Chapter 72

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: A New Life (3)
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After dinner, the family all moved to the living room. It was time for them to be together. Mr. Fairfax brought out a chessboard, Mrs. Fairfax sat by the fire with her embroidery, and Olivia sat at the piano and began to play.

Mr. Fairfax asked Laura if she knew how to play chess.

“Yes, Mr. Fairfax.”

“Well then, Miss Pendleton, let’s have a game.”

Mr. Fairfax rubbed his palms together in excitement and offered her the chair across the chess table. Laura suddenly found herself sitting across a table from her employer, whom she had met for the first time today, to play a game of chess. Daniel and George sat on either side of the board to watch the match between their father and the new governess.

As Laura moved her chess piece, she felt exceedingly awkward to be included so casually in such a setting. At a time like this, it was customary for an employee to withdraw, no matter how close they were to the family.

But no one in the Fairfax family seemed to find her presence awkward. Not even Olivia, who clearly held some disapproval of her. They all included her in their time together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if she were one of them.

Mr. Fairfax urged Laura to focus on the game. She quickly gathered her wits and concentrated on the black and white chessboard before her.

Mr. Fairfax was intensely curious about the chess skills of the newcomer to his home. For him, hunting with men and playing chess with ladies was his way of assessing a person. Though that assessment was merely a simple means of distinguishing between ‘people he would like very much’ and ‘people he would like less.’

Laura subconsciously realized this was a sort of interview and sharpened her focus. Fortunately, chess was a very familiar pastime for her, as she had played it with her grandmother every evening. She slowly advanced her pieces.

Mr. Fairfax was a man who threw himself earnestly into anything involving a contest. However, he lacked prudence and was somewhat slow-witted. This fatal flaw was of little consequence in activities like hunting, but it was a considerable disadvantage in games like chess that required strategy and tactics.

Unfortunately for Mr. Fairfax, Laura possessed a quick mind and a temperament that rarely got flustered. She soon discerned Mr. Fairfax’s impatient nature and his shortsightedness, unable to see more than two moves ahead, and leisurely moved her pieces.

“Checkmate.”

Not long after they had begun, Laura conquered Mr. Fairfax’s king. Defeated in an instant, Mr. Fairfax looked at Laura with a dazed expression. Then, he rearranged the chessboard and asked for another game.

Over the course of five games, Mr. Fairfax was defeated by the new governess in all but the last two. And even those last two, Laura had discreetly lost for the sake of Mr. Fairfax’s pride.

Two wins out of five. It was a humiliating score, yet Mr. Fairfax was rather pleased. Until now, his only chess opponents had been his young sons, and beating them was easier than taking candy from a baby. A skilled chess partner like Laura was a much-needed addition to his evenings. He immediately classified her as ‘someone he would like very much.’

Laura, too, found the chess game quite enjoyable, as it had been a while. But the mental exertion on top of her accumulated fatigue brought on a headache. Laura passed her seat to Daniel. She then watched from the side as father and son played chess.

Daniel wracked his brain, trying to beat his father, but having inherited his father’s impatient nature, he was thwarted at every turn. Mr. Fairfax, having secured a dull victory, gave the loser a flick on the forehead.

Olivia, apparently tired of only playing the piano, came over to watch the chess game. With Olivia joining, the area around the chessboard became quite crowded. Not wanting to be near the other onlookers, Olivia stood a step back, craning her neck to watch the game.

As it happened, Laura’s headache had not subsided, so she offered her seat to the uncomfortably positioned Olivia. She then sat on the piano bench Olivia had just vacated, opened the lid again, and tapped a few keys.

The Fairfax family’s piano was of high quality and well-tuned. Laura’s fingers moved naturally, creating her favorite melody. It was Chopin’s Waltz No. 18. It was a piece she had practiced hundreds of times and performed dozens of times for others, one she could play with her eyes closed. She did, in fact, close her eyes. And like a blind pianist, she played in the darkness.

With her sight blocked, the only stimuli were her hearing and the touch of her fingers. Gradually, the fatigue and headache began to fade. In her school days, she had to learn it harshly, struck by her teacher’s switch; in her twenties, she had to practice it tirelessly to satisfy cultured guests, but now, playing the piano had become a form of rest for her. She savored the melody she created, as if she were the only one in the space.

After finishing the piece, Laura opened her eyes, feeling much lighter. But as the music stopped, she felt a gaze upon her cheek. Laura looked to the side from where she felt the stare. Olivia was looking at her with a mesmerized expression. Their eyes met in mid-air. Olivia flinched. Laura gave Olivia a slight smile. At that, Olivia quickly turned her gaze back to the chessboard.

