Chapter 39

As they exited the room and passed through the long corridor, a few maids who saw the Young Master and his wife blushed and quickly bowed their heads.

Harriet felt like she would die of embarrassment right then and there. To make matters worse, her body, which had been flopping like a fish just pulled from the water, gradually lost strength, exhausted from struggling.

“You’ll really pay for this.”

“In bed?”

“Watch your mouth! That mouth!”

Although she protested in horror, Lennox didn’t stop. He was cheeky, if not outright shameless, as if a sly snake or raccoon had possessed him.

“I’m just capturing a heartless bride trying to run away during our honeymoon.”

“Won’t you put me down right now? This is clearly kidnapping.”

“Then I guess I should report it to the security team. A bride reporting her husband for kidnapping right after returning from the honeymoon sounds quite sensational, doesn’t it?”

Even while they conversed, her body swayed. Lennox, without hesitation, left the villa and placed her in a carriage.

“Where are we going?”

“Have you ever been on a boat?”

“Do you remember what we came here on?”

“Not that, just a small boat.”

“I have.”

“In the sea?”

“That…”

She hadn’t. As Harriet shook her head, Lennox, who had closed the carriage door, tapped the coachman’s seat with his cane.

“That’s perfect. It’s your first experience.”

He had a knack for making even a single word sound suggestive. As Harriet opened her mouth in disbelief, the horses neighed and set off.

* * *

As soon as she boarded the swaying small boat, Harriet instinctively grabbed the edges tightly.

Lennox, holding the oars, slowly moved the boat with the current.

“The wind is cool, so it’s a good day to take a boat ride.”

It was her first time riding such a small boat, especially in the sea, so she was a bit nervous at first. But as the boat moved slowly in the gentle breeze, Harriet soon regained her composure.

“Have you ridden a boat often?”

“I used to come here often when I was young.”

“You tend to drop the formal speech a lot, don’t you?”

“We’re married, aren’t we? Can’t I?”

Lennox, who slyly dropped the formalities, chimed in, causing Harriet to let out a small laugh in disbelief. Startled by her involuntary laughter, Harriet pretended to be angry and warned him.

“Do you want to jump off here and circle the island again, or row quietly?”

“The latter.”

He answered obediently, then chuckled as if something was funny. Harriet, who was dumbfounded watching him, turned her head away from him and looked at the sea.

The island, seen from the nearby sea, was indeed beautiful. The natural beauty of cliffs and greenery blended exquisitely, creating a stunning scenery.

As Lennox quietly admired Harriet’s profile as she gazed at the island, he spoke softly.

“This island was actually a wedding gift from my father to my mother. After she passed away, the title was transferred to me.”

“Hmm. I see.”

It was indeed a wedding gift on a different scale. Harriet, purely impressed, suddenly asked.

“There wasn’t a portrait of your mother in the room just now. Is it kept separately?”

Lennox stretched his lips slightly. His biological mother. There were only a few people who had directly mentioned the late Duchess in front of him.

“If the young master’s mother saw this scene, she would probably…”

“Darling!”

“Oh, I misspoke.”

Since childhood, the adults around him would often beat around the bush or hastily change the subject, as if it were a bomb.

But Harriet was the opposite.

“Your mother is gone? That’s unfortunate. Come visit often.”

There was a kindness hidden in her appropriate indifference. As a child, he found comfort in that consideration.

“Coco, you’re still the same.”

“What?”

Even though it was a question that could have been sensitive, Harriet casually let it slip out.

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s bland. Answer what you just said.”

Turning to face Harriet, who was waiting for an answer, Lennox shook his head.

“There are no portraits of my mother. There were a few, but my father burned them all. He couldn’t cope with the loss, thinking it would be better not to see them.”

“So? Does he still think the same?”

“No. I think he regrets it. He sometimes says he should have kept at least one.”

“Of course.”

Harriet nodded as if it were obvious.

“If it’s painful whether you see it or not, it’s better to be in pain while seeing it…….”

Her words trailed off. Margaret’s face suddenly flashed through Harriet’s mind. It wasn’t the time to be talking about others. She, too, had been avoiding her mother.

Even though they could have had a long conversation after the wedding, she didn’t.

