“Blissbury?”

Eloise looked puzzled as she took the letter.

Meanwhile, Lancelot, who had been tending to his newborn pups in the yard, cautiously approached and eyed the boy warily.

Seeing this, Eloise quickly took a few cookies from the tin and placed them in the boy’s hand. The boy, also wary of Lancelot, thanked her and hurried off with the cookies.

“What is it about?”

Hearing the boy’s voice, Mrs. Surberton stepped outside.

She held an embroidery hoop she had recently purchased in Camborne.

The half-finished embroidery depicted a yellow rose, a symbol of recovery in Albion. It was intended for Mr. Surberton, who had yet to return even after a month.

Her godmother’s health remained poor.

However, her mind was sharper than before, and she spent pleasant days reminiscing with Mr. Surberton.

Because of this, his return had been delayed.

“Well, let’s see.”

Eloise examined the envelope. As expected, it was a letter from Sergeant Thornton.

Seeing his name, she inwardly clicked her tongue.

For a while, the young ladies had frequently made their way to Blissbury.

However, their visits had tapered off—despite receiving more food than even His Majesty the King, Thornton had never once expressed his appreciation to anyone.

Of course, though he had not verbally thanked them, he had given each of them the most expensive silk handkerchiefs available in Camborne as a token of gratitude.

They were far more valuable than the handkerchief Julia had once proudly flaunted.

Still, the young ladies had not been entirely pleased.

No matter how expensive, an item only shines when one possesses it alone—if everyone has it, it ceases to be a source of envy.

Thus, the entire affair with Sergeant Thornton ended as nothing more than an incident that briefly replaced the young ladies’ and noblewomen’s handkerchiefs in Feltham with finer ones.

The noblewomen felt slighted that their cooking had not been chosen, but they took comfort in the fact that neither had anyone else’s, nor had their daughters managed to win Thornton’s favor.

Then, rumors surfaced that Sergeant Thornton had a fiancée in the capital, and the young ladies swiftly lost interest.

Instead, they turned their attention to a newly arrived gentleman in Camborne. Those who had flocked to Blissbury were now making their way to Camborne.

With interest in Blissbury waning, Eloise had not heard much about how Sergeant Thornton was faring lately.

‘So why did he suddenly send a letter?’

He must have known her father was not in Feltham—was he reaching out just in case he had returned?

But as Eloise glanced at the lower part of the envelope, her expression stiffened.

She had assumed the letter was for her father, yet her name was written on it.

“Eloise?”

Mrs. Surberton, noticing Eloise halt in her steps, called out curiously.

“The letter is for me?”

“From Sergeant Thornton?”

Mrs. Surberton looked just as surprised. She recalled how, after returning from Blissbury with books and an apple pie, Eloise had simply set the pie basket on the table and abruptly announced that from now on, errands to Blissbury should be left to the local children. Then, she stormed off to her room.

Mrs. Surberton had felt a tightness in her chest watching her.

‘I thought they suited each other rather well.’

Truthfully, Mrs. Surberton had long since come to terms with Eloise’s marriage prospects.

Her daughter had been severely ill as a child and still grew weak whenever the seasons changed. She was well past the typical age for marriage, and at this point, any attempts to arrange a match would only make her seem desperate.

She could endure being ridiculed for it herself, but the thought of Eloise being mocked for grasping at marriage so late in life was unbearable.

‘Well, the newspapers say that in Newham, more and more women are choosing to live independently rather than marry. Perhaps Eloise will be fine as well.’

She did not know what the future held, but if more women like that emerged, Eloise might at least find some companions as she aged.

Even so, it was hard to let go of the hope that her daughter would marry.

Yet, she could not imagine a man who matched her spirited daughter.

The gentlemen of Camborne would engage in conversation with Eloise, only to smile wryly and shake their heads afterward.

“Miss Eloise is truly knowledgeable.”

