“My father fell in love with my mother first. But my mom has never been arrogant to him. She always says ‘thank you’ to him. Actually, she even says, ‘I’ve never been happier, and it’s all thanks to you,’ quite often,” she said.
“Really?”
“Yep. I want to be just like my mom. She’s always beautiful, you know? The way she thinks is beautiful, too. Well, beautiful isn’t the right word… It’s hard to describe.”
“I know what you mean, though. Miss Victoria’s really wonderful. I’m sure you’ll grow up to be just like her, Nonna.”
Nonna looked up at Clark with a huge grin on her face that one could hardly call ladylike.
As the two of them reached the first floor, a cheerful voice called out from their right.
“Well, if it isn’t Nonna! What a coincidence. Do you like the opera?”
“Good afternoon, Master Maynard. Master Clark invited me here today.”
The young man who’d spoken to Nonna was someone Clark knew—the eldest son of Marquess Grove. He was very intelligent and loved horseback riding, and he had, in fact, won many equestrian competitions. He also had a reputation for being popular with the young noblewomen in their circle. He’d approached Nonna several times at tea parties. Clark couldn’t give an icy glare to the eldest son of a marquess, a fact that frustrated him to no end.
He’s two years younger than me, Clark recalled.
“Hi there, Clark. You’ve been friends with Nonna since you were kids, right? I’m envious. I wish I could’ve had such a pretty friend when I was little.”
Clark wasn’t sure how to respond, so he just gave the boy an awkward grin. Meanwhile, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nonna plaster a smile on her face. She always wore this expression when speaking with someone she wasn’t comfortable with, and once Clark noticed she was doing it, he felt relieved.
“Master Maynard, I wouldn’t want to make your friend wait.”
“Oh, right. I hope you’ll come to the opera with me sometime, Nonna. If you’ll excuse me.”
Nonna politely bowed to the young girl who was presumably there with Maynard. The girl just stared back at them with open hostility, but her face melted into a smile once Maynard returned to her, and then the two of them left.
“Let’s go, Nonna.”
“Okay. Hey, Master Clark? Can we stop by that bakery on the way home? You know, the one we ate apple pie at a long time ago. Do you remember it?”
“Of course I do. Let’s go. It’s been ages since I had some apple pie.”
Nonna hooked her arm through Clark’s as if it was the most natural thing in the world, making his heart pound and his chest grow warm.
Upon arriving at the bakery, Nonna and Clark ordered some apple pie and tea, then started chatting while they waited for their snack.
“Did you know that Master Maynard has told me twice now that his father is the minister of finance?”
“Oh, at the last tea party?”
“Yep. I was so close to saying, ‘So what?’ but I just gritted my teeth to stop myself. I mean, getting the job of minister of finance is his father’s accomplishment. Master Maynard had nothing to do with it! And I couldn’t help but think, You know, Master Clark hasn’t said that his father is the minister of foreign affairs even once!”
“Yeah.”
The reason Clark didn’t boast about it was because, compared with those of his father, his academic and language skills were sorely lacking.
“You’re so much more dashing than Master Maynard is, Master Clark. You know, Mom always says that it’s foolish to show others the cards in your hand.”
“Is that right?”
The apple pie was sweet and delicious, and as Clark ate it, he couldn’t help but think about where he should invite Nonna out to next.
“Do you want to go out again sometime, Master Clark?”
“Of course. Let’s figure out where we can go next time together.”
“Okay!”
After dropping off Nonna, Clark went home feeling quite happy.
“Welcome back, Clark. Well, did you enjoy the opera?” Eva asked.
“Yes, Mother. Very much so.”
“Would you like to join me for tea?”
“No, thank you. I want to research a law that was recently enacted in Randall. Next time, though.”
Clark was busy.
There were many obstacles he would have to overcome to become the future prime minister, including his status, ability, and social connections.
He was happy to do the work if it meant he could protect Miss Victoria and Nonna, so no matter how much research and studying he did, he never considered it a struggle. He was slowly making his way toward his goal, step-by-step.
Jeff read a letter that had just arrived, then called over to me. “Anna, we got a notice that the renovations to the medicine workshop have been completed.”
“Wow, that was sooner than I expected. Maybe I’ll go over there and take a look at it today.”
“Make sure you take a guard with you,” he said.
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
Ever since Will Zachary and Auri had broken into our house, Jeffrey had been very nervous about Nonna and me going out. Honestly, if something was to happen to me while I was out and about, it would be more convenient for me not have the guards around, but I decided that going along with the arrangement was easier, as it put Jeff at ease.
“Riley, Lewis? Would you mind accompanying me as guards today?” I asked.
“Leave it to us, Lady Asher.”
Jeff had hired new guards for our family. Riley was a thirty-five-year-old married man, skilled in both swordsmanship and martial arts. Lewis was twenty-eight and a bachelor who excelled at wielding blades of all sizes. At first, the pair had pinned their hopes on sparring with Nonna and me, but Jeff had refused to give them permission, saying, “It would be a huge blow to your confidence to lose to your employer’s wife and daughter, so please put it off for now.”
Nonna had frowned when she heard that and secretly came to me to complain. “What’s the point in having guards like that, then, Mom?”
“To show everyone we have people protecting us, basically. Avoiding unnecessary conflicts before they happen is very important. Jeff’s right on this one, I’m afraid,” I said.
“We don’t even need guards. Shouldn’t we spend that money on something else?” she asked.
“No, Nonna. If you and I go out alone together, we would be targeted—I guarantee it. And I don’t have the patience to deal with every single person who wants to challenge us.”
“Hmph.”
Riley and Lewis were blissfully unaware my daughter and I were having this conversation as they enthusiastically guarded the carriage.
After we arrived at the abbey, Nonna and I took a look around the workshop and discussed with the Mother Superior the number of people who would be employed there, as well as their conditions.
“I agree with you, Mother Eliza. Let’s go ahead and start with ten people. We may be able to hire more staff depending on sales,” I said.
“This will be such a great help, Lady Asher. This workplace will be a safe haven for women who have run away from their husbands,” she said.
The renovated workshop’s walls were painted a light yellow, and the ceiling was white. The workshop was divided into four rooms, which would give ten people plenty of space to work.
We bid farewell to the Mother Superior, then headed to our next destination: the tract of land where our sheep farm would be.
The fence enclosing the vast farmland was finally complete, along with the barn where the sheep could shelter at night. Now all we needed to do was obtain the animals themselves.
We’d also had a small house built next to the barn for our farmhands to reside in.
“I thought you wanted to live here, Mom?”
“I do, but it doesn’t have to be now. I’ll save that for Jeff and me once we’re done raising you, Nonna.”
“I don’t have to get married, you know.”
“Heh-heh…”
“What is it, Mom?”
“I used to think the same thing—that I didn’t have to get married. But, Nonna, someday, you might meet someone you do want to marry.”
Suddenly, Nonna threw her arms around me. “But I want to stay with you forever, Mom.”
“I want that, too. But you might meet someone you care for even more than me.”
“That will never happen.”
“Oh? I’ll just have to enjoy being with my sweet Nonna as much as I can, then.”
“Sounds good to me!”