The thought that she might have done something wrong suddenly popped into her head. She had never properly asked how her mother felt. Since she learned that her mother wasn’t her biological parent, they never had a candid conversation about it.

Overcome with a clear realization that pierced her heart, Harriet was momentarily speechless. Watching her quietly, Lennox subtly changed the subject.

“Aren’t you curious about what your mother-in-law looks like?”

Harriet, snapping out of her thoughts, responded cheerfully.

“I’m curious. Does your mother look like you?”

“People say I take after my mother rather than my father.”

“Then she must be very beautiful.”

It was a roundabout apology for being lost in her thoughts alone. Whether he realized it or not, Lennox let out a deflated laugh.

“Why are you laughing again?”

“It’s the first time you’ve directly complimented my appearance.”

“Don’t get it twisted. I was complimenting your mother’s appearance, not yours.”

Embarrassed by his straightforward response, Harriet rubbed her shoulder for no reason.

“Coco, what do you think it would be like to have a mother-in-law? You’d probably be much more nervous than with Philomena.”

“A mother-in-law? Is the Duke planning to remarry at that age?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Lennox shook his head and gradually slowed the rowing.

“Just hypothetically.”

“Well, it would be nice.”

“Why?”

“You wouldn’t be lonely. You’ve grown up alone.”

“I wasn’t really lonely. There was Philomena and Roche.”

“Oh, really?”

Harriet, feeling embarrassed, averted her gaze. Then she turned her head back at the following words.

“Because you were there, and Aaron was there too.”

“I was just a friend’s sister you occasionally saw, right? I don’t recall doing much with you.”

Come to think of it, it was strange. At first, they were just a friend’s sister and a friend’s younger sibling. When you stripped away the titles and such, that was all their relationship was. Lennox was polite and courteous to her at that time.

Blinking in confusion, she looked at him, as if peering into an unknown regret.

“I suspected, but you really don’t remember.”

“What?”

It was when Harriet was listening to his murmuring, which sounded like talking to himself.

The boat swayed once and began to enter a cave.

There was a cave on one corner of the island. Unlike the cave they had visited before, this one was half-filled with the sea.

“Where is this?”

“This is another secret place of mine.”

As they entered the dim place, Lennox took out a prepared candle and lit it.

At the same time, the dark surroundings brightened, revealing various spots. The inside of the cave, carved by nature, was truly a spectacle.

With the sound of water dripping echoing like a melody, the boat gradually entered deeper and darker into the cave.

“How far does this cave go?”

“It’s not that deep.”

The boat that had been going in for quite a while slowly came to a stop at a certain point. Lennox, who stopped the boat, got off first and extended his hand to Harriet. She took his hand and followed him off the boat.

“Look around.”

“Around? ……Ah.”

As Harriet curiously looked around, she quietly gasped.

Amethysts were embedded throughout the cave walls. The mysterious and beautiful sight left her mouth agape.

“Is this all gemstone?”

“Not enough to mine and put on the market, though.”

It felt like sneaking into a witch’s house from a fairy tale, and her skin tingled. The amethysts sparkled in the flickering lamplight.

“It’s incredibly…… beautiful.”

Only pure admiration repeatedly escaped her lips.

“When they were newlyweds, Father showed this place to Mother first. Mother would come here whenever she had time.”

“What woman in the world would dislike this sight?”

Nodding, Harriet took a few more steps forward, but she slipped on the slippery floor. As she lost her balance and was about to fall, a firm hand grabbed her waist and lifted her up.

At that moment, a musky scent mixed with his scent wafted into her nose.

“Be careful with your steps.”

“Mm. I will.”

Blushing, Harriet let go of his hand. The next moment, the hand that seemed to have moved away gently turned her by the shoulder. Harriet, now facing him, looked up at Lennox with wide eyes.

Lennox smiled gently and whispered.

“There’s something Father did every time he brought Mother here.”

“What?”

As soon as she asked, Lennox lowered his head and lifted Harriet’s chin, kissing her. It wasn’t a deep, intense kiss, but a short, soft one that tickled.

Feeling a strange thirst after the brief touch, Harriet unconsciously grabbed his collar and stood on tiptoe.

Lennox chuckled and delved deeper into her lips.