Usually, around this time, the weather was always clear and bright, a continuation of summer days.

At midday, the sun was so strong that everyone sought shade, but under the shade, the coolness made people put on a light outer garment—what many considered the most ideal summer weather in Albion.

But since yesterday, dark clouds had been steadily gathering in the sky, and today, even at noon, it was so dark that lamps had to be lit.

“It looks like there’s going to be a big downpour.”

Ryan, who was sitting in the drawing room playing chess with Philip, grumbled as he looked up at the sky.

Julia, sitting next to him, quickly chimed in.

“Sometimes it does pour down. I just hope it doesn’t rain too much. I’m worried about the bridge at the entrance to the village.”

At those words, Ryan remembered the bridge he always crossed when traveling between Blissbury and Feltham.

“Is there a problem with the bridge?”

“Yes. It’s quite old, and since it’s not made of stone, it shakes badly every time the water rises.”

She continued her story without pause.

“When we were children, everyone used to catch fish and play under that bridge. Because it was shaded beneath, there was no better place to play in the summer. I always…”

As always, Julia began to share her stories.

Usually, it was Richard who listened to Julia’s chatter.

But perhaps tired of her endless talking, he had gone out alone early that morning, saying he wanted to look around the area.

Because of that, Julia was left alone and eventually ended up in the drawing room with Ryan and Philip.

Normally, Eloise and Abigail would have been there too.

Ryan glanced over at the chair where Eloise always sat reading. It was empty now.

Unable to hide his disappointment, Ryan turned his head, and Philip was in a similar state.

He looked at the chair next to Eloise’s, the one with small scratches on the armrest from crutches.

That was always Abigail’s seat.

“…It may not be the sort of thing a proper lady should do, but who would refuse to play in the cool shade? So…”

Julia’s story continued, but Philip interrupted with a question.

“Did Miss Abigail join in those games too?”

“Huh? Oh, my sister… It was hard for her to join in.”

Normally, people would ask Julia more about herself, but when Philip immediately brought up Abigail instead, Julia trailed off awkwardly.

Thud.

At that moment, something hit the window.

Tap. Thud.

The sound quickly grew more frequent. The three looked toward the window. The dark clouds had finally begun to release rain.

…

“Ugh…”

Abigail, who had tried to stand, let out a groan and collapsed onto her bed. Sweat was pouring down her forehead as if it were raining.

Normally, she would never sweat like this inside Blissbury, but perhaps because the rain had started, the air was unusually damp.

Moreover, there was still a lingering heat, so even a little movement made sweat bead on her skin.

As Abigail panted, Eloise quickly wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief.

“It looks like the rain will last a while, so don’t push yourself.”

Eloise glared at the dark sky, now pouring rain, with a look of resentment.

Whenever heavy rain or snow was coming, Abigail always felt a twisting pain in her leg.

So when Abigail was suffering, the Ogilvy maids would hurry outside to bring in all the laundry, and the servants would gather the livestock back into their pens.

“At least I can be helpful this way.”

Abigail would say this playfully, but after the rain began, she would be so ill she couldn’t leave her bed.

Eloise knew this well and had stayed by Abigail’s side, nursing her since yesterday.

Originally, it was Julia’s job as her sister, but Julia had made excuses and kept leaving the room.

Eloise didn’t point this out. She actually felt more comfortable caring for Abigail herself.

“Besides, it’s my first time staying at Blissbury this long!”

She remembered how happy and excited she had been when she first stayed at the mansion for an extended period.

And with Richard to keep her company, Julia was enjoying herself even more.

Perhaps thanks to this, Julia had softened her attitude toward Eloise for a while.

“Eloise, I’m sorry, but could you help me just one more time?”

At that moment, Abigail, sitting on the bed, bit her lip and tried to stand up again.

Eloise shook her head.

“Don’t push yourself. What if you get even worse?”

At those words, Abigail lowered her head.

She knew better than anyone that forcing herself to walk would only make her body hurt more.

But Abigail clenched her fist and tried to stand up again.

“Ah!”

But she staggered and fell straight to the floor.

“Abigail!”

Startled, Eloise hurriedly lifted her up and helped her back onto the bed.

“Why do you keep trying to get up? You should just stay in bed and rest today…”

“No! I want to go downstairs too…”

Abigail shouted, then was surprised by her own voice and fell silent.

Eloise was also startled and widened her eyes for a moment. Then she realized why Abigail was so determined to get up and looked away.

It had already been a week since the summer event ended.

Since that day, Abigail had continued to stay at Blissbury.

Publicly, she said she was staying to help tidy up after the banquet and keep the guests company until she could comfortably return home.

That wasn’t a lie. But she had already rested enough to go home, and all the cleanup was finished, so the temporary staff had all returned home.

The only task left was to keep the gentlemen from the capital company.

Abigail was very diligent about this duty. The only problem was that she spent most of her time with Philip.

In fact, it wasn’t really a problem.

Philip didn’t seem to mind her attention. On the contrary, when Abigail wasn’t around, Philip would go looking for her.

Before long, he had become as adept at helping Abigail as Eloise was.

Thanks to him, Abigail was able to walk through parts of Blissbury’s garden she’d never dared to visit before.

She had to walk very slowly and rest many times, so it took much longer than it would for others, but Philip never showed any sign of annoyance and always stayed with her.

Seeing this, Eloise tried not to intrude when the two were together.

Eloise wasn’t lonely, either.

“What are you doing?”

Whenever she was alone, Ryan would come looking for her, as if he’d been waiting.

“Abigail.”

Eloise sat by her friend, covering Abigail’s clenched fist with her own hand.

“If you push yourself now, you’ll have an even harder time getting up after the rain stops.”

“I know. I know, but…”

Abigail gripped her fist in silence for a long time.

It was the first time Eloise had seen her friend so frustrated by her own physical limitations.

Eloise stroked the back of her hand as if to show she understood.

At that moment, they heard the sound of a horse approaching from outside.

Eloise stood and looked out to see Richard, who had gone out in the morning, returning.

But his expression was unusual.

…

“Sir Cameron! Oh my, you’re soaked! Mrs. Parker, could you please bring a towel?”

Julia, flustered, greeted him. Richard wiped his wet hair and face with the towel Mrs. Parker brought, then spoke urgently.

“Where is Ryan?”

“In the drawing room with Sir Osborne…”

Before Julia finished speaking, Richard hurried to the drawing room. When he entered, Ryan and Philip had already stood up, having heard his urgent footsteps.

“What’s wrong?”

Ryan asked, and Richard replied in a grave voice.

“The water is rising fast. It’s not just the rain here. Dead animals and debris are flowing down the river.”

He glanced at the sky, filled with dark clouds, and continued.

“Those clouds must have already dropped a lot of rain upstream, and now it’s reached here. With rain starting here too, the river level will rise even more.”

At his words, Ryan and Philip’s expressions grew tense.

All three were soldiers, so when they looked at the local map, they immediately understood.

If the river flooded, Feltham was in a location that would easily be submerged.