Chapter 53

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Last Ball (4)
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Miss Pendleton turned her head toward him.

“Thank you, Mr. Price. I know it would have been much easier for you to speak directly to my uncle. You could have easily used him to pressure me. You have spared me that pain.”

At Miss Pendleton's gentle voice, Mr. Price lowered his head deeply.

“Miss Pendleton, I can hardly believe what I'm hearing. Joan berated me late into the night, but still… truly, have you never, not even once, entertained the thought of marrying me?”

His voice was on the verge of tears. Miss Pendleton steeled her weakening heart.

“Yes, Mr. Price. I am sorry, but it is the truth. I have never thought of you as anything more than my uncle's dear friend.”

At her words, a distant shadow fell over his face.

“So, all this time, I have been making an unimaginable fool of myself before you.”

Miss Pendleton opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it.

“Miss Pendleton, I am utterly ashamed. I am sorry. Truly sorry. I had believed you had feelings for me but were refusing out of propriety. I never imagined it was because you genuinely did not want me. How disgraceful my actions must have seemed…!”

“Mr. Price, please do not blame yourself. This was all born of a misunderstanding, nothing more than a small incident. Forget it. I already have.”

“No. I will never be able to forget. I have never been so rude to a lady in my entire life. I wasn't even like this when I courted Eleanor. I waited three years for her, just as she asked, and won her hand. But I could not do the same for you, Miss Pendleton. I thought there was no reason to wait. I believed your heart was already decided, and that there was no need to waste time.”

“Mr. Price…”

“No, Miss Pendleton, I will not trouble you again after today, so please, hear me out. Allow me a moment to explain myself. Otherwise, I shall die of shame.”

Miss Pendleton calmly closed her mouth. Mr. Price gripped the terrace railing and bowed his head.

“I was thoroughly deceived. By your uncle, Gerald Pendleton. He dangled bait before me to secure an investment for his eldest son's venture. Coming to England made it all clear. Gerald's son is a useless, weak-willed fool. Just like Charles Pendleton. He’s already run several businesses into the ground, terribly shrinking the family's fortune, and now he's trying to start another one. A venture that is completely flawed from its very foundation. And yet, I was still going to invest.”

As he spoke, Mr. Price slammed his fist against the railing.

“The thought of winning you made me lose my senses. To have lived over fifty years and fall for such a ploy. But I was desperate. And seeing you only made me more so. The truth is, I was so worried Gerald wouldn't give you to me that I did everything that scoundrel asked.”

Mr. Price lifted his head and looked at Miss Pendleton. His large, bovine eyes were welling with tears.

“Miss Pendleton, at first, I merely wanted someone to warm the seat beside me. I thought it would be all the better if she were a beautiful young woman from my home country. But, upon meeting you, I truly fell in love with you. Most of my actions were sincere. And what I cannot bear now is not that I cannot have you, but that I have caused you pain.”

Miss Pendleton simply watched Mr. Price. She could feel the sincerity in his every word. She believed that he had genuinely loved her, and still did. It was a pity, for she could never accept his heart.

“Please forgive my uncle, Gerald. And forgive me, for I can do nothing but refuse your heart. I hope you will not suffer long over this matter. As for me, I shall feel nothing but gratitude for your courtship.”

Mr. Price gazed at Miss Pendleton for a moment. Her tender expression and gentle eyes filled his vision. A lingering attachment began to mix with his brimming sorrow.

“Miss Pendleton, I will leave for America tomorrow. And I will never return to England. I am an American man. I may have been born in England, but I am American to the bone. So, before I go, allow me to ask you one last time.”

He turned from the railing and stood facing her.

“Miss Pendleton, will you forget everything that has happened until now and take a ship with me?”

“Mr. Price, that is an impossible request.”

“I am asking you to come not as my wife, but as my friend. I will demand nothing of you. Simply be my companion for an hour each day. In return, I will give you everything I have. I… I simply cannot leave you under the protection of a man like Gerald!”

“Thank you for your concern. However, I do not intend to remain under my uncle Gerald's protection forever. I plan to become independent, if only to protect myself. So please, help me see you off with nothing but gratitude.”

