Daniel raised both arms and cheered loudly.

George, who returned late, slumped down in frustration upon hearing that his brother had won first place.Laura lifted George up and gently encouraged him.George was upset for a while but didn’t rush to punch his brother or anything like that.

Not only did he not want to show such behavior in front of the teacher, but with Uncle Ian sitting beside the teacher, his eyes wide open, it was something he couldn’t even dream of doing.

After playing the word search game, it was soon time to eat dinner again.The four of them walked toward the mansion.They passed through a field where the shadows cast under the grass grew darker, heading toward the mansion bathed in orange light.

At dinner, Laura sat across from him, eating and naturally moving with the family to the living room.Mr. Fairfax went downstairs to clean the firearms used while hunting today, but the rest of the family gathered in the living room.

Olivia played the piano energetically, practicing,while Ian taught George and Daniel how to play billiards.Laura held the embroidery frame for Mrs. Fairfax.The peaceful evening was filled with the sound of the piano and the occasional clack of billiard balls.

Laura, relying on the lamplight, asked Mrs. Fairfax, who was moving her needle:

“Does Mr. Dalton often come to sketch?”

Mrs. Fairfax glanced at Mr. Dalton and nodded.

“It’s been his lifelong hobby.”

“Since when has he been drawing?”

“Probably since right after I got married, so when he was eight.He could come to Dunville Park to play whenever he wanted, but not every day.When he was left alone at Whitefield Hall, he had nowhere to focus his mind, so he immersed himself even more in drawing.Thanks to that, he managed just fine after I left.Has he shown you his sketches?”

“Yes.”

“He draws quite well, doesn’t he?”

“It didn’t feel like a hobby at all.”

“Exactly. He’s at a level where he could’ve been a painter if he wanted to.He’s had artistic talent since he was young.If he’d been born a second son, he might’ve become quite a famous painter, but being the eldest of the Dalton family, his greatest talent became just a hobby, which is a pity.Still, he manages the estate quite admirably in his own way.”

“He loves Whitefield so much that not becoming a painter probably isn’t such a great misfortune.”

Mrs. Fairfax looked at Laura.

“I always feel like you understand Ian quite well.”

“It’s not so much understanding… I just spoke as I felt.Whenever he talked about Whitefield, even when we were in London, he always seemed so happy.It wasn’t just about boasting of his wealth.It was like…”

Laura chose her words.

“There was pride and love in it. The kind you’d feel for a child.Living in a place he loves and building it up as his life’s work—I thought Mr. Dalton was quite a fortunate man.”

“In that sense, he is fortunate.Most nobles are indifferent to their estates except when boasting to others.They spend money to decorate and maintain them just to boost their own reputation.But to Ian, Whitefield is like his own blood.It’s his roots, his parents, his comfort, and his happiness.Perhaps it’s the fate of someone born in Whitefield.Once you fall in love with Whitefield’s white forest, you can never escape that love.”

That night, Laura entered her room and sat in a chair.After thinking for a moment, she pulled out her trunk and rummaged through it.Inside the trunk, wrapped in a white lace shawl, was a square object.Laura carefully lifted it and brought it to her desk.She removed the lace shawl.It was a painting of Whitefield that he had once given her as a gift.

Laura gazed at the painting by the lamplight.It felt as though she could see how much he loved Whitefield just by looking at it.

In truth, she had never examined this painting so closely before.After receiving it, she had hung it in the drawing room, and whenever she glanced at it, her complicated thoughts often made her quickly look away.

So this was, in a way, the first time she was truly looking at the painting.She stared at it quietly for about twenty minutes.The forest and mansion, meticulously depicted in every detail.The wave of colors painted over them, so beautiful they dazzled the eyes.

She saw the colors and shapes with her eyes, thought about them with her mind, and soon felt them in her heart.It wasn’t hard to realize what emotions he had painted with.The emotion beyond his remarkable skill.It was love.

A clear realization arose in Laura’s heart.

‘Mr. Dalton really loves Whitefield.’

The moment she realized this, her heart began to pound.It was as if his love had transferred to her.She even felt as though she might fall in love with Whitefield, a place she had never seen.

Thanks to the extensive art education provided to ladies, Laura had a keen eye for paintings.She had seen paintings that accurately depicted objects and others that portrayed nature dreamily and beautifully.

