The plump steward slipped out quietly, and Mary had no idea who he’d asked for help, but before long someone came in carrying water. Right in front of her, Mr. Ethys, his face still full of beard a moment ago, peeled off those several strips of false whiskers right off his own face!
To be honest, it was rather startling.
Especially once she saw the face Mr. Ethys had been hiding under all that facial hair, Mary felt even more strongly that this man had no reason at all to come to her. With a face like that, even if he wanted to marry a princess, the princesses would surely be willing.
It had been a long time since anyone had struck her so visibly, and Mary felt that dazzled feeling all over again.
If Jane Bennet’s beauty was gentle, then Mr. Ethys’ beauty was the kind that hit you all at once. It had nothing to do with gender, beautiful things, beautiful people, were simply always something to admire.
Having seen so many faces carefully sculpted into statue-like perfection, only now, looking at the man before her, could Mary tell what natural beauty actually looked like.
If every painter was a kind of creator, then whoever had created Mr. Ethys must have had a particular fondness for him.
The lines of his face, the proportions of his features, they seemed to have been measured with precision. Even if it wasn’t exactly the golden ratio, it came very close.
And then there were his deep blue eyes. When he looked at someone like that, the person being looked at almost felt honored!
Mary blinked. No, no, no, she didn’t feel that way. She just found the man in front of her unbelievably handsome, hardly the sort of thing you’d expect to actually exist.
“Mr. Ethys, if a moment ago I might have considered your proposal, now I’m afraid I have to decline.” That heavily bearded face, though she couldn’t see it clearly, hadn’t seemed like trouble. Having lost all trace of Mr. and Mrs. Richman, Mary really did need to consider the matter of a husband.
But Mr. Ethys, well, perhaps it was best to forget it.
Octavius withdrew his gaze, not entirely sure what he’d been expecting. Perhaps dazzlement, perhaps a scream, but unfortunately, Miss Richman had shown neither.
She had simply refused him, right after he’d shown her this face.
“May I ask the reason for your refusal?” He wasn’t angry, only curious. She’d been staring at him for quite a while, how could this be her reaction?
“Mr. Ethys, I’m looking for a husband to build a life with, not to invite trouble. I’m sorry, this isn’t meant as an attack.” Mary added the clarification specifically. “Thank you very much for coming.” Let the matter end here.
“I see, but Miss Richman, the worry you have simply doesn’t exist.” It was rare to hear that one’s face itself was considered a problem. Octavius stepped a little closer. “Perhaps when I was younger my looks did cause me some trouble, but I’ve long since found a good way of handling that.”
“Miss Richman, what you’re worried about won’t happen.” Even if someone truly did fall for his looks, he had plenty of ways to deal with that.
“As you’ve seen, I can get to the bottom of who you are, and what’s going on with your family, in a very short time, so that’s no obstacle either. Miss Richman, perhaps you don’t realize the benefits of becoming Mrs. Ethys?” Octavius felt it was worth spelling out.
“As Mrs. Ethys, you could go on living in this small village exactly as before. You could go on managing this land exactly as before, I wouldn’t interfere. You wouldn’t even face any pressure to have children, because I have no need of an heir.”
“It sounds like being your wife would be quite simple. But Mr. Ethys, you just said your father intends to arrange a wife for you.” Mary stopped him from continuing, because looking at that face while listening to those words, she could feel herself being swayed, at least a little.
There was nothing to be done about it, she was, after all, only an ordinary person. Even knowing this man who’d shown up at her door had his own motives, that didn’t stop her from enjoying the view a little while she had the chance.
Once she’d had her fill of looking, it was time to refuse him.
Pies didn’t fall from the sky, and even if one did, it wouldn’t land on her [1]nothing good comes without effort (tiān shàng bù huì diào xiàn bǐng, 天上不會掉餡餅) – Proverb, a common saying warning that unearned windfalls don’t simply drop into your … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3180456_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3180456_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Mary had always been practical, she knew exactly what to do.
“Mr. Ethys, I’m just a country girl who’s never seen grand affairs. I couldn’t handle anything too complicated. I’m sorry you’ve made this trip for nothing.” As for the mortgage document, she’d already read it, and he himself had said it was a gift of apology for looking into her without asking.
He hadn’t said so outright, but that was clearly the implication.
Given that, Mary had no intention of handing it back. When it came to sorting out the mess Mr. Richman had left behind, this document might well prove useful.
“No, I haven’t come for nothing.” Octavius did not simply leave after being turned down, if anything, he found this Miss Richman even more interesting now. “Don’t rush to say ‘no’ just yet. The new problem you’ve raised isn’t as complicated as you think.”
The man took another step closer, stopping two paces away.
“Miss Richman, my father may be domineering, but I haven’t listened to him in years. He says what he says, I do as I please, for years now, neither of us has budged an inch.”
“As for what you mentioned about grand affairs, I’ve been absent from those for years myself. So as my wife, naturally, you wouldn’t need to attend them either.” There, problem solved.
Octavius was rather curious whether this Miss Richman had any further objections left. No matter, whatever they were, he’d handle them one by one.
It did sound like a complicated large family, and the relationships among its members probably weren’t great, Mary had no wish to get tangled up in any of it. But clearly, this gentleman wasn’t one to give up easily. Very well, then, she’d try a different approach to bring this to a close.
“To you, Mr. Ethys, all of this may seem trivial. But for me right now, finding a husband is a matter that requires real caution.”
“You already know my parents are both gone, so the husband I choose must be someone reliable. No, I’m not saying you aren’t, but you’re simply too much of a stranger to me. I can’t marry someone I’ve only met twice.”