Miss Pendleton politely cut off his proposal. Mr. Price's shoulders slumped.

Realizing there was no hope, he bowed respectfully to her.

“Please forgive my discourtesy up until now, Miss Pendleton. I wish you every happiness.”

With that, Mr. Price departed.

She was left alone on the terrace. Miss Pendleton gazed at the empty space where Mr. Price had been and thought.

*It's all over now.*

Completely over. Mr. Price. And my life as a Pendleton.

When he leaves for America tomorrow, my uncle will find out that I have completely rejected the proposal. I couldn't even imagine how he would react, but one thing was certain. My life as the daughter of an earl was well and truly over as of today.

Mr. Price's words about the Pendleton family's shrinking fortunes. Hearing them, all of my uncle's actions suddenly made perfect sense.

Going all the way to America to find a fiancée for his second son. Trying to offer up his niece to get an investment from Mr. Price. Being so mindful of Miss Jensen. It was all because of the Pendleton family's financial situation.

Mr. Price would likely be furious over this and cancel his investment. The Pendleton family's finances would worsen, and my uncle would surely blame me for it all.

Miss Pendleton recalled her uncle's face as he had stomped on her hand yesterday.

“Ugh…”

She clenched and unclenched her hand, which throbbed at the memory. The swelling had gone down, but a sharp, stabbing pain had persisted throughout the day. She looked at her right hand and thought that something far worse than what had been done to it might be waiting for her.

The thought made her stomach twist with fear. Her uncle's fury, his shouting, his violence. They were all traumas she could not overcome.

Nevertheless, she did not regret refusing Mr. Price's proposal. Accepting it had never been an option on her list.

*Tap—*

As Miss Pendleton was lost in thought, the sound of footsteps reached her ears. The heavy tread of a gentleman's shoes. She glanced absently in the direction of the sound. And then she froze.

There, beside the thick drapery, stood Mr. Dalton.

Miss Pendleton's heart began to race. How long had he been standing there? Could he have overheard her conversation with Mr. Price?

“There you are. I've been looking for you.”

“F-For what reason…?”

Mr. Dalton approached her with a bright, open expression.

“I thought I might get a lesson before I ask another lady to dance later. It would be a disaster if I were to step on the toes of a lady I admire, wouldn't it?”

Mr. Dalton stood before Miss Pendleton, looking at her face with a friendly gaze.

“Please help me, Miss Pendleton.”

Mr. Dalton's expression was full of mischief. His tone was completely unreserved. Miss Pendleton was sure he hadn't heard what had just happened with Mr. Price.

She felt a sense of relief. As the tension faded, she found Mr. Dalton's presence quite welcome. After being steeped in such unpleasant emotions, seeing him cleared her mind.

She smiled gently.

“The terrace is certainly spacious enough. And there's no one here. But the music…”

Just then, the sound of a waltz began to drift from the ballroom. Miss Pendleton smiled.

“Very well. Your hand, please.”

Mr. Dalton extended his hand to her. She placed one of her hands on his and rested the other on his shoulder. Mr. Dalton wrapped an arm around Miss Pendleton's slender waist.

The music filling the ballroom echoed out onto the terrace. The two began to move slowly in time with the music. Miss Pendleton paid close attention to Mr. Dalton's steps.

“You haven't forgotten a thing, Mr. Dalton.”

“Nor have I improved.”

“If you improve any further, the ladies might get the wrong idea. That you're a rake who loves to dance.”

Mr. Dalton chuckled softly. But his eyes were not smiling. They were fixed on Miss Pendleton's face.

“Tell me, Miss Pendleton. Say that I cannot follow the music at all. That if a lady were to dance with me, any favor she held for me would vanish completely. Tell me my sense of rhythm is dreadful, and that if I wish to dance with any lady other than you, I must first become your student for several days and learn nothing but the dance.”

At Mr. Dalton's playful words, Miss Pendleton shook her head.

“Quite the opposite. I do not know which lady you have in mind, but she will only fall deeper for you while dancing with you.”

Miss Lance came to Miss Pendleton's mind.

*Perhaps she is already so deeply in love that she could not possibly fall for you any more than she already has.*