Chapter 7

I hadn’t noticed anyone approaching me. I jumped and met Gary’s gaze. He looked at the newcomer with amusement.

I turned, striving to smooth the scowl on my face. Let’s not get angry. I’m thirty-seven. I need to worry about wrinkles.

“It appears that being the godson of the queen mother gives you the confidence to approach and startle people.”

The man seemed to expect this sentiment. My eyes widened when I finally saw who he was.

No wonder his voice was so familiar. I knew him. I recognized that light brown hair that turned gold in the sun, his chestnut eyes.

This arrogant, well-sculpted man who was a hand taller than Mildred.

“I am glad to have the opportunity to apologize for my rudeness the other day.”

He was the same man I had bumped into on the street a couple of days ago.

He took my hand and bowed slightly. “May I kiss you?”

What? I looked at him agog, then narrowed my eyes. Are you mad? Why would I kiss you? I almost let the words slip out.

Gary interrupted before I could say anything. “Do you two already know each other?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

We gave two very different replies—“we” being me and the man holding my hand.

Gary seemed confused as to which of us was telling the truth. The man raised an eyebrow. Crud. I turned to Gary to explain the situation.

“We met on the street a couple of days ago. We parted without exchanging names.”

“You were out and about on the street?” Surprise flashed across Gary’s face.

It was a reasonable reaction. Mildred did not like going out.

Still, he composed himself and introduced the man to me. “Mil, this is Baron Wilford. Baron Daniel Wilford.”

So, this is Daniel. I made an effort not to frown as I looked at him.

“Baron Wilford, this is my younger sister, Mildred,” Gary introduced me. “Mildred Vans. Her husband, Vans, disappeared two years ago. She has not been in society for a long time.”

Daniel looked surprised. He turned from Gary to me. “So you are Lady Vans.”

“Yes, Baron Wilford. Will you please let go of my hand now?”

Daniel still kept my hand captive. Why’s he acting like this? When he saw the irritation on my face, he lifted my hand and asked again.

“May I kiss you?”

Are you out of your mind?! Before I could scream at him, I realized that he meant the back of my hand.

Frick. I almost caused a big scene. That would have been fodder for many future nightmares.

I had barely avoided earning myself a weird reputation.

“Of course.”

Following my stiff consent, Daniel touched his mouth to my hand. I could feel his warm, soft lips through my gloves.

It was an odd feeling. It had been a long time since Vans’ death, and longer since Mildred had been treated like this.

As for me...

It was a first. In my twenty-seven years of life, no one had ever kissed my hand before. It was embarrassing and also a little exciting.

But it was common practice here. Remembering what fairy tales were like, I suppressed my fluttering heart. The prince kissed Cinderella’s hand the first time they danced too.

“Please call me Daniel,” he whispered, removing his lips from my hand.

He was as handsome as I remembered him when we had met in the street. In contrast to how casually he had been dressed then, he was wearing a suit today. His good looks were like the cherry on top.

I took my hand away. “Please call me Lady Vans, Baron Wilford.”

Gary seemed relieved that we were already acquainted, and left. After all, Sandra couldn’t greet all the guests by herself.

That left me and Daniel alone. He offered me his arm. “Shall we walk for a bit?”

Hmm. I hesitated. Should I ask him for money for my doctor fees? But I’m already healed. And I...

I have no reason to speak further with him.

Daniel appeared to be in his late twenties. He was too old for Iris or Lily. If he couldn’t be either of their partners, there was no point in getting to know him better.

But wait. Who knows? Maybe he’s younger than he looks.

With renewed hope, I took Daniel’s arm. As we walked, I asked him, “So you manage Fairy’s Spring?”

As I mentioned, nobles do not engage in labor. It was interesting that he would be involved in business. Performing labor made you the subject of the nobles’ gossip, which could lead to being driven from society.

If Daniel were a woman, he would have been run out already. The reason he was unscathed probably had to do with the fact that his godmother was the queen mother.

“Hmm, I wouldn’t say I manage it.”

He matched my slow pace. The large hall allowed visitors to promenade around its circumference. Tapestries hung on the walls to amuse wanderers.

Daniel stopped before a painting. Even after scanning Mildred’s memories, I couldn’t tell if this picture had always been there or not.

“I wanted to introduce foreign dishes to the people here, so I simply trained a chef and opened a restaurant.”

