Amelia’s unyielding command had forced Bella out into the storm. She clung to the trembling ribs of her umbrella as fierce wind and rain battered her from all sides. The weather outside was far worse than it had seemed from inside the estate.

Her long skirt, which brushed her ankles, soon became soaked and clung heavily to her legs. Thick mud coated her shoes and pulled at her feet with every step. She lost her balance several times, slipping and stumbling until she almost fell forward into the sludge.

By the time she reached Madame Margo’s house, Bella looked as though she had been dragged through a pigsty.

“Oh my! What on earth—”

Startled by the unexpected knock, Madam Margo flung open the door and gasped at the sight before her.

“May I… come in for a moment?”

Bella stood there, lips tinged blue from the cold, shivering uncontrollably.

“Oh, goodness me. Come in at once!”

Madam Margo took her ice-cold hands in hers and hurried her inside. She seated her in front of the stove, which had not yet been dismantled for the season, and quickly poured her a cup of warm tea.

“You walked all the way here in weather like this?”

“I was sent on an errand by the young lady.”

Bella took the note out of her skirt pocket and handed it over. Despite having tucked it away safely, the paper had already torn at the edge in the rain.

“That young lady of yours… She could have waited until the weather cleared.”

Madam Margo looked at Bella with concern. Although the maid’s lips had regained some color indoors, her nose and cheeks were an alarming shade of red.

“If it’s not urgent, you should warm up properly before heading back. You’ll end up bedridden in this spring chill.”

“I must return right away. Thank you for your kindness.”

“All right. I’ll fetch it immediately.”

Madam Margo continued to look worried as she stepped into the adjoining room to gather the requested cosmetics.

Left alone, Bella wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself and moved closer to the fire.

If she had followed her heart, she would have accepted the older woman’s offer and rested for longer. But she could not be away for too long.

‘Even if it isn’t me, there are plenty of maids who could attend to His Grace…’

The duke was highly regarded. Many would have gladly taken her place, responsibilities notwithstanding.

Bella lowered her face to her knees. Suddenly, a wave of warmth washed over her, making her head spin as heat surged through her body. Her pulse thundered in her ears, her hearing dulling as though she were sinking beneath the waves.

She would have to retrace her steps through the storm. In her current state, she wasn’t sure if she could endure it.

By the time she had steadied herself, Madam Margo had returned with the prepared cosmetics.

“Be careful on your way back. You really should have stayed longer.”

Madam Margo stepped outside to see Bella off. She looked at the shivering girl with concern, as though uncertain whether she would make it back safely.

Thanks to the older woman’s kindness, some warmth had returned to Bella’s frozen body and she forced herself to walk as quickly as possible.

Despite her steady assurances, however, her condition was far worse than before. The umbrella she had brought from the estate had broken long ago in a violent gust of wind. Fever clouded her mind, leaving her feeling as dizzy as though she were drunk.

At last, the count’s estate came into view. Bella tried to steady her fading consciousness. Though she staggered and struggled to stay on her feet, she held on to the basket tightly, determined not to drop it.

Her eyes were fixed on the gates, which were drawing closer.

Then—

— she failed to notice the stone jutting from the ground.

She fell hard.

The cosmetics, now smeared with mud, obscured her vision. She tried to push herself up, but her body felt unbearably heavy and would not obey her. Rain mixed with the mud, further obscuring her vision. Thick raindrops struck her skin sharply.

All she could do was blink slowly, faintly aware of the cold sinking deeper into her body.

She sensed movement somewhere in the distance — someone was coming towards her.

‘Help…’

She tried to call out, but no sound came from her hoarse throat. After struggling desperately for a moment longer, she finally lost the thin thread of consciousness she had been clinging to.

Darkness swallowed her whole.

***

Logan returned to the estate accompanied by his secretary, who had travelled with him from the capital. Upon arrival, the first thing he did was look for his maid.

But she was nowhere to be seen.

“The maid has taken sick leave due to a cold. We will send a replacement at once.”

When he summoned the head housekeeper, that was the explanation he received.

“She’s ill?”

Logan repeated the words flatly.

Ill—suddenly? Only yesterday she had seemed perfectly fine.

‘No… was she?’

Logan recalled the moment he had pressed his lips to hers, remembering the heat of her breath and how she had struggled to breathe, her face flushing and burning.

Logan frowned.

She hadn’t been flushed with desire.

She had been feverish.

‘Fool.’

He should have noticed.

“Then where is she now?”

Upon discovering that the maid was not in the servants’ quarters either, Logan demanded to know her whereabouts.

“She has been moved to the guest house, where Mr. Joshua Powell is staying. He insisted that she could not be left alone in the servants’ quarters and arranged for her to be moved there.”

“Tell Young Master Everett that I will not be attending our meeting today.”

Now that he knew where she was, Logan cancelled his appointment with Vincent immediately and set out to find her.

Joshua. That wretched Joshua!

The image of the man’s reserved face — so bold as to declare his intention to propose to Bella — would not leave Logan’s mind. He repeated the infuriating name to himself as he strode out of the estate. Even the cold rain did nothing to cool the anger boiling in his chest.

He cut through the storm without hesitation, his secretary hurrying after him, struggling to keep up with the umbrella he held overhead.

***

On his way back, Joshua heard that Bella had been sent out on an errand for the young lady. He then saw her being carried through the gates on the gatekeeper’s back.

Stunned by the sight of her, he saw that she was soaked through, covered in mud and barely conscious.

When he learned that she was about to be placed in a cold storage room without a stove, simply to prevent her from spreading illness to the other maids, he intervened immediately and had her moved to his own quarters.

Servants were rarely given proper medical care unless their condition became critical. Realizing that she would otherwise be left to recover alone, Joshua stepped forward and volunteered to look after her himself.

‘How long had she been out in the cold?’

Worry evident in his eyes, he gently wiped her feverish skin with a damp cloth. The fever showed no sign of breaking.

He wished he had the means to bring it down. Although both his grandfather and father were doctors, getting proper treatment was far from simple in a place like Rosedale where he had no real connections.

Bella had often been confined to bed with headaches caused by old injuries since childhood. If her fever subsided by tomorrow, it would be a blessing. If not, her life could be at risk.

He considered going into town for help, but could not bring himself to leave her alone in such a fragile state.

For a brief moment, he thought of someone who could resolve the situation immediately.

Joshua shook his head.

Even if he asked, that person would never help.

He had been raised with his grandfather’s unwavering warning to never trust nobles. Pushing this thought aside, he turned his attention back to Bella.

Just then, the door to the guesthouse was thrown open.

Heavy footsteps thundered up the creaking wooden stairs and stopped abruptly outside their room.

“Who—”

Joshua rose from his chair, but before he could reach the door, it was flung open.

The man he had just forced himself to forget stood there.

“Your Grace…?”