“Hi, Trevor. “

“It’s been a long time, young lady. Congratulations on your marriage. I wasn’t able to pick you up yesterday. For that, I’m sorry.”

Opal entered the study and greeted the land manager Trevor, who was working.

He raised his sunburned face and laughed until wrinkles formed around his eyes.

“I’m sorry too because I came back suddenly and without notice. And thank you for the congratulation.”

“Was there any problem?”

“No, everything was great here. Thanks!”

“Oh, well. That’s very good to hear.”

Trevor also moved his seat across from Opal, who was sitting on the study couch.

Trevor always gave her cool and accurate advice.

Butler Alton and housekeeper Marcia are the same.

At that time, a knocking sound was heard and Marcia brought in tea with confectionary.

“Thank you, Marcia. My favorite muffin with orange peel!”

“That’s right. If I don’t give you this, the lady patisserie won’t leave the kitchen.”

“I’m not a child anymore.”

“It’s fortunate that the Duke thinks so.”

With that said, Marcia leaves the study while laughing.

Trevor sighed as he watched the conversation between the two.

“If you tell Marcia that you have problems, she’ll get into the duke’s mansion, and do anything to get you justice.”

“Don’t scare me. I think she really might do it.”

Opal, shivering on purpose, laughs, drinks the tea, and eats the muffins.

Trevor was silently drinking tea and waiting for Opal to start talking.

“Well, this marriage was decided between my father and the Duke.”

“So, it’s a political marriage.”

“Yes, there was no room for rebuttal from my side. Then, there was a rushed ceremony and I got married to the Duke…. he… is my husband…, of course, but him and his servants, treat me as an intruder, and there’s another woman in the master’s bedroom, and he’s angry at me… for asking an explanation.”

“That’s terrible. I’d like to scream my lungs out at the Duke’s mansion, without any regret.”

“Trever?”

Opal laughed in spite of the plain answer, but his remarks were not like him.

Trevor raises one eyebrow.

“I’m still taking care of you, our young lady.”

“… Thank you, Trevor. However, in the master bedroom there’s a woman who has lived in the Duke’s House since childhood, but she doesn’t seem to be able to live much longer.”

“Even if you say so, the Duke is already married, so I can’t think of it as some logical, permissible or correct fact with common sense.”

“Yeah … well, that’s true, but at first I didn’t know and asked, is she your mistress? And my husband and the servants were enraged at my question. Isn’t it better for me to know how is the situation to find the best possible solution? I thought they didn’t want to answer, so I didn’t show my face anymore, and I decided to live in the attic. “

“How did you feel about living in the attic?”

“Okay. It was not a very comfortable place, but it was calm.”

Originally it was a terrible and miserable experience, but Opal doesn’t make you feel it in her tone.

Obviously, Opal isn’t hurt by what happened.

But Opal shouldn’t need Trevor’s time just to complain.

So Trevor asked seriously.

“So what’s the biggest problem for you now, young lady?”

“… As I said earlier, this marriage is a political and contractual one. My dowry repaid the Duke’s debt and my father’s wedding gift will cover my immediate living expenses.”

When Opal confided the marriage agreement, Trevor opened his eyes.

Apparently it was unexpected, or something was strange about it.

“Is the Duke a gambler?”

“I don’t think so… My father should have say me if he was, but he didn’t say anything. “

“Hmm. That’s also strange. If I was the Duke, and had his territory… I wouldn’t be afraid of being a debtor…”

“A few years ago there was a drought?”

“Yes. That was a devastating blow to the whole country, but a Duke has a considerable good reserve and could have regained his loses in a year.”

“It looks like there was a flood the next year, followed by pest damage.”

“In the Duke territory? I am always paying attention to the weather in other territories as well as the territories progress, but flood damage and pest damage occurred in other areas, not near the Duke.”

Trevor rejected one after another, every time Opal told him of the reasons she heard for the Duke bankruptcy.

After a long list of denied facts, Opal put the two records she had brought on the table.

“this is?”

“The territory management record at the Duke’s House.”

“Are you sure to show me such an important thing?”

“My husband said, it’s like you bought everything, so you can take whatever you want.”

“Oh, well.”

Trevor laughs at Opal that proudly raises her chin.

She’s strong.

Trevor was also interested in managing the territory of other family, and he did not hesitate to pick up the old record.

And go through it easily.

Occasionally the pagination stopped, but he did not spend much time to resume working on another page.

He really wanted to read it carefully, but now is in a hurry because Opal is waiting.

However, his movements slowed down considerably at the middle of the book.

He furrowed his eyebrows, and went back and forth several times over a page, then he goes ahead to the next page, follow the letters with the fingers and sometimes think deeply over something he has read.

Meanwhile, Opal was waiting while drinking tea.

Eventually Trevor left the record over the table and exhaled.

“It’s fraudulent.”

“Is that all?”

“Did you notice already?”

“No, not at all. I just thought something was wrong. So I wanted to talk to you Trevor.”

“Hmm. I have to check the weather records for the past few years to get an accurate picture. Can you give me some time?”

“Of course. I’m sorry, Trevor. I’ve brought you extra work.”

“What do you say. As I said earlier, I’ll always take care of our young lady. However, if you say anything to the Duke before we gather the evidence, he won’t believe you and be enraged at you again. We’ll bring to light this injustice. So give me some time.”

“… Thank you, thank you!”

“I’ll call you young lady when I get the evidence.”

(You should laugh, not cry here. I told myself.)

Opal smiled and left the study.

Translated by Djurasico (dot) home (dot) blog