……

“Did you even write a contract?”

“Um, if it’s not too rude to ask, why would you say that…?”

Miss Lotis, deep in thought, smoked her cigar silently.

Leaning back on the sofa, exhaling smoke, there was something captivating about her presence. Laura, out of the blue, wondered if she had a lover. She was quite beautiful, wealthy, and not too old to fall in love. Surely, discerning gentlemen wouldn’t leave her alone.

Finally, Miss Lotis stubbed out her cigar.

“I hear you started preparing for independence around the time you passed marriageable age. You’re a strong woman, Miss Pendleton. If I were twenty-five with no dowry, I’d have shot myself. As I said, I’d rather be a highwayman than a governess, but with these legs, I couldn’t pull that off.”

Her ambiguous tone, part praise, part insult, left Laura flustered again.

Miss Lotis continued.

“But reality is harsh. Whether you graduated top of Grant’s Academy or speak five languages, you’re worth fifty pounds. Can you build a future as a governess?”

Laura shook her head. Before coming to Dunville Park, she’d learned the bitter truth while drifting from one agency to another.

Still, Laura wanted to defend her position.

“I know. Being a governess doesn’t use my skills—it buries them. Many employers make governesses cook, fold laundry, or run errands to the launderer. But this was my only option. And I’ve been true to my choice.”

“So, if you had another option, would it have been different?”

“Pardon?”

“If there were a job paying over two hundred pounds a year, would you take it?”

“…If it wasn’t illegal, didn’t go against my conscience, and wasn’t life-threatening… yes, I would.”

Miss Lotis stared at Laura, her dark eyes gleaming.

“Then let me propose another option. How about becoming a translator?”

Laura’s eyes widened.

“How long would it take to translate the book you’re reading?”

“…Maybe six to eight months…”

“Translating a book of that size pays one hundred fifty pounds. You have a talent for languages and you’re diligent. Jane said so, and I can see it myself. You could be a translator.”

Laura’s body trembled. She marked her page, folded the book, set it aside, and placed her tingling hands on her knees.

“Would a publisher hire someone like me?”

“Someone like you? Who’s that?”

“A woman… with no translation experience…”

“If you’re skilled enough, an editor would hire you even if you were an octopus. Lack of experience doesn’t matter. I know many publishers, and I’ll introduce you to good ones.”

Laura’s face flushed red. Overwhelmed with surprise and gratitude, she lost her usual calm. A new possibility in life was slowly unfolding through an unexpected person.

She stammered her thanks. Then Miss Lotis said,

“I have a duty to help you. As a student of Headmistress Grant, I must uphold her vision. And also,”

Miss Lotis smiled sweetly.

“You helped Jane get work at a publisher. Without you, I wouldn’t have met her.”

At that moment, with a creak, Miss Hyde’s door opened. Jane Hyde emerged, hair in a bird’s nest, loosely wrapped in a robe, rubbing her eyes as she approached the sofa.

“I must’ve slept too late. My head hurts.”

“Probably from the rum you drank last night.”

“I didn’t drink that much.”

As Jane Hyde approached, Miss Lotis moved the cane she’d hung nearby. Jane naturally sat beside her.

“Jane, I just suggested Miss Pendleton try translation work.”

Jane Hyde stopped rubbing her eyes and looked at Miss Pendleton.

“A translator? Wow, that’s perfect for you, Miss Pendleton. You accepted, right? Right?”

Miss Pendleton smiled brightly.

“Three times more than a governess’s pay? Of course.”

Jane Hyde clapped her hands with a delighted expression. Miss Lotis said,

“From now on, I’ll introduce Miss Pendleton to editors I know. We’ll have many meetings, so reserve an extra seat when booking dinners.”

“Yes, Miss Lotis.”

Jane Hyde grinned, then suddenly hugged Miss Lotis tightly around the neck.

“Thank you. Really, thank you, Miss Lotis.”

A faint blush spread across Miss Lotis’s face.

Laura glanced at her face, then looked away. Somehow, her blush felt contagious.

After that, Laura followed Miss Lotis with Jane Hyde. At lectures, signings, and readings, Laura was introduced to many publishers and dined with them.

Miss Lotis presented her as “a prodigy fluent in five languages” and “a talent with scholarly insight rivaling an Oxbridge graduate.”

