crimsworth was the second largest station in central Lennox after Whittingham. The railway company Jeremy invested in had recently won additional construction rights, and next year it was set to become a transfer station with another line passing through.

The Tweed River that flowed through Whittingham also flowed through Crimsworth, and with pastures producing premium wool, orchards, and the kingdom’s largest flower garden, Crimsworth had built its wealth through trade for generations. Once the railway became fully functional, it would also establish its status as a transportation hub. This would fulfill his father’s wish to bring prosperity to the ancestral estate.

At the Crimsworth station platform, Jeremy had been waiting for his sister for over an hour.

As darkness fell, the rain grew increasingly fierce. It was unusual rain considering the season.

“Lord Crimsworth. Perhaps we should return to the Court?”

Seth, the footman, suggested discreetly, his breath visible in the cold air.

Jeremy checked his watch. Eight o’clock. Maude wasn’t on the direct train that had departed Whittingham at six.

“When is the next train scheduled?”

“The last train via Whittingham arrives at nine o’clock. Shall I send someone to the townhouse?”

Today was the charity bazaar at Whittingham Garden. With the weather being so poor all day, they probably ended early. After bazaars, tea time or dinner parties usually followed, so Maude likely got caught up in one of those.

He had instructed her to notify him if she would be late and to go to the townhouse……

Maude wasn’t a foolish or rebellious child. However, she had an impulsive temperament and, being born late, had been indulged by everyone around her. Especially after their parents’ sudden passing, she hadn’t received much in the way of discipline.

During his time at the Royal Academy, Maude couldn’t adapt to the boarding school he had sent her to and returned after just half a year. Since then, she had been educated by governesses. Considering that most noble young ladies were educated this way, the situation wasn’t particularly serious.

However, Maude had experienced something terrible in her childhood. Though she didn’t remember it herself, Jeremy always harbored a deep concern about how it might have affected her development. In truth, this was perhaps the only issue that truly worried the otherwise complete young duke.

The fact that the previous Duke of Crimsworth, Troy Lovedale, had been murdered by an assailant and his body first discovered by his six-year-old daughter Maude was a secret known only to his late mother and Jeremy. Not even Her Majesty the Queen knew.

Her Majesty had completely misdiagnosed the problem.

⌜It’s because there’s no lady in the house to set an example.⌟

In other words, she was telling him to marry quickly.

When his master remained silent, Seth added his opinion.

“Or perhaps they sent someone from the townhouse, but they’re delayed due to the weather.”

Today, Maude’s chaperone was the Count of Farraway’s sister, Lady Windell, who had married into the Havilland earldom last year. The countess wouldn’t have forgotten to send word to Crimsworth, but one never knew. Maude might have caused some trouble and shocked that gentle lady.

“Let’s wait another hour.”

“Then let’s go to the waiting room. You’ll catch a cold like this.”

Jeremy and Seth were sheltering from the rain under the platform’s eaves.

“Go inside if you’re cold.”

“How could I leave you alone, Lord Crimsworth?”

However, Seth clearly wanted to go to the waiting room, or more precisely, to smoke with the coachman.

Jeremy gestured for Seth to stay.

The last train to Crimsworth arrived nearly thirty minutes late.

The station instantly became crowded with disembarking passengers, people who came to meet them, station staff, porters, and carriage drivers soliciting customers.

Despite his wait, there was no sign of Maude among them.

Since first-class carriage doors open first, if Maude hadn’t appeared within 10 minutes after the train stopped, she wasn’t on this train either. In that case, Lady Windell would have taken her to the Lovedale townhouse.

Jeremy wasn’t particularly worried about his sister, but just to be sure, he waited until the third-class carriage doors opened and all passengers had disembarked.

He spotted her just as he was about to turn away, having confirmed that Maude wasn’t among the last passengers to get off.

* * *

Bronwynner had ridden a train exactly once before, when the railway passing through Bathgate was completed last year. At that time, she had gone with Baroness Bingham and the children, Elise and Kaylee, to the neighboring station and back. Although she couldn’t even look out the window as she attended to everyone the entire time, she had still been a first-class passenger then.

This time, everything was different from last year.

Now she was alone, and she only had enough money for a third-class ticket.

When the train was delayed due to rain, the seats were already full. After standing in the crowded aisle for a long time, her whole body went numb. If an elderly man hadn’t offered his seat, she might have collapsed.

