Olivia found this unfamiliar and bewildering. Hearing from a calm-faced strange man the story that even her married sister had told with a blushing face, suddenly this entire situation felt as distant as a dream.

“If one experience turns out to be very different from what you thought and difficult, have you thought about what you’ll do then? Conversely, what will you do when you feel like you want to know more and think you can’t end it with just once?”

“That’s……”

“You might think it was a decision you made after much consideration, Miss Jennings, but if you become too absorbed in one thing, you easily miss other important things. Just as marriages don’t always end happily even when you find and marry someone after considering everything from appearance to wealth, this problem isn’t different when you look at the big picture. Even if I find a man who perfectly suits your taste, there’s no guarantee that the outcome will satisfy you as well.”

“I know. And that’s a problem I’ll handle. Don’t worry, I won’t hold Lord Dalton responsible even if it turns out different from what I thought. How I’ll handle things afterward is also something I’ll decide for myself, so you don’t need to worry about it for me.”

“……I understand. I just wanted to confirm once more. If your determination is that firm, then I’ll also carefully observe the men around me from now on.”

Richard brought the teacup placed before him to his lips. If Olivia’s memory was correct, that would probably be his first sip. Olivia, who had been watching him savor the scent of the completely cold tea for a long time, parted her tightly closed lips.

“Now it’s my turn to ask, right? ……Why haven’t you married until now, Lord Dalton?”

Richard, who had set down his cup with a face full of laughter, gazed at some spot beyond the garden for a long time. When his turned head finally returned her way after a while, the awaited answer flowed out.

“I haven’t met a woman I wanted to marry.”

It was such a textbook answer that it was even futile. Richard laughed with his shoulders seeing Olivia’s deflated expression.

“Are you disappointed because it’s a more boring answer than you thought?”

“I can’t say I’m not. Is it really true that you’re not just saying that?”

“What would be the point of lying about something like this?”

“There are quite a few women who show great interest in you, Lord Dalton, but you’re saying there isn’t even one among them?”

“Well…… Perhaps I’m also a person with such petty nature that I don’t feel inclined toward those who like me.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’ve never liked someone who likes me, so I don’t know that well either.”

Olivia, who gave up on digging deeper at the playful response, turned her eyes to the garden. Perhaps the ‘rotten aspects’ the marchioness had mentioned were exactly this kind of thing. Olivia gave up on conversation and chose to appreciate the flowers instead.

“Still, if I ever meet a woman who makes me want to marry……”

Olivia slowly exhaled the breath she had deeply inhaled and turned her head toward him. The May fragrance that had filled her lungs wafted richly from the man sitting with her.

“I’m thinking that I’d like that person to like me too.”

Because there would be nothing more difficult than turning a heart that’s directed toward someone other than me. Especially if I thought not doing so would be for that person’s happiness.

Richard, who had added this, smiled and drank the remaining tea. Sunlight that peeked through the clouds poured down long and carved deep shadows on his face. It was right then that Olivia Jennings thought this Sunday would be remembered for this very moment.

***

Though she didn’t know what she had discussed with the marchioness, Sally had returned home before Olivia. Living with a married sister who had formed her own household was very tiresome at times like this, and not being able to break their mother’s will when she decided to move to London had become one of the things she regretted forever. She should have obtained a separate house by any means necessary then.

Their parents in Cotswolds had adamantly opposed Olivia getting a house to live alone. Since she couldn’t give up on moving, she had no choice but to follow her parents’ wishes, but not being guaranteed an independent life was indeed inconvenient.

It was especially torturous when she had to work on manuscripts, and if the publishing house hadn’t separately prepared a space she could use as a workroom, she probably couldn’t have published anything after her first work.

Olivia once again firmly resolved that she had to get a house somehow and reached out to the puppy running toward her. The small corgi that had rolled over on its back panted while entrusting its body to the hand that lightly scratched along the grain of its fur. The long pink tongue that stuck out was so cute that she couldn’t help but smile.