That was only the first point, Mary wasn’t finished yet.
“I’ve imagined what kind of man my husband might be. He might not be wealthy, or handsome, not a nobleman, not a great landowner. But he’d be a steady, down-to-earth man, willing to help me look after these 200 acres, rather than someone forever longing for the bright lights of London, the way my father Mr. Richman did.”
“Mr. Ethys, what I want is a husband who will stay here.” A man as beautiful as Mr. Ethys clearly wasn’t going to stay in a place like this.
“Ah, now that’s a bit of a challenge.” Octavius blinked his deep blue eyes, hesitating for an instant. “I admit I’ve never considered living here, but since you’ve brought it up, I suppose it’s not something I couldn’t manage.”
“Miss Richman, didn’t you just say we barely know each other? Then over the next few days, let’s stay and get to know one another better.”
“Shh, I need a wife, you need a husband. Why not try getting to know each other? Perhaps we’d suit each other quite well.” And with that, it was settled, he was staying!
Watching the plump steward bustle about with the servants who’d finally come in, Mary had no idea what to say! Who just decided to stay like that, without so much as her consent as the mistress of the house?!
And sure enough, the men accompanying Mr. Ethys were already carrying things in, several trunks had already been moved up to the second-floor guest room.
Behaving like this, how could he possibly be suitable?
Mary didn’t chase him out, she couldn’t have, even if she’d tried. She could see clearly enough now, this gentleman had latched onto her, probably precisely because she’d turned him down.
Well, that made sense, a man like him, having lived twenty-six years, had probably never once been refused by anyone. So it must be quite the sacrifice for him to squeeze into a modest guest room like this.
“Miss Richman, what are you thinking? That my behavior doesn’t respect you as the mistress of this house?” Having chosen his guest room upstairs, Octavius left the rest to his steward and came back downstairs, finding her sitting there drinking tea.
What she was thinking wasn’t hard to guess.
Mary didn’t feel like talking, and honestly didn’t much feel like dealing with him at all.
It was only now that she realized this man had brought people along with him. Besides the plump steward, he’d brought four servants, and that wasn’t even counting the coachman waiting outside!
Knowing full well what she was thinking, he still went ahead and sat down beside her, even pouring himself a cup of tea!
“This tea tastes a bit strange, a little off-putting at first sip, but better now.” Octavius certainly knew what his own behavior looked like to others, but he’d been raised this way his whole life, and he simply didn’t consider other people’s opinions of it.
Of course, Miss Richman was, for now, an exception. If she agreed, she stood to gain a great deal more.
“My behavior may indeed be a bit presumptuous, but once you think about tomorrow, you won’t feel my staying is such a bad thing after all. Tomorrow, when you go to London, having me there beside you will make things go far more smoothly. Whatever your father ought to be dealing with won’t have to fall on you.”
See, now she knew the benefits of it.
Mary glanced at him, she didn’t expect he’d even follow her to London!
“Since we’re meant to be getting to know each other, of course I’ll be with you these next few days. Rest assured, Miss Richman, I’ll only help, I won’t cause trouble.” He promised.
Octavius finished the statement with another sip of tea. Sip by sip, it really wasn’t bad at all, rich and fragrant, and it rather reminded him of the clearly unwilling-to-engage Miss Richman.
“I hope you keep your word.” Hearing about tomorrow’s matter, Mary’s tone softened somewhat. At least, she’d wait until tomorrow’s business was settled before deciding anything further.
If he really could get his hands on the mortgage document, then maybe he really could help. She wasn’t afraid of shouldering the debt Mr. Richman had left behind, but if there was a way out of it clean, who would willingly walk into it anyway?
As for letting him stay the night, at most, that would just cause a bit of talk around Longbourn and Meryton.
If he refused to leave, what else could she do? Both Mr. and Mrs. Richman had already fled, her reputation couldn’t get much worse than that!
“I always keep my word.” Octavius had finally gotten a response, and found himself, oddly, rather pleased about it, a strange feeling indeed.
He watched Miss Richman set down her teacup and walk away, watching her figure recede into the distance. Once tomorrow’s business was settled, he still had two or three days left to stay. He hoped he could get this matter settled within that time.
Otherwise, he might have to resort to methods this young lady wouldn’t much appreciate. After all, out of so many candidates, she was the only one who’d allowed him to call at her door!
Having paid the visit, Octavius found himself all the more satisfied.
Miss Richman had no ambition, didn’t care about his looks, and hadn’t even asked about his family’s affairs. A wife like that was exactly what he needed.
He had until his 27th birthday next year, June 5th, to find a wife himself, less than eight months left. He needed to move faster, he’d already wasted too much time before this.
“Your Highness—”
“There you go again, forgetting not to call me that outside.” Hearing his steward William slip up with the wrong title once more, Octavius waved a hand. “William, I need Miss Richman to agree within these next few days. Help me think of a way.”
So far, that young lady still showed no sign of agreeing. Tomorrow, once they’d been to London, things might improve a little, but there was no guarantee.
“So many people waiting for your nod, and you pick none of them.” The plump steward was still not entirely satisfied with how things were unfolding. Although this whole matter was, in fact, between His Majesty the King and His Highness, gambling on a marriage like this was far too reckless.
How could the daughter of a bankrupt banker possibly become a respected duchess?
“None of those women you found worthwhile before, and now, William, you think Miss Richman isn’t good enough? But I happen to think this young lady couldn’t be better!” The Duke of Cambridge, Prince Octavius, had his own standard for judging such things.
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