But it was rare to see a painting that made the viewer fall in love with what was depicted.If that was possible, it belonged to the realm of exceptional art.

‘Mr. Dalton is a remarkable artist.’

With that thought, Laura placed the painting on one side of her dressing table.His painting was far too valuable to be kept tucked away in a trunk.

Dunville Park grew greener by the day.Laura spent the morning walking with Olivia and sat on a cool bench, conversing in French.Olivia spoke haltingly in French, and Laura gently corrected her grammar.

When studying French with Laura, Olivia was an obedient student.At first, she had been a bit haughty, but upon seeing that Laura spoke French as fluently as Jeanne, a Frenchwoman, she dropped her arrogant attitude.

Though Olivia had a childish side, she knew how to temper her behavior in front of someone who had what she needed.

Olivia recognized that Laura had many admirable qualities and, setting aside childish jealousy, decided to learn everything she could from her.And Olivia was clever enough to know that what she could learn from Laura wasn’t limited to French.

About forty days after Laura’s arrival, Olivia received an invitation to her friend Lydia’s birthday party.Having focused on her studies and attended fewer social events over the past month, Olivia was excited and got ready early in the morning, heading straight to her friend’s mansion.

Olivia’s friends, seeing her after a month, were astonished.Olivia’s gait had become calmer, and her speech and expressions were as elegant as a noble lady’s.Her friends noticed that something must have caused this change.

And then, when Olivia played Chopin for the birthday girl Lydia and recited a poem in remarkably fluent French, their astonishment grew even greater.

Olivia, feeling her friends’ awed reactions, was secretly delighted.Imitating Laura’s every move over the past month had been for exactly this kind of response.

Olivia didn’t stop there; she shared stories of the social scene she had heard from Laura, completely dominating the atmosphere.All her friends listened to her stories in amazement.The birthday girl, Lydia, was left in the background.

Lydia, a young lady as vain as Olivia, was upset, her cheeks puffing out.But her friends didn’t notice Lydia’s state, as Olivia’s stories about the London social scene were far too captivating.

For young ladies a few years from their debut, nothing was as fascinating as stories of the social scene.Until now, that topic had been dominated by Lydia, who had a cousin who had debuted in London society.

But Miss Christine Salmon, who had been close to Lydia before her debut, had become engrossed in London society and only kept in touch with Lydia through occasional letters.Lydia’s knowledge of the London social scene was limited to a few lines of updates Christine sent every couple of weeks.

Compared to Lydia’s information, Olivia’s stories were detailed and unlike anything they had heard before.Olivia told them about the habits and preferences of people they had only read about in newspapers, who was currently dominating the social scene, and how they were subtly building their influence behind the scenes.

Olivia’s friends listened with their mouths agape.When Olivia paused to sip her tea, Rebecca, sitting nearby, asked:

“Olivia, where did you hear all these stories?”

To lend credibility to her stories, Olivia answered honestly:

“I told you before, didn’t I? About the new governess at our house.That’s Miss Laura Pendleton, from the Pendleton family.”

“Oh, the great noble Pendleton family from Cornwall?Their daughter is your governess?”

“Yes.”

“To have such a distinguished lady as your governess, that’s amazing!”

The girls burst into admiration.But then, Lydia, who had been quietly listening, spoke up:

“Oh, you mean the Pendleton lady who was close to my cousin?”

“Close? When I mentioned Miss Christine Salmon to Miss Pendleton, she said she was just one of the ladies who occasionally came for tea.”

Olivia’s response was casual, but Lydia was offended, feeling her cousin was being belittled.Lydia retorted sharply:

“Well, you could say that.My cousin doesn’t need to know someone like Miss Laura Pendleton.Why would she bother being friends with someone like that and risk tarnishing her reputation?”

Olivia was surprised by the sudden disparagement of Miss Pendleton and, oddly, felt offended.

“What? What’s wrong with Miss Pendleton?”

“You know, don’t you? About Miss Pendleton’s background.”

Olivia, of course, had no idea, but admitting ignorance here would be embarrassing.Hiding her unease, she quickly replied:

“What’s wrong with that?”

“‘What’s wrong with that?’ Wow, that’s surprising.Honestly, I think it takes incredible courage to have someone like that as a governess.Your parents must be really open-minded.”