“I’m getting off soon, so sit here. You look so pale, like you might faint any moment.”

Before she could express her gratitude, the old man was gone.

Somewhere a baby was crying, and a drunk man was shouting. The noise that wouldn’t subside made her headache worse. She wrapped her coat tightly around herself. When the woman sitting across from her took food out of a basket on her lap, the smell made Bronwynner’s empty stomach twist.

The fat man next to her jabbed her elbow hard.

“Move your arm. This armrest is mine.”

Bronwynner’s seat was by the window, where someone had tried and failed to close it. No matter how she tried, the window wouldn’t close, and rain constantly splashed through the opening. Pushed by the man next to her, she pressed closer and closer to the window. Damp rainwater seeped into her sleeve.

How much further to Whittingham?

How much farther had she traveled from the Baron Bingham’s mansion……?

She rested her feverish forehead against the cold glass and stared blankly at the passing scenery.

Passengers continued to board and disembark.

Bronwynner found it increasingly difficult to concentrate……

A red ribbon in some girl’s hair reminded her of the blood flowing from Alec Bingham’s head. The sound of a skull cracking. The warm, fishy liquid flowing between her fingers.

Even in that moment, the sight of his pants down around his ankles had been ridiculous, but thinking back, she should have pulled them up before leaving. If officers came to investigate, they might have noticed something strange about his unusual state……

If Alec Bingham had died, and if police investigations began, the nanny who disappeared at the same time would certainly be suspected. In that case, the baroness wouldn’t provide any testimony in her favor.

That’s why Bronwynner boarded the train with a shawl over her head. Her red hair stood out even from a distance. Though her destination was Whittingham, she deliberately paid a little more for a ticket to Crimsworth, the final stop.

‘Just like a real criminal……’

Even without intent, accidentally killing someone constituted manslaughter. If she had merely brushed against someone who was stumbling, and that person fell backward, if she had been fighting with that person just before, how much fault was hers?

She still believed Alec Bingham deserved to die. But at the same time, she was tormented by guilt for fleeing and leaving behind someone she might have been able to save.

⌜A child like you will ultimately meet a miserable end in prison or a workhouse, you ungrateful thing.⌟

Words the orphanage director had thrown at her back when she left.

⌜This is why I hate hiring orphanage girls as nannies……! You’d understand if you’d experienced love as a child. You think everyone is as irresponsible as you and the people who gave birth to you.⌟

When she was very young, Bronwynner lived not in Perth but further north in Goldenborough. Her father, John Harcourt, was a laborer, and her mother, Fanny Harcourt, was a weaver. Both died of illness, leaving her alone to be placed in an orphanage. She didn’t know why she was sent all the way to Perth rather than staying in that region.

‘My parents weren’t irresponsible.’

But she herself might indeed be irresponsible.

“Miss.”

Someone called her.

She opened her eyes with a start.

The train had stopped. It was a train attendant who had called her.

“May I see your ticket, please?”

For a moment, her heart sank thinking it was a police officer because of the uniform. She calmed her startled heart and handed over her ticket. After checking it, the attendant said:

“Please get off here.”

Only then did she look around. The train was almost empty, and the remaining passengers were hurriedly preparing to disembark.

“Is this Whittingham?”

“We passed Whittingham earlier. This is Crimsworth.”

The attendant replied with annoyance.

She hastily gathered her bag and shawl. But no matter how much she searched, the umbrella Miss Carter had given her was nowhere to be found.

‘I’m sure I put it on the overhead rack……’

She desperately checked the rack and under the seat. Both were completely empty.

The attendant had already left. The passengers had gone too, leaving her alone in the carriage. She came to the bitter conclusion that someone had stolen her umbrella. The only act of kindness she had experienced today was now leaving her as well.

Still, she couldn’t remain dazed forever. Crimsworth was unfamiliar territory. She needed to disembark and find lodging for the night.

She was the last passenger to get off the train.

She stood waiting for a long time near the tracks until the crowd on the platform had dispersed. Without an umbrella, she had to shelter under the eaves that covered barely half the width of the platform to avoid getting wet.

Several people bumped into her without apologizing. Each time, her frail body was pushed back and forth.

Eventually, the gas lamps on the platform began to go out one by one. Bronwynner knew it was time to move, not from what she saw but from the gradually diminishing sounds.

She staggered toward the waiting room stairs visible in the distance.