“Who do I think he likes more…?”

At her friends’ question, Eloise recalled the times Ryan had been with them. Until now, Ryan had never asked her about any of the young ladies he’d met.

If he were interested, he might have asked something about their families, or their relatives, or even their hobbies. But he never did.

Come to think of it, she could hardly remember him ever asking about others. If he did, it was only about Eloise herself, or perhaps Mr. Surberton.

Otherwise, his questions were limited to things like who the gamekeeper was or who the pastor was in the neighboring parish—just the information he needed.

“Still, didn’t you assign those two to sit there because you thought there was something between them and Ryan?”

That was true. Julia had had tea with Ryan twice, and Lady Greenwood had seated Patricia right next to him and introduced her first of all.

So Eloise thought Ryan might find it easier to talk with them.

But if asked which of the two Ryan was more interested in, she truly had nothing to say.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Why don’t you just see for yourselves today and decide?”

At Eloise’s answer, a hint of disappointment flashed across her friends’ faces.

They were disappointed that they’d lost a fun topic to gossip about before the banquet. But not all of them wore the same expression.

“Is it really that you ‘don’t know,’ or that you ‘don’t want to know’?”

“Sophia?”

Suddenly, one of them spoke with a sharp edge in her voice.

The others, flustered, lightly tapped the woman called Sophia on the waist, telling her to keep quiet.

But Sophia ignored their warnings and continued.

“If Sergeant Thornton gets married and stays here, he won’t be able to keep working as the manager anymore, you know.”

Her voice was so openly mocking that everyone there couldn’t hide their surprise as they looked at Sophia. Eloise was no different.

Although she and Sophia were friends, they weren’t especially close. She was just someone Eloise had known since childhood among the young ladies of Camborne.

Not all the Camborne girls were distant from one another. While not as close as Abigail, Eloise saw most of them often enough to maintain a friendly relationship.

But she’d never been able to get along that way with Sophia.

Before the Surberton family settled completely in Feltham, there was a time when they stayed briefly in Camborne, and everyone was introduced.

The adults greeted each other and introduced their children as well.

All the girls welcomed Eloise with bright smiles. Even among the children, Eloise stood out.

At the time, Eloise was so frail that Mrs. Surberton dressed her only in the lightest and warmest clothes.

The girls’ eyes quickly scanned Eloise’s clothes, hat, and little accessories, and envy soon appeared on all their faces.

Camborne might have been the largest town in the area, but there were no prettier clothes than what Eloise brought from the capital.

Envy flickered in the girls’ eyes for a moment. The adults moved to another room, and the girls went to the room with the governess.

When Eloise came back after taking her medicine, she overheard the girls she’d just met whispering.

“Did you see Eloise? She looks like a doll.”

“Yeah. Her clothes and everything were so pretty.”

Their voices were full of envy and excitement. Embarrassed, Eloise hurried to join them, but then a sharp voice spoke up.

“But in the end, she’s from a family that left the capital to come here. They say it’s because of illness, but who really knows? Maybe there was some scandal in the capital and that’s why they came. Like maybe they racked up huge gambling debts or something.”

“Sophia, that’s rude to say.”

“Right. My father says Mr. Surberton is a very respected professor at the university in Newham.”

“And did you see the dress Eloise was wearing? I’ve never seen so much delicate lace on a dress before. My mother says Mrs. Surberton has excellent taste.”

“And what about Eloise’s hat? The flower decorations are imported, apparently. I’ve never seen such fine details.”

Then Sophia spoke again.

“You all heard the stories, didn’t you? Remember that fraudster who caused a stir recently? He also claimed to be someone important from the capital. And how do we know those clothes of Eloise’s are really hers and not borrowed from a relative?”

Eloise could tell from Sophia’s voice, which was clearly reaching, that the girl was envious of her.

And she also realized that they would never be close friends.

After that, her relationship with Sophia remained just as she’d first guessed.

In social settings where appearances mattered, Sophia didn’t say much. But in situations where she felt she could let her guard down, she always showed her thorns.

‘Still, I thought she’d mellowed out a bit after getting married.’

On her wedding day, Sophia had said to Eloise, who’d come to congratulate her,

“Thanks for coming, even though it must have been hard for you.”

At first, Eloise didn’t understand what she meant by “hard.” But she soon realized—it was a jab at her, implying that it must be painful for someone unlikely to marry to attend such an event.

After that, whenever Eloise visited Camborne for tea, Sophia would always make sure to boast about her married life within earshot.

Eloise just smiled and let it go.

She figured that after envying her all those years as children, if Sophia could finally feel satisfied this way, that was enough.

Besides, getting angry at Sophia’s comments would only hurt herself.

People would just think Eloise was jealous of “married” Sophia.

Anyway, after Sophia got married, they saw each other less and less, so Eloise didn’t care anymore. But to hear this sort of thing again today…

As Eloise was about to say something, the bell rang from the corridor leading to the banquet hall, accompanied by Mrs. Surberton’s voice.

“It’s time for everyone to move to the dining room.”

At that, the people who’d been chatting here and there began to gather in the hall.

Her friends, who had dragged Eloise away, hurried back to their husbands. Sophia did the same.

Sophia glanced at Eloise with a smirk before turning away.

In the past, Eloise would have just laughed it off, thinking Sophia was acting just like Julia.

But Sophia’s words kept echoing in Eloise’s mind.

“Is it really that you ‘don’t know,’ or that you ‘don’t want to know’?”

Sophia’s reasoning was wrong, but the words themselves were true. If Ryan were to develop feelings for either of those two…

‘I don’t want to know.’

If that were the case, she hoped Ryan would never ask her about that woman.

She didn’t want to know what he wondered about, or what kind of expression he’d make thinking about her.

Biting her lip for a moment, Eloise hurried back to Mrs. Surberton’s side.

Ryan was the host today, and Mrs. Surberton was acting as hostess.

Mrs. Surberton began by calling the names of the couples. Mr. Palmer would then escort them inside, and the trained servants would guide them to their seats.

As people entered the banquet hall, they checked the name cards on the table and sat down.

Everyone looked at Julia’s and Patricia’s names across from Ryan, their faces full of anticipation.

The last people to enter would be those two.

At that moment, everyone’s attention would be on which of the two Ryan would escort to her seat.

‘Who will it be?’

Thinking that, Eloise glanced at Ryan.

In fact, that morning, Eloise had casually asked Ryan which of the two he would escort last.

But Ryan had simply smiled and walked away without answering. So she, too, had no idea whose hand he would take.

As Mrs. Surberton continued to call names, the number of people left in the hall dwindled.

Even as they entered, everyone glanced back, eager to see the resolution to what all of Camborne and Feltham were curious about.

Finally, only Julia and Patricia—the only unmarried women—remained in the hall.

Eloise unconsciously clenched her fist. She was just as curious as everyone else to see whose hand Ryan would take.

Of course, simply escorting someone didn’t mean he had feelings for her.

Still, she didn’t want to see him choosing one of them.

Just as Mrs. Surberton was about to call the name of the woman to enter first,

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone running from the entrance. Then a stranger appeared and shouted loudly,

“Ryan Thornton! I’m here!”