“That is management, isn’t it?”

“Someone else is managing it.”

Hmm. I glanced at Daniel. There were many things I wanted to say, but I said nothing.

To my surprise, Daniel lowered his head and spoke quietly. “You want to tell me I’m deluding myself.”

One hundred percent. I was just about to slap his shoulder when I stopped myself. I couldn’t do that here. No, I couldn’t do that anywhere.

Aging was a sad thing. When I’d first met Daniel, I hadn’t known who he was. I’d also forgotten how old Mildred was, so I’d acted the way I did. I knew his position now.

Moreover, we were in Mildred’s older brother’s house. I had to follow etiquette.

I strived to keep a straight face. “A bit, perhaps.”

“Are you disappointed in me?”

Why would I be? I looked at him, confused.

“This is our second meeting, and our total conversation only amounts to a few minutes,” I said. “We only just learned each other’s names. Why would you think, Baron Wilford, that I expected so much from you that I would be disappointed?”

Daniel looked puzzled. He looked at me for a while until some sort of recognition seemed to pass over his face.

“Ah, you must not have gone to Fairy’s Spring.”

I had been too busy to go. I still had his ring.

Thinking of the ring I stored in my room, I joked. “No. I thought it would be better to sell it after all.”

Daniel burst into laughter.

What? Why? What? I knew he would laugh, but not so boisterously.

As Daniel laughed, the arm I was holding flexed. Crud. I instinctively lifted my hand. I just had this feeling it would be in poor taste to look like I was touching his muscles.

“I’m sorry, my lady.” Daniel stopped laughing.

Everyone was looking at us. What was so funny?

I blushed and reproached him, “What did I say that was so amusing?”

“Didn’t I tell you it would be hard to sell?”

“And then I asked you if it was magical.”

Daniel’s face cracked into a mirthful smile. No! Before he could burst into another round of laughter, I pinched his bicep.

“It’s not funny.”

Oh dear. Daniel’s bicep was so hard that my fingers couldn’t dig into it. Why’s this guy so buff?

I remembered how he had helped me up the first time we met. His chest had been firm too.

“I know you haven’t tried to sell it yet,” Daniel said, suppressing his laughter.

Yup. Haven’t even tried yet. Too busy.

I had been corralling the children around the mansion to deep clean the rooms and tidy up the greenhouse and garden. Once you let a house get messy, it only takes an instant for it to fall to ruin.

I’d taken everything out of my closet and sorted all my clothes. Once Iris and Lily attended the debutante ball, they would be invited to other parties. They couldn’t be seen wearing the same dresses all the time, so I needed to see what we already had and what was lacking. Ashley was a different matter.

On top of that, I had to meet Davina every now and then to plan dress designs for the girls.

“Are you suggesting something would have happened if I’d tried to sell it?” My question was a bit aggressive. Of course, I hadn’t intended to sell the ring. Mildred probably wouldn’t have either.

Daniel smiled at me. I was taken aback.

Is this guy married? Did Gary mention anything back there?

I couldn’t help but wonder if Daniel was a taken man. I had a feeling it would not do for my daughters to get close to him.

“No, my lady.” Daniel lowered his voice. He spoke even more softly and slowly, which felt more dangerous somehow. I had an impulse to take back my hand, but I suppressed it.

I am older than him, and I have been married more times than him. I felt competitive. I did not want to lose to a kid who was younger and less experienced than me.

“Then what is it?” I asked, tilting my head.

We were still standing in front of the painting. Daniel noticed that other people were getting close to us and started walking again.

“If you had tried to sell it, my lady, I would have known.”

“So there is magic on the ring?”

Daniel smiled again. Is this funny to you? Are you having fun being amused by yourself?

I reflexively slapped Daniel’s bicep. “Stop smiling.”

“I’m sorry, Mildred.”

“Lady Vans,” I quickly corrected him.

Daniel and I had nothing in common. He was too old to be betrothed to my children. I shouldn’t be friendlier than necessary.

Mildred had retreated from society for a few reasons; the biggest was that she hated receiving pity, and another was the fear that all sorts of miscreants would try to get their grubby hands on her daughters.

Now that I was in Mildred’s body, I was obligated to worry about the futures of her three children.

All I knew for sure about Baron Daniel Wilford was that he was an eccentric man.

I had to take care not to get too close to him.