Chapter 7. A Letter

Floriana sat on the luxurious chaise. She had gathered her dress and tucked it under her legs to sit with her knees up, hugging them. Opposite her on a similarly-fashioned sofa, Lorenzo sat, leaning his head on his knuckles. 

He observed her quietly. 

Her smile had faded to a slight, default curl. Her eyes were unknowingly crinkled and her face dim. 

He thought she had recovered from her fever already. But perhaps she was still a little sick. 

“Flora.”

Her head jerked up. 

“Do you want to go back to the ballroom?”

“…”

Floriana paused. Then she moved her head. 

Shake. 

“Why…”

Lorenzo muttered but gave up asking. He was starting to think she would never talk again. His fist clenched on the armrest. 

“Let’s go back home.”

He deliberately made it a statement. 

Floriana met his tender, brown eyes. A sadness that he couldn’t place washed over her face. She fidgeted with her fingers. 

Nod, nod. 

Was she upset about leaving her friends? 

Or… was it that she couldn’t speak to them the same way as before?

“…..”

The churning feeling in his gut returned.  

Lorenzo stood up and held out his hand to Floriana. 

The two returned to the ballroom and found Patricia. She turned around with concern.

“Lori… Are you feeling better?”

Floriana wasn’t smiling anymore. She tugged at Lorenzo’s jacket that he had put on her. 

“Miss Bellmont. I’m afraid we’ll have to make our leave now. My sister feels too unwell. She would fare better resting at home.”

Patricia seemed like she didn’t want to believe it, but looking at Floriana, she couldn’t help but respond agreeably. 

“You were hardly even here…”

Patricia seemed genuinely disappointed. But with a sideways glance at Lorenzo, she changed her mind. 

“Alright. Get home safe, Lori.” 

She gave a subtle, threatening glare to Lorenzo. But he paid her no mind and took Floriana out of there. 

It wasn’t long before they were in a carriage, sitting opposite each other. 

As they sat, Floriana made a move to take off his coat that he had given her. 

“What are you doing? Keep it on…”

Ah. Floriana used to hate anything he gave her. 

“… If you want.”

Floriana kept it on. 

“…”

Lorenzo started outside the window, letting out a silent sigh.  The sun had set a while ago, drowning the town in darkness. Orange, torchlit streets and suburban images flickered across his vision. 

After some silence, he gave a sideways glance to Floriana. 

She was doing the same, looking out of the window. A wistful look in her eyes. 

Once again, she hadn’t said a word. 

Rather, it seemed like she had only gotten worse. 

The light in his eyes dimmed. 

As if noticing a gaze, Floriana looked his way. She blinked, questioning. 

For a moment, Lorenzo was going to dismiss her and say it was nothing. But in the end, he decided to say something. 

“… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you here today.”

 Silence. 

“I’ve only tired you out.”

Lorenzo seemed irritated.

Floriana grabbed his hand with both of hers. He looked up. 

She was staring at him, her lips opening and closing. Over and over, as though she was about to speak. 

“….”

At the same time, her fingers fidgeted. Scratching, though hardly painfully, his skin. 

Lorenzo knew what she wanted to do. 

In the week before the ball, he had hoped he could get her to speak again. Instead, the maids said she did something unexpected. 

She held onto one of her maid’s hands, and traced the word ‘water’ on her palm. 

Asking for water. Tracing on her hand. 

Rather than speak, Floriana had found a different way to communicate. 

She was doing the same thing now. Or, wanting to. 

She continued to fidget with his hand, hesitating to write. 

Lorenzo pressed his lips together, wrinkling his brows slightly. If this kept up, Floriana might never speak again, getting comfortable with communicating without words. 

But he said nothing. He didn’t want Floriana to notice his disappointment. 

Because he could tell. She was just as frustrated.

A girl who was once so confident and vivacious, reduced to mere nods and shakes. Unable to say anything, ashamed of herself. 

The heavy feeling at the bottom of his chest wasn’t going away. 

… Was it okay? 

Could he just let her continue like this, and tell her that it was okay if she couldn’t say anything? 

That he would become the only person in the world who could understand her, even if no one else did. 

‘…..’

Lorenzo changed the subject. 

Something he wanted to tell her anyway. 

“I don’t think I can come to see you tomorrow.”

Floriana looked up with widened eyes. 

“I have some work to do. I’ve let it pile up so… I need to finish a few things quickly. I have a meeting in the afternoon, too. So, I’ll be in my office all day.”

He explained. Floriana took back her hands and somewhat slouched her shoulders as she nodded. 

“….”

The rest of the carriage ride continued in silence. 

***

The next day, Lorenzo was indeed drowning in work. 

He had just seen off the guest he had a meeting with. Having returned to his office, he sat down and started reading through a stack of documents right away. 

Though, he could hardly focus. The thought of his sister was nagging him. The image of her despondent face from the day before was etched in his mind. 

He had asked the maids to take care of her, but he wanted to go and check on her himself. 

‘Of all the days I had to be busy…,’

He kept glancing at the door. Not only because he was desperate to be free of work, but because he had told the maids to come to him immediately if anything happened with Floriana. 

Strangely enough, she hadn’t even given him this much trouble when she was her old self. 

He had even gone to a private investigator to look into the case. Criminal activity around Pellus Street in the last few months. 

Because of that, he had been secretly busy too. He had met that very investigator that morning. It seemed like there was a lead on those filthy vermin that had taken Floriana. But the updates would take some more time, so for now, he could only continue working on other things. 

On top of everything, he received a scolding from the physician. 

-“How could you take the lady out in public when she wasn’t yet recovered!”

The physician flustered as though he were the sick one. Still, Lorenzo couldn’t blame him. 

‘…Fine, I’ll admit that I shouldn’t have!’ 

Lorenzo grumbled alone in his office, then sighed a long sigh. 

‘But, not even Patricia Bellmont...’ 

Not even Patricia Bellmont could get Floriana to speak. 

‘Should I call Lady Bellmont to the manor alone and explain things?’

He leaned on his desk, staring as if the pile of work ahead of him wasn’t even there. 

‘Or should I just wait for Miss Elodie? Her hometown is far… It’ll take a while before she gets back. Can we wait that long?’

Sigh….

‘Why am I even…’

Lorenzo wondered to himself. 

Why was he so hasty to get Floriana speaking again?

Without her causing a fuss, making demands and screaming her displeasures, the manor was awfully quiet. 

In a way, it was something Lorenzo had always hoped for. 

But no matter what…

‘Not like this.’

… He couldn’t be happy about it. 

‘Tsk…’

Knock, knock. 

Just then, the door sounded. Lorenzo became alert. 

“Your Lordship. A letter from the Young Miss.”

The butler’s voice came muffled. Lorenzo bid him entry right away and took the letter. 

The page unfolded with a sharp sound. He began to read it. 

Rather than a letter, it was more like a note. It was Floriana’s handwriting, written in loose ink, as if scrawled hastily. 

I’m sorry. 

My fault. 

I won’t burden you anymore. 

Lorenzo ran out of his office.