Remzwick quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, Mr. Finch, why aren’t you pressing charges against Betty Roji?”

Noel, who had been chattering cheerfully, suddenly turned serious.

“Where is Betty now?”

“In the temporary jail.”

“She’s still there? I’ve said multiple times I don’t intend to press charges…”

“Look here, Mr. Finch. How can we just let someone go who injured another person with a blade in broad daylight?”

“But I, the victim, don’t want to punish her.”

“Why not?”

“Well…”

Noel hesitated. Remzwick crossed his arms.

“Is Betty Roji pregnant, perhaps?”

Noel shook his head vigorously.

“No, absolutely not. I’m very careful about contraception.”

“Then did she extort money from you? Are you refusing to press charges because you’re afraid your own crimes will come to light?”

“Are you mad? How could I do such a thing to a sweet girl like Betty? I felt so bad because I couldn’t lend her much money…”

Remzwick was dumbfounded.

“So you lent her money and still got treated like this? What on earth happened between you two?”

“Well…”

Noel scratched his head.

“I introduced Betty to another man…”

Remzwick’s eyes widened. Even Ian, who had been silent, looked surprised.

“Another man? Why?” Ian asked.

Noel mumbled hesitantly.

“Lately, Betty’s been insisting on marriage. I told her multiple times—I’d do anything for her, but marriage is off the table. She wouldn’t listen. She said if I kept refusing, she’d club me over the neck and drag me to a priest. Betty’s a lovely, sweet girl, but she’s got the temperament to do something like that.”

“So, to get rid of her, you introduced her to another man?”

“Yes, sir. There’s no better way to shake off a clingy woman. Unlike men, women forget their old love the moment they meet a better man. Only men weep over past loves. Women’s instincts are cold and practical.”

“I don’t agree,” Ian said, thinking of his devoted and faithful wife, dismissing Noel’s words.

“It’s just my opinion, so feel free to ignore it. Anyway, I made a list of young men in the manor who liked her and scored them carefully. I told her Roman, one of the footmen, would be the best husband. He’s plain-looking but has no parents or siblings to support, has savings, and is responsible. I also told her if she needed someone to walk her down the aisle as a father figure, I’d gladly do it. She doesn’t have a father, you know.”

“Good heavens,” Ian sighed.

Remzwick covered his face and let out a groan.

“Sir, and you, butler, I did it entirely for Betty’s sake. What would a blooming young woman like her do married to an old man like me? By the time she’s thirty, I’ll be hobbling with a cane.”

Remzwick gave him a pitying look.

“Did it never occur to you that you shouldn’t have started a romance with such a blooming young woman in the first place?”

“Well, that’s… a different matter…”

“What’s different about it?” Remzwick, the old bachelor, retorted.

Noel pleaded, “Butler, I’m a man sent by God to give the women of this land a taste of pleasure, even if just for a moment. Poor Barbara didn’t understand that and became my wife, only to die miserably. It was my fault for defying divine providence by marrying. I’ve lived since then focusing only on love, never repeating that mistake. Love is my heaven-sent duty. You can’t condemn me on moral grounds.”

“For a man sent by God, Betty Roji wielding a kitchen knife at you suggests she’s bound for hell,” Ian said, sneering at the aging femme fatale.

“She’ll be saved if she truly repents. She’s not a bad woman at heart,” Noel replied.

“Betty’s heart isn’t exactly pure,” Remzwick declared, having observed her for two years.

Noel couldn’t strongly deny it.

Ian sighed softly, rubbing his furrowed brow with his fingertips.

“You’re a useful man, Noel. That’s why I’ve overlooked your romantic escapades. But as a result, there was a stabbing in the servants’ dining hall at Whitefield. I hear the place was a bloodbath.”

Noel’s head drooped.

“I won’t make any more exceptions. If you keep seducing maids, you’re fired. Understood?”

“…Yes, master,” Noel agreed glumly. Whatever his beliefs, he needed to keep his job. God might have given him a mission, but He didn’t provide food to live on. Whitefield’s high salary and good treatment were too valuable to lose.