Publishers, sensing Miss Lotis’s intent to launch her as a translator, eagerly competed to contract Laura’s manuscripts. Rumors swirled that Miss Lotis was parting with her current publisher and seeking a new one.

Laura carefully chose a work to start her career.

Soon, a suitable manuscript appeared: an essay collection by a German priest. The publisher offered one hundred pounds for the translation.

Laura flipped through the original, thinking,

‘This, I could finish in two months.’

Confidence swelled in her heart. She felt stronger than ever. Now, she could escape poverty on her own strength, living without want, relying neither on luck nor chance.

In the presence of Miss Lotis and Jane Hyde, Laura signed the formal contract.

“Hooray!”

As they stepped onto the street, Jane Hyde threw her arms up and shouted robustly. Passersby glanced at her.

Laura, holding the contract, blushed—not from embarrassment, but joy. If she were less refined, she’d have shouted “Hooray!” louder than Jane.

“Our Miss Pendleton will be rich! Living in a grand house, driving a four-wheeler, with servants galore!”

“It’s too soon to say. I’ve only just signed for my first book.”

Miss Lotis shook her head.

“Work steadily for ten years, and it’ll happen as Jane says. Translation skills are highly valued in publishing.”

Laura’s heart raced. Though she thought it unwise to be overly optimistic about a future yet to come, her heart fluttered with excitement. As expected earnings grew, her lingering fears about the future melted away.

The three walked slowly along an orange-tinted sidewalk as the sun set.

Miss Lotis suggested,

“On a day like this, going straight home feels wrong. Shall we stop somewhere for dinner?”

Laura answered in a far brighter voice than usual.

“Let’s go to ‘Beatrice.’ I’ll treat tonight.”

They headed to the renowned Italian restaurant ‘Beatrice.’ But at half-past five, the tables were already full. The manager apologized, saying it’d be an hour before a table opened.

They considered other options. But on a celebratory day like this, eating at a mediocre restaurant felt wrong—a shared sentiment.

They put their names on the waitlist and headed to the nearby mineral water hall.

The mineral water hall, a Bath landmark, offered free mineral water. Its spacious, beautiful building was ideal for socializing or making appointments.

Arriving, they each took a pretty cocktail glass of mineral water and strolled through the central hall, bustling as usual.

Tired of the crowd, they settled by a quiet window and chatted lightly while sipping their drinks.

Laura spoke of the future. She wanted to translate at least three books a year. Combined with her father’s inheritance, that would suffice for a comfortable life.

“Maybe in ten years, I could start a small school in the countryside. Teaching children by day and translating by evening would be deeply fulfilling.”

Jane Hyde replied eagerly,

“With your skills, you could send every farmer’s child to Oxbridge. You’re a born teacher.”

As the two chatted excitedly, Miss Lotis remained silent. About thirty minutes later, she called them in a low voice.

“Someone’s watching us.”

Their eyes widened as they looked at her.

“Who?”

Jane Hyde asked.

“I don’t know. But I feel someone’s gaze. They’ve been staring for thirty minutes without looking away.”

“Maybe a fan of yours, Miss Lotis? Wanting to approach but hesitant because you’re with company…”

Laura offered cautiously. Miss Lotis shook her head.

“A fan would’ve asked for an autograph by now. I’d wager it’s a man.”

Her face showed clear displeasure.

“Perhaps a gentleman smitten with one of us. Probably you, Miss Lotis, the most beautiful among us.”

Laura tried to lighten the mood, but Miss Lotis’s expression didn’t soften.

Jane Hyde spoke up.

“Let’s head back to the hotel. If we take a hired carriage right away, they won’t follow.”

They quickly left the mineral water hall, hailed a passing carriage, and headed to the Laurelia Hotel.

Back at their lodging, they gathered in the parlor, pondering. Who was watching, and why so persistently?

They couldn’t know who. Bath was teeming with people, half of them men.

But as for why, Miss Lotis was certain it was some unsavory motive.

“If a gentleman’s interested in a lady, he approaches directly. Staring for over thirty minutes from one spot? That’s either impure motives or a deranged mind.”

Laura didn’t think so extremely but understood her unease. A man’s gaze could sometimes signal danger for a woman.

Jane Hyde rubbed her chin, thinking.

“Which of us was the target? Miss Pendleton? Me? Or Miss Lotis?”

“Maybe all three.”

At Miss Lotis’s words, Laura shuddered.

“All three? That’d be a truly mad person.”