Mrs. Surberton knew full well that this was not a compliment. It meant that Eloise had left them speechless, and they had not liked it.

This countryside still valued women who bowed their heads in deference, unlike Newham.

Then Thornton had arrived. And he had argued with Eloise. At the time, Mrs. Surberton had thought it was the usual outcome.

But when Sergeant Thornton left for Blissbury, his expression was unlike that of any gentleman she had seen before.

While Eloise, nearly scolding him, had spoken of Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave’s feelings and the Battle of Ingon, he had listened to her in silence.

Even after Eloise had gone up to her room, a faint smile remained on his lips.

‘He seemed to have enjoyed it quite a bit.’

Even though he had to hold his tongue at Eloise’s words, he did not seem displeased.

So, she thought that it wouldn’t be a problem for Eloise to spend time with him if it were someone like this. However, since then, the two had had no further interaction.

And now, out of nowhere, Sergeant Thornton had sent Eloise a letter, so there was no way it wouldn’t catch her attention.

“What did he write? Have you been in contact with Sergeant Thornton separately?”

At Mrs. Surberton’s urgent voice, Eloise sighed and slumped her shoulders.

“Mother, you know that’s not possible. And besides, I don’t like him.”

“Because he dislikes Lieutenant Colonel Wilgrave? They were in the same unit, so he could have disliked him slightly. Just because he’s a distinguished officer doesn’t mean he was warm to his subordinates.”

Eloise shook her head as if she didn’t want to hear any more and opened the letter.

She had no idea why he had sent her a letter, but if only to clear up her mother’s misunderstanding, it was best to show her the contents immediately.

Eloise pulled out the letter and, for good measure, held it up in front of Mrs. Surberton.

“He says he has something to ask about the summer banquet. Since Father hasn’t returned yet, I suppose that’s why he sent it to me.”

“I see… Write a reply quickly, then. And send my regards to Mrs. Parker as well.”

Mrs. Surberton, sounding slightly disappointed, responded before returning to her room.

Eloise took the letter, went to her room, and pulled out her stationery.

‘Normally, I would go in person out of concern… but I do not intend to.’

Besides, considering the documents she and her father had already organized and the ones she had recently sent, it didn’t seem like there would be any particular difficulty.

And surely he wouldn’t want her to come in person either.

He was probably just asking her to visit out of courtesy.

So, Eloise wrote a polite letter of refusal at their convenience.

I apologize for being unable to visit due to poor health. However, I can answer as much as you need via letter, so please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Having finished her letter, Eloise called the errand boys and entrusted them with it.

As always, the boys received an armful of cookies in return.

She had sent the letter, so she expected a reply to take a few days.

But a few hours later, a boy who had gotten off her father’s carriage came running into the Surberton estate and handed Eloise a letter.

“He said it was urgent. He asked me to deliver it quickly.”

“Did he?”

Eloise accepted the letter with an uninterested expression. She didn’t know what was happening, but if anyone was in a hurry, it was Sergeant Thornton, not her.

So she considered delaying her reply on purpose…

…Please come to Blissbury immediately upon receiving this.

—Not your Ryan, but Ryan—

“Ahhh!”

The moment she read the last line of the letter, Eloise let out an involuntary scream.

How on earth did this man know about that?

***

“Whoa, whoa!”

An hour later, Eloise arrived in front of Blissbury, panting.

She had rushed over so quickly that her hair was a mess and her clothes were disheveled, but there was no time to care about that.

Before she could even greet Mr. Palmer, who came running out, she blurted out her question.

“Where is Sergeant Thornton?”

“Right here.”

The answer came from behind Mr. Palmer. When she lifted her head, she saw Sergeant Thornton standing at the entrance, arms crossed, wearing an infuriating smirk.

“You… You had my letter…!”

“Wait, before we talk about letters.”

Ryan raised his hand and gestured toward the two men, glaring at each other at the entrance.

“Miss Eloise, I need you to sort those two out first.”