“One more thing,” Ian added, addressing Noel, who was now pondering where to find his next romantic pursuit.

“Press charges against Betty Roji.”

“…Betty, sir?”

Ian’s cold silence confirmed it. Noel was troubled. Though he lay there with his stomach slashed by her hand, he still felt affection for her—an affection rooted in physical intimacy, far removed from societal ethics.

“There’s no mercy for someone who caused a stabbing on my land, in my manor. If you don’t press charges against Betty Roji, I’ll fire you along with her.”

Noel’s face looked like he might cry. He didn’t want to punish Betty, but he had no choice. While it was hard for an employer to find a conscientious land agent, it was equally hard for Noel to find an employer like Ian Dalton.

Noel covered his face with both hands.

“Oh, I begged her so many times to quit drinking…”

Remzwick supported his master.

“At least she won’t drink in prison. It’s an assault charge, so the sentence will be around ten years at most. Prisons are for reform, so by the time she’s released, she might be a new person, no?”

Noel sighed heavily, then nodded.

“I’ll do as you say, sir.”

Ian stood up.

“Contact me when you’re ready to return to work.”

“Yes, sir. Safe travels.”

Ian turned and walked toward the door. As he and Remzwick were about to cross the threshold, Ian turned back.

“Noel.”

Noel, head bowed, slowly looked up.

“How old was your wife when she died?”

“Thirty-two.”

Ian’s expression remained steady, but Remzwick, standing close, noticed the subtle tightening of his master’s lips.

The wooden floor of the dining hall, once a bloodbath, still bore stains even after a thorough cleaning, constantly reminding people of the horrific incident. But soon, thanks to diligent servants like Deborah and Susan Donovan, who sprinkled sand and scrubbed twice daily, the bloodstains vanished entirely.

With the stains gone, the incident with Betty Roji faded from memory, and Whitefield Hall regained its peace, albeit with slight changes.

Noel’s leave of absence made the servants’ lives a bit duller, but something amusing took its place. Remzwick began visiting Noel weekly, bringing baskets of rice pudding made by Philip.

Many servants wondered why the butler, who clearly didn’t like Noel, was doing this. The answer remained unknown, as only Remzwick and Ian knew that Noel had praised the butler to his brother-in-law, Billy.

Remzwick often thought back on that moment and smiled to himself. Though he seemed indifferent to others, he was, in truth, an ordinary man who could be touched and hoped to be liked.

To make up for his past pettiness, Remzwick diligently visited Noel with rice pudding. Billy Hill, a kind young man, warmly welcomed the old butler, as he loved his brother-in-law and was delighted to see someone Noel had praised.

Noel, however, was flustered whenever Remzwick visited. He had indeed told Billy multiple times to emulate Remzwick, whose resolute, quiet demeanor and dedication to work were exemplary for any man.

Noel wanted Billy, whom he raised like a son, to grow into a serious, substantial man like Remzwick, not a clownish flirt like himself. But Remzwick wasn’t easy to deal with, especially now, when Noel was bedridden from his injury. He believed the butler was visiting to lecture him about Betty.

Yet Remzwick wasn’t the rigid, old-fashioned man he was at Whitefield Hall. He shared manor news, read the newspaper to the immobile Noel, or even fed him pudding. His hidden kindness shone through in his attentive care.

It’s human nature to soften when someone does even one kind thing after many slights. Noel, teary-eyed, ate the rice pudding Remzwick fed him.

In truth, Noel didn’t hate Remzwick. Though he was born lacking seriousness, paradoxically, this drew him to heavy, intelligent people. His first and only wife, Barbara, had been an intellectual, diligent woman who complemented his clownish nature. For similar reasons, he found himself warming to Remzwick.

In Noel’s rented home, far from the workplace, a cautious friendship was budding between two men of opposing natures.

But their friendship was a minor event compared to the return of the Dalton couple.