“Did you behave well, Alex?”

“Where have you been that you’re only home now?”

“Did you eat?”

Olivia continued her one-sided conversation with the puppy while ignoring Sally’s words. Sally, who had prepared treats as if she knew this would happen, quickly diverted the puppy’s attention elsewhere.

No matter how much the puppy liked Olivia, nothing was more important than eating in a puppy’s life. Olivia, who had no choice but to straighten her bent knees and stand up, entered the house while avoiding Sally’s gaze.

“Are you really not going to say anything?”

“I was just delayed because Lord Dalton had some urgent business.”

“What urgent business?”

“How would I know that? He just said so, so I said I understood. Who am I to interrogate him about it?”

Sally’s appearance with her hands on her hips and lips pursed was exactly like a copy of their mother’s appearance. The fact that Sally Cornell looked exactly like the sisters’ mother would have also played a part in their parents’ calculation to keep Olivia tied to this place.

“Fine, then. I’ll ask directly. How do you feel about him?”

“About who?”

“Lord Dalton. Do you perhaps have feelings for him?”

“It’s not like that.”

“If it’s not like that, why do you keep getting entangled with only that person? At the Wickham family party too, and before that—”

“It’s just a coincidence. If you put it that way—”

She couldn’t bring up Ronald Collins’ story here. If she did, this conversation would get longer, and her hard work of keeping secrets at the tea party would come to nothing. Olivia eventually closed her mouth, but fortunately Sally didn’t persist on that part.

In the meantime, the puppy that had finished all the treats thrown to him lay down on his back at Olivia’s feet. If there was only one family member in this house who welcomed her most, understood her mood well, and didn’t bother her, it would be this mischievous corgi.

Right, they should be someone who like dogs. Olivia quietly stroked the fur of the puppy showing all sorts of affection, then soon lifted him into her arms. The warm body temperature felt under the soft fur wrapped around her body snugly.

“Doesn’t it seem like Lord Dalton has feelings for you?”

“What would someone like Richard Dalton want from me to have such feelings?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

The way she gets worked up over such words was exactly like their mother. Olivia lightly patted Sally’s shoulder as she got excited as if she had heard insults about herself.

“Even if you care for me, what’s not true isn’t true.”

“Are you really saying all this is just coincidence?”

“Just because I’m not thinking in that direction doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be kind to him. Unlike other gentlemen, he’s just equally kind to unpopular women too.”

“Liv.”

“If possible, I’d like you not to say anything else to the marchioness either. She seemed to be expecting something as much as you…… I don’t want to disappoint her for no reason.”

The words about kindness and coincidence might be true, but if they weren’t, this might certainly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Olivia.

Though matters between young men and women weren’t problems to be solved by surrounding pressure or encouragement, it was questionable whether it was right to leave Olivia, who seemed to consistently lack talent in this area, as she was. Perhaps she just needed an opportunity, and if the years of believing and waiting had grown this long, now might be the time when some encouragement was needed.

If there was a time for everything, now would be exactly that time. At least now, she showed interest in social activities and dealing with gentlemen unlike before. If Olivia’s words were all true and Richard Dalton couldn’t be that person, then someone else absolutely must be.

“If that’s true, then keep your distance from him from now on.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t act like there’s something going on between you two. I want you to have other opportunities. If it’s just kindness as you say, wouldn’t that be good for Lord Dalton too? If you don’t want to disappoint the marchioness, you just shouldn’t give her hope.”

“I’ll be careful.”

It wasn’t particularly wrong. The problem, if it was a problem, was that she wasn’t looking for marriage opportunities. Since there was nothing Olivia could honestly confess, she nodded.

Sally watched Olivia’s back as she headed to her room holding Alex for a while. Was there really no man in London with eyes to recognize that extraordinary loveliness? Sally’s concerns, fighting alone, deepened daily.

***