Watching Richard, who naturally took it upon himself to see off the last guest, Ryan thought to himself.

Tonight, he wouldn’t let this guy off the hook.

As soon as Richard met Ryan’s gaze, he flinched. It seemed he sensed that Ryan’s mood was anything but normal.

Ryan wanted nothing more than to immediately bark at the two of them to follow him inside, but Eloise was still in the entrance hall.

She was beautifully dressed, yet hadn’t attended the banquet tonight.

Of course, it was because of these unexpected visitors.

‘She was supposed to sit beside me.’

Eloise was one of the hosts, so she had been set to sit next to Ryan.

‘Though, she seemed much more concerned about the seat across.’

Whatever the reason, the banquet table was quite wide.

It was far more natural to speak with the person beside you than to try talking across such a distance.

So, no matter who sat opposite him, Ryan didn’t pay much attention.

Had the banquet gone as planned, everyone would have known that he had no interest in the women seated opposite him.

Instead, he would have spent the evening enjoying conversation with Eloise, who helped organize the event.

‘And tonight’s menu was filled with all her favorites.’

When choosing the menu, the two of them had spent several days sampling Mrs. Parker’s dishes before deciding.

Each time, Eloise ate everything cleanly, leaving nothing behind.

Ryan enjoyed watching her eat.

Young women, in his experience, ate so little that he wondered how they could survive on such small portions.

At the capital’s banquets and dinners, they would only nibble at their food and sip a few drops of wine.

Except for his very early childhood, Ryan had never had women nearby, so he’d thought their eating habits were simply normal.

Then, before attending a capital banquet on Baron Stanford’s orders, he happened to discuss women’s dining habits with Richard.

“Did you really think women lived on that little food?”

Richard had looked at him incredulously at first.

Then he burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.

“Honestly, it’s clear you’ve never dated anyone in your life. Pwahaha!”

Finding it so funny, Richard told Philip about Ryan’s misconception as soon as he came in, and kept laughing.

Philip, too, gave Ryan a baffled smile.

Only then did Ryan learn that women could eat just as much as men, and that at banquets, they deliberately pretended to eat less.

He couldn’t understand why anyone would skip meals when hungry, or why men found eating little attractive.

When Richard and Philip asked if he’d thought his mother was a glutton, Ryan gave a wry smile.

His mother had never eaten much—in fact, she’d never had the chance to eat her fill.

Anyway, after learning that women ate just like men, Ryan found it a pity that people felt compelled to eat so little in public.

“This dish is so strong, it’s hard to pick a wine to match.”

Eloise always ate everything Mrs. Parker served, chewing carefully.

She ate the bread with plenty of butter, finished every bite, and kept drinking wine.

It was the first time Ryan had seen a woman eat so well, so he watched her closely. Her eyes narrowed as if to say, “What are you picking a fight about now?”

But he found her eating amusing, and somehow uplifting, so he kept asking Mrs. Parker to prepare a variety of dishes.

Fortunately, Mrs. Parker was more than willing, eager to show off her skills, and made dishes she hadn’t served at the banquet in years.

As a result, Eloise was the happiest.

She got to eat lots of Mrs. Parker’s best dishes, and, in search of the perfect wine, drank plenty as well.

All the menu selections had been chosen with Eloise in mind.

So, during the banquet, Ryan wanted to talk with Eloise about how “their” choices were getting rave reviews from the guests.

‘Though, really, Eloise chose everything.’

He’d contributed, but Ryan wasn’t picky—unless something was extremely salty or bland, he’d eat anything.

Now that he never skipped meals and worked hard all day, he ate whatever was put in front of him.

The banquet’s refined menu was practically all Eloise’s doing.

So he’d planned to publicly credit her, saying that without Eloise, the banquet couldn’t have happened…

“Richard, Philip. It’s been a while—let’s talk among ourselves.”

His voice grew firm as he called them.

Both men cleared their throats and followed Ryan. Once inside the small drawing room prepared for private conversation, Ryan closed the door and turned to face them.

“Richard Cameron. Philip Osborne.”

His voice was so low it sounded as if it came from the depths of hell. Instinctively, Richard and Philip put their hands behind their backs and stood at attention.

“What exactly are you two doing here?”

“Well…”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes, so answer properly, Second Lieutenant Cameron.”

At being called “Second Lieutenant Cameron,” cold sweat broke out on Richard’s forehead.

Ryan only used rank and surname when truly angry.

“I got summer leave, but had nowhere to go, so I thought I’d visit Sergeant Ryan—no, Colonel—and came here.”

Ryan gave a dry laugh at Richard’s answer.

“Fine, Richard, that’s your story. Philip, why did you join him?”

He’d thought Philip was more sensible, so he was curious why he’d gone along with this reckless visit.

But Philip could only give the same answer as Richard.

‘He’s more annoyed than I expected.’

Honestly, when they’d come, Philip thought Ryan might be annoyed but would be too lazy to actually kick them out.

But seeing him now, it seemed he’d tolerated their presence at the banquet but was ready to send them packing by morning.

“I won’t say it twice. At dawn, you’ll head straight back to Camborne…”

Of course.

Just as the two were bracing themselves to be kicked out—

Knock, knock.

It felt almost miraculous, as if an angel had come to save them at just the right moment.

Ryan glared at them, then opened the door.

Richard and Philip saw it.

“Eloise? What is it?”

Ryan’s face, which had been coldly glaring at them moments ago, changed instantly.

Richard nudged Philip, as if to say, “See that?”

Both men understood at once. The reason Ryan hadn’t returned to the capital and had stayed here so much longer than expected.

Eloise burst out laughing at Ryan’s suggestion to give them the barn key. Clearly, they were close enough friends to joke like that.

“Blissbury has its reputation to uphold—we can’t have guests sleeping in the barn. And I heard from Abigail that you both fell into the marsh and had to borrow clothes from the Ogilvy family.”

At that, Ryan clicked his tongue.

No wonder their clothes didn’t fit right tonight.

“I’ll have water prepared so you can wash properly. As for clothes… Ryan, could you help?”

“I could strip them and throw them out.”

Eloise laughed again at that. They really must be close friends.

Looking at the two men inside, who seemed almost desperate, Eloise spoke.

“If you’re ready, may I show you to your rooms now?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you so much, Miss Surberton.”

The two seized the opportunity, quickly passing Ryan and approaching Eloise.

Ryan’s eyes grew sharper, but the two pretended not to notice.

“You’re welcome. Oh, and—”

Eloise added, as if she’d just remembered.

“Abigail asked me to thank Mr. Osborne for helping her today. She was truly grateful for your help.”

With a gentle smile, Eloise spoke, and the two men looked at her for a moment before turning away.

Then they glanced at Ryan’s face. For the first time, he wore a dumbfounded expression.

Without noticing the atmosphere, Eloise smiled even more brightly at Ryan’s friends and greeted them.

“Once again, welcome to Blissbury. Please make yourselves comfortable during your stay.”