Chapter 5 – One Step Closer (Part 4)
“Please be careful on your way home today as well.”
The coachman, who was slowing the horse, spoke casually.
“Yes, thank you.”
Lorraine, who was checking documents she hadn’t had a chance to look at in the carriage, also replied with a bright smile.
It meant there was a suspicious carriage parked in front of the house again today. She put down the documents and slightly lifted the curtain covering the window. Not far away, there was a pitch-black carriage without a seal.
Unlike Lantil Street 5, where influential nobles and wealthy people lived, Lorraine’s home on Lantil Street 9 was an utterly ordinary place.
“A carriage like that in a place like this, it’s like advertising openly….”
My sister dated an utter fool.
She sighed and shook her head.
Finally, after the carriage came to a complete stop, Lorraine slowly got out of the carriage.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll depart slowly, so if anything happens….”
“Thank you for your concern.”
“But….”
The coachman glanced at the suspicious carriage. Then he spoke again, but his voice was much quieter than before.
“It’s already the fourth day…”
“……”
Hadn’t he mentioned he’d been here for six months?
Lorraine silently looked at the kind but slightly oblivious coachman.
“Secretary…?”
Without replying, she opened the small handbag she was holding and showed what was inside. Inside the bag was a very small revolver.
“Don’t you think it’s okay for you to leave?”
She smiled, seeking his agreement.
After confirming the coachman’s reluctant expression as he left, Lorraine turned around.
She had a rough idea of who it was.
Thinking that picking such men was a skill in itself, she knocked on the carriage window. As the thick curtain was drawn back, her arm was grabbed.
“Who are you?”
“Sydney.”
Ian reprimanded his aide, but he showed no sign of letting go easily. The more Lorraine twisted to free her arm, the tighter his grip became.
“Don’t you think it would be better for your master’s safety to let go now?”
“……”
“You’re here to see Diana Wiig, aren’t you?”
“…Sydney, I told you to let go.”
At Ian’s urging, Sydney reluctantly released her arm.
Lorraine brushed off her crumpled sleeve. It was annoying, considering it hadn’t been long since she had it cleaned. Just as she began to regret her interference, Ian asked.
“A sister?”
“Yes.”
The tightly closed carriage door opened. Sydney, who hadn’t expected this decision, exclaimed softly with a troubled expression.
“Your Grace!”
“Sydney Ro, if you keep acting like this, I’ll leave you behind in the future.”
Lorraine smirked as if she found it amusing and climbed into the carriage.
Ian naturally pulled her hand. It was firm but not rough.
The inside of the carriage wasn’t very spacious, but it looked clean and sturdy. She placed her handbag on her lap and got straight to the point.
“Does my sister know you’re here, Your Grace?”
He shook his head.
“I see, no wonder she seemed unbothered.”
She shrugged.
“You know this looks really strange, right?”
She slightly lifted the curtain to check the house with lights on here and there and continued speaking.
“…Should I tell you which room is my sister’s?”
Ian’s gaze immediately followed her question. She opened the curtain wide enough for him to see too.
“From the central staircase to the west… the second one. Oh, she got off work early today.”
She traced the window with her finger.
“That’s the room. But….”
His eyes, showing no particular intent, turned to her. At that moment, Lorraine understood why Diana liked Ian.
“Don’t come anymore.”
“……”
“If you keep enjoying these night outings, I’ll have no choice but to inform His Grace.”
She tilted her head to one side.
“You know it’s a very dangerous act that puts many lives at risk, right?”
Her voice was polite, but her bright blue eyes held a cold light. However, the answer she received was quite unexpected.
“…Danny was a light to me.”
She wanted to ask if that was important now, but she had enough sense.
His eyes were dyed with pure darkness.
***
Listening to the love stories of one’s relatives was not a pleasant thing.
“…Ine.”
Still, he seemed better than others.
“…Raine.”
No matter how you look at it, waiting in front of someone’s house without their knowledge isn’t right, is it?
“Lorraine!”
“Yes?”
Edwin’s gaze was skewed. It was the perfect timing for a scolding. However, his voice was calm after he took a breath.
“…Look into the relationship between Asiel Dunant and Juliet Roben in more detail.”
Of course, the end of his words wavered a bit, but it didn’t feel like walking on thin ice.
“Oh, yes.”
She shouldn’t miss her employer’s instructions twice.
As she wrote down Edwin’s instructions in her notebook without missing a word, she thought.
Why is he holding back his anger these days?
But unfortunately, that thought couldn’t deepen further.
“And….”
Because Edwin’s words continued.
“And?”
“And… well….”
He hesitated, which was unlike him.
Currently, in the second drawer of his desk, there were tickets to a new play starring Alethea Doyle.
Exactly two.
A few days ago, Philip had solemnly handed him the tickets and said:
「…It’s already coordinated with Miss Doyle.」
Edwin couldn’t decide whether to thank him or tell him to take it back, as every minute was precious. As if reading his mind, Philip asked.
「Weren’t you going to tackle it head-on?」
「…….」
「Embarrassment is only for that moment. Trust me.」
He reluctantly accepted it, but until this moment, he was still pondering how to hand over the tickets. Edwin was certain that today felt more nerve-wracking than the night before his first expedition.
He couldn’t tell anyone. If Jamie, Philip, or his father Owen found out, it would be a source of ridicule for a hundred years.
But that wasn’t the issue now.
“Your Grace?”
Lorraine, who was less aware of Edwin’s feelings than anyone else, was urging him.
“Are you feeling unwell? Should I call a doctor?”
On top of that, she was asking if he was sick instead of noticing.
“…No.”
His mouth felt bitter. It felt like he was getting back his actions in this way. He had long forgotten all the flowery words he had imagined. Edwin had no choice but to open the second drawer of his desk.
It looks like an invitation….
Doubt filled her bright blue eyes, but Lorraine didn’t touch it recklessly. Unable to stand the look of seeing a ticking time bomb, Edwin gestured with his chin.
“…Open it.”
She pushed up her absurdly thick glasses once. It was an unspoken protest that she wouldn’t open it until she heard what it was, but it didn’t work on Edwin.
“…I’ll explain after you open it.”
In the end, Lorraine had no choice but to carefully pick up the envelope.
“…It’s a theater ticket?”
“Alethea Doyle… ahem, invited us.”
Edwin licked his dry lips, lying awkwardly.
“…Pardon?”
“Alethea Doyle invited us to the new play that’s going up this time.”
He knew she wasn’t asking again because she hadn’t heard, but Edwin pretended not to know and answered dutifully.
“Are you joking?”
“Unfortunately, it’s true.”
“……”
Lorraine’s face, looking down at the theater ticket, was evidently conflicted.
She knew the play too. No, it was impossible not to know. It was because the play occupied the arts section of every newspaper published in Moses.
“She also added that she really hopes we’ll come.”
In Moses, there were still many places that didn’t accept women. The production team of the <Moses National Theater> was a representative example.
But an anomaly occurred in that traditionally male-only space.
The unwritten rule of hiring only one male writer per year was broken for the first time this year. It began when Theo Windmore, the director, broke the opposition of most of the board and hired a female playwright, Patricia Crawford.
Articles like [What is Theo Windmore Thinking?!] or [Director, to be Dismissed?] dominated the arts section at the time, creating a huge stir.
“…I guess we should go?”
She felt as if Alethea’s earnest green eyes were hovering before her. Of course, she hadn’t forgotten Louise’s warning. But-.
‘How can I not go when Alethea Doyle invited us.’
Rationalizing it that way, she accepted the ticket.
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