“How did this happen? Why did you receive an invitation from Lady Sinclair? How?”

The servants passing by looked at Beatrice in surprise at her accusatory tone.

Servants were not slaves. They were people who could move elsewhere whenever their contract ended.

After the war, as the custom of working in one household for a long time disappeared, they changed workplaces even more frequently.

Unlike in the past, nobles could no longer speak carelessly or raise their hands against servants in their presence. Rumors would spread instantly if they did.

That’s why when Eloise first arrived, Beatrice had cautioned her to be careful with her behavior in front of the servants.

Yet here she was now, shouting loudly enough to startle others.

“Calm down, Beatrice.”

Eloise quickly climbed the stairs and took the letter Beatrice was holding.

“Lady Sinclair holds gatherings frequently, doesn’t she? So she must invite many people. You received an invitation too, didn’t you?”

“Am I the same as you?”

Beatrice raised her voice sharply but quickly closed her mouth when she noticed Eloise’s surprised expression and the stares from people around them. After composing herself for a moment, she spoke in a softer, gentler voice.

“What I received was an invitation addressed to our family. But this has your name written on it. You may not know this, but it’s rare for Lady Sinclair to extend such personal invitations. I was just worried that there might be some mistake or that someone might be playing a cruel prank.”

It was an excuse that could only make one laugh.

Eloise had to swallow the sarcastic remark that almost escaped her lips as she looked at the letter addressed to her.

The letter was signed Your friend, Maria Sinclair.

Seeing this reminded her of the invitation Beatrice had proudly shown off on their way to the previous gathering, not even allowing her to touch it.

‘Back then, it was definitely addressed as Lady M. Sinclair.’

It had been a formal letter with no hint of special friendship, more like an official document.

Eloise’s eyes moved to the recipient part. The envelope was addressed To my ever dear Eloise Surberton.

The writing conveyed a warmth that suggested it was sent to a very close friend.

Beatrice’s invitation hadn’t been addressed to her personally, but rather to the Fairfax Baronial family, as if it didn’t matter who from the family received it.

‘So this is why Beatrice is making such a fuss.’

Eloise suppressed a sigh as she looked at Beatrice, who was staring intensely at the letter in her hand.

“Anyway, thank you for bringing this to me, Beatrice. I’m tired, so I should rest now…”

“Aren’t you going to check it?”

“Check what?”

“I just told you. Why would Lady Sinclair send you a letter? There must be some mistake, so why don’t you open it now and check? If you’d like, I can check it for you.”

Beatrice reached for the envelope in Eloise’s hand as she spoke. Of course, she couldn’t grab it as Eloise quickly moved away.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll decline. I’m tired, so I need to go to my room now. Please excuse me.”

Eloise turned around and hurried to her room.

Behind her, Beatrice glared sharply at the door Eloise had entered.

Eloise entered her room and immediately examined the letter from Sinclair, not even taking the time to dust off her clothes.

To Eloise,

I’d like to write a long greeting, but let’s skip that between us. I have more urgent matters to tell you right now. First, I’ve confirmed Philip Osborne’s whereabouts. One of my friends told me that he boarded a ship at the harbor. Let’s discuss the details in person. Would you be able to come to my house tomorrow? If possible, please send a reply immediately through a messenger. And I’m sorry, but could I hear more details about Philip Osborne? Because…

The letter went on to explain that her friend hadn’t told her which ship Philip had boarded or where he was headed. She felt it would be improper to share more without hearing the full story first.

So she hoped Eloise would tell her the details about Philip Osborne.

After thinking for a moment, Eloise picked up a pen.

Much later, after writing her reply, she went out to the hallway and called for a maid.

“I’d like this to be sent.”

“Understood.”

After entrusting the letter to the maid, Eloise returned to her room and finally removed her dust-covered clothes with a sigh of relief.

It was fortunate to have found at least a trace of Sir Osborne. Now she needed to find Ryan and Richard’s whereabouts.

‘If I can find just one of them…’

She might be able to learn about the others as well.

Eloise continued changing her clothes, hoping to find at least one of the three quickly.

* * *

Crunch.

Beatrice was unconsciously biting her nails.

The Baroness would have raised her voice asking if she still hadn’t broken that habit, but in her current state of anger, her mother’s words were the last thing on her mind.

As Beatrice fumed and huffed, the maids quickly sensed the ominous atmosphere and hastily left.

With no one to vent her frustrations on, Beatrice had no choice but to return to her room and flop down on the sofa. She grabbed an innocent cushion beside her, twisting it as if tearing it apart while grinding her teeth.

‘When on earth did she become close with Lady Sinclair?’

She had been taking good care of Eloise lately, but it was certainly not out of goodwill.

When Eloise first arrived, the Baroness had told Beatrice:

“Poor child. When she was young, she nearly died from an unknown illness, so her parents had no choice but to take her to the countryside. And Grace had to go with her. Such a shame, she was once called the flower of society, but because of her daughter, she instantly became a country bumpkin…”

At first glance, it sounded like she was feeling sorry for a friend who had to leave the capital because of her child. But Beatrice had seen the smile on her mother’s face in the mirror.

At the same time, she remembered what other noble ladies had whispered in the lounge when her mother wasn’t around.

They had grumbled in clearly disapproving voices about how the Baroness was putting on airs in society.

“If only Grace hadn’t gone to the countryside, the Baroness wouldn’t be walking around with her nose so high in the air.”

“I know. They say she had no choice because her daughter was sick… but who even paid attention to her when Grace was around?”

Then the Baroness Fairfax appeared at the entrance. The gossipers quickly shut their mouths, but the Baroness’s cold expression didn’t soften.

Watching secretly, Beatrice could tell that her mother deeply disliked this woman named Grace.

And when Eloise arrived this time, the reason the Baroness welcomed her was because in her eyes, Eloise looked very provincial compared to Beatrice.

The Baroness had repeatedly told Beatrice:

“You should take her around with you. Since she’s come up from the countryside, people might say things, but you should take good care of her.”

Beatrice had detected her mother’s true feelings hidden behind those words.

Her mother wanted to send Beatrice and Eloise to the same places to show that Grace’s daughter was inferior to her own.

That’s probably why she had allowed her to go to Lady Sinclair’s gathering.

‘But now she’s built a connection without my knowledge…’

Beatrice bit her nails again as she recalled the previous gathering.

At Lady Sinclair’s last event, Beatrice had received attention for the first time in a while. That was because Eloise had discreetly given her the answer to the puzzle.

But if she attended her gathering again and this time Eloise conversed directly with her, solved the puzzle prepared for the gathering, and gained her favor…

In Beatrice’s mind, she suddenly pictured Eloise receiving all the attention in society.

That wasn’t what her mother wanted. And she didn’t want to see that either.

Crunch.

As she bit her nails again, she left the room. Just as she was thinking she needed to find out when Eloise had become close with Lady Sinclair, she noticed a maid passing through the corridor carrying something.

Realizing it was a letter envelope, Beatrice called out to stop the maid.

“You, who is that from?”

“It’s a letter the guest asked me to send.”

“Guest? Eloise?”

“Yes.”

“Give that to me.”

Beatrice snatched the letter from the maid’s hand.

“I’ll take care of this along with my own letter, so you may go now.”

The maid looked a bit uneasy at those words but withdrew without saying anything. She couldn’t argue with the young lady of the house.

After taking the letter, Beatrice immediately returned to her room and carefully opened the envelope.

Fortunately, it wasn’t sealed too tightly, so there was no problem opening it.

After reading Eloise’s letter, Beatrice’s eyes gleamed.