Laura looked toward the chessboard. Mr. Fairfax and George were now facing each other. Annoyed at young George’s haphazard moves, Mr. Fairfax pinched his cheek and shook it.

“You, why do you keep advancing the king? Have you no sense?”

“Huh? Why? If he’s the king, shouldn’t he lead from the front when a battle breaks out?”

Mr. Fairfax clicked his tongue at his son’s foolish remark.

“With a mind like that, you’ll make a fine navy man, I’m sure.”

After shooing George away with a swat, Mr. Fairfax called out to Laura, who was sitting at the piano.

“Miss Pendleton, don’t just sit there playing the piano out of boredom. Let’s have another game.”

Laura moved back to the chessboard.

While Laura played chess, Olivia approached the piano. She began to play the waltz Laura had just performed. But she kept hitting the wrong keys, causing the melody to stutter. Laura glanced slightly toward the piano.

Olivia was playing with her eyes closed, just as Laura had done. She would strike a wrong note, then peek to place her hands correctly, close her eyes again, only to hit another wrong key, and then open her eyes to find her place once more. After wrestling with the piano for a while, Olivia, apparently frustrated, gave up on playing and shut the piano lid.

Laura found Olivia’s behavior endearing and smiled. To avoid embarrassing Olivia by being caught, she quickly turned her eyes back to the chessboard.

In this round, Mr. Fairfax managed a narrow checkmate. This was largely because Laura had been distracted by Olivia. Elated, Mr. Fairfax asked Laura for one more game of chess. However, Mrs. Fairfax intervened, saying the governess must be tired and should be sent to rest, so the next chess match was called off. Laura, feeling grateful for Mrs. Fairfax’s intervention, went up to her room first.

She entered her room. Stepping into the dark space, she lit a candle and changed her clothes. Then she sat on the sofa and briefly reflected on the day. Everything had been the complete opposite of her expectations. Everything was so good, it was almost dramatic.

Although she had only been here for a day, after experiencing the members of the household today, the worst thing she could imagine happening in the future, even thinking pessimistically, was the little ones not listening during their lessons.

That night, she knelt and offered a heartfelt prayer of thanks. For meeting such good people. For finding such a good environment. For the fact that many of her worries had turned out to be unfounded. For all this good fortune, she was truly grateful.

But after she finished her prayer and lay in bed, the presence that emerged most clearly in her mind was Ian Dalton. Even if everything was God’s providence, the person God had sent for her was, in the end, Mr. Dalton. Without him, she wouldn’t even be here.

Lying in bed, she was struck anew by the realization that she was in Yorkshire, the county where Mr. Dalton lived, staying at the home of his closest relatives. That meant Mr. Dalton’s estate was also nearby. Whitefield Hall, surrounded by a forest of white birch trees, was close enough to reach in just an hour. At that fact, Laura’s heart pounded absurdly.

To think that the place she had only seen in the painting he had gifted her was so close. The beautiful Whitefield he had so carefully drawn. And, of course, Mr. Dalton would be there now.

At that thought, Laura’s heart beat even more fiercely. She quickly shook her head and closed her eyes. She told herself this fluttering was due to the power of the night, which heightened emotions. That the darkness, the moonlight, the warm bed, the languor were all stirring her heart.

To escape the power of the night, she tried to clear her mind and fall asleep. Fortunately, her weary body allowed her to drift easily into dreamland.

She could never have imagined. That an hour away from Dunville Park, at the window of an office in Whitefield Hall, a certain gentleman was smoking a cigar, imagining her, who he presumed was now asleep in her room.

***

As she had imagined, life at Dunville Park was smooth.

The day after her arrival at Dunville Park, Laura, after getting Mrs. Fairfax’s permission, toured the estate with the butler.

It was a sturdy and dignified mansion. According to the butler, it was at least four hundred years old. The butler proudly stated that great care was taken in its management, so there was not a single flaw to be found. As Laura looked around further, she realized the butler’s words were no exaggeration. The window frames, the railings, every nook and cranny was clean, without any damage or stain.

The house contained the history of a single family. Laura saw paintings of the Fairfax family’s ancestors hanging throughout the mansion, and she looked at the weapons their forebears had used in war and the valuables they had brought back from their Grand Tours. The Fairfax ancestors seemed to have had a penchant for hunting through the generations, as taxidermied animals could easily be seen throughout the house.

But the most impressive thing about Dunville Park was the scenery outside. The park, with its wide expanse of green meadows, was flanked by a forest and a lake, making its location prime in terms of landscape alone. Laura asked the butler for his leave and spent the entire morning strolling around, basking in the fresh English summer.