Microscopes and Canvases - Chapter 21

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 21
It was not a request Edward relished. Yet here he was, apparently the one who must shoulder the burden of crushing his niece’s dreams.
But the world as it stands now….
The Marchioness Somerset, anxious at her brother’s prolonged silence, hastened to speak.
“Beatrice is of an age where we must begin seeking a suitable match, and if she crosses the sea, there will be nothing left for us to do.”
“Sister, I don’t believe we should force marriage upon Beatrice. It must be her choice. Surely we need not resort to such measures—”
Must we truly hold the girl to society’s standards?
Edward himself had suffered no small burden under those very measures. He had been pushed from ballroom to ballroom year after year, until the relentless pressure drove him to pack his things and flee twenty years ago.
He had no wish to inflict such a fate upon Beatrice.
Besides, the Somerset Family had wealth, influence, and standing in abundance. What harm could it do to let the youngest daughter live as she pleased?
“No, Edward.”
The Marchioness, reading her brother’s thoughts with practiced ease, shook her head firmly.
“Edward. You don’t understand the way of things.”
She fixed her brother with a steady gaze.
“Let me be frank. If you set your mind to it, you could find a wife tomorrow, even now. A man—aged, gray-haired though he may be—need never fear the marriage market. If he needs companionship to carry him through life, he can seek it then without shame. But women are different. And you, for all those years wandering alone overseas—forgive me, but when it comes to a woman’s solitary life, you know only the surface.”
Edward fell silent.
She was right. He knew only the life of a man adrift, after all.
The same harbor, the same inn, the same road—yet if his niece walked it alone, it would be an entirely different path.
“I wish to give that child freedom too. Truly. But the ideal she holds and the reality before her are worlds apart.”
The Marchioness, observing her thoughtful brother, continued in a gentler tone.
“The model she wishes to become is you, Edward. Beatrice wants to be like you.”
Edward lifted his head. The words took him aback.
“Her uncle, who comes like the wind and goes like the wind, who unfurls tales of grand adventures and world travel before vanishing—how much does that leave the child aching? When she was smaller, she used to cling to your trouser leg and weep, begging to go with you. Do you remember?”
He remembered, of course.
A small child following him to the harbor, sniffling. Uncle, please take me with you next time. She had even locked her little finger with his in a promise, yet he had always boarded that ship alone.
From the next port, he had sent only a postcard, substituting it for his word.
The one who departs travels light. The departed soul cannot know how time flows for those left behind, nor does he trouble himself to wonder.
All those years, Beatrice had remained, yearning for his place, casting the countless adventures he recounted as her own future.
“So, Edward. You may think we control that child too strictly, but—this one time, I ask you earnestly.”
The Marchioness exhaled deeply, cupping the steaming teacup in her hands. Edward, studying his sister’s careworn face, spoke suddenly.
“There is something I shouldn’t speak of. But in truth, the state of affairs abroad has grown troubling.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ominous clouds are gathering.”
Edward set down his spoon and folded his arms.
“Osterion especially gives me pause. On the surface, all appears peaceful, yet they are expanding their territories in ways that defy easy scrutiny.”
“True enough—there are reports they are building up their military at an alarming pace. Of course, we and Osterion are bound by a Blood Alliance.”
Somerset, who had been listening in silence, interjected with a grave expression.
“In fact, Osterion sent word not long ago that a State Visit would be forthcoming. The court is already in a flurry of preparations.”
“Perhaps they come concealing some hidden agenda.”
Edward’s lips curved into a bitter smile. He then relaxed his expression and took up his teacup once more.
“In any case, given such circumstances, I believe it unwise to send Beatrice across the sea now. On that point, my heart aligns with both of yours.”
“Thank you. I am truly grateful.”
“Do tell the girl that it breaks her father’s heart.”
Somerset added this with emphasis, then blew his nose with a flourish into his silk handkerchief.
The real problem was how to keep her here.
Edward sank into thought, stirring his cooling soup slowly with his spoon, lost in contemplation, until he spoke again.
“Brother-in-law, and sister.”
“Yes?”
“…Would it be permissible for me to have Beatrice take employment at the Museum?”
The Somerset couple stared at Edward, unable to fully comprehend what they had just heard.
“…Have our daughter take on work?”
For a noblewoman to labor and receive wages in exchange would inflict serious damage to their standing.
For the Somersets, who had long prided themselves on being more progressive than most, to have their daughter proposed as a Museum employee gave them genuine pause.
Especially since she would not be hidden away somewhere remote, but visible to the eyes of society in so prominent a place….
“You ask us to prevent her from fleeing abroad?”
Edward’s expression remained perfectly composed, as though all difficulties had already been resolved. He finished the last of his soup in a moment, then dabbed his lips with his napkin and continued.
“It happens that the Museum requires an illustrator. If we simply encourage her to earn her own way, that should suffice. Merely warning her that the outside world is dangerous will only fan the flames of her adventurous spirit. A forbidden door only tempts one to open it.”
“Well… I suppose…”
“Beatrice needs to work. Set a term of perhaps one year, and if she devotes herself to genuine labor under my watch, her talk of going abroad will fade of its own accord.”
The Somersets exchanged glances. In truth, having feared their daughter might flee in the dead of night, they could hardly concern themselves with propriety now.
“Well… as long as that girl stops scheming about how to live her own life.”
The Marchioness nodded reluctantly, but with evident speed.
“Wait.”
The Marquis, who had grown somewhat more at ease and was about to tuck away his handkerchief, suddenly tilted his head.
“The Museum, you say—could Patrick Bennett perhaps work there alongside her?”
Both the Marquis and Marchioness’s eyes lit up at once, their minds turning to that tidy, handsome young man who had been so eager to work at the Museum.
“…That does seem likely to happen.”
When Edward replied without fanfare, the Marquis and Marchioness exchanged glances once more. Perhaps, if only through that, they might secure her affections?
“Well then. Work is always more efficient when done by many hands, after all.”
The Marquis smiled knowingly and sent a subtle wink Edward’s way; Edward, for his part, grasped the general drift of things well enough.
Patrick Bennett had made quite the impression. While they had Beatrice pinned down here, they were surely plotting to pair the two of them together by any means necessary.
“So then, what of your lodgings?”
With her mind somewhat eased, the Marchioness’s attention soon turned to her brother.
“You said you wouldn’t stay long here, and you turned down the rooms the Museum arranged for you, didn’t you? Wouldn’t a hotel room be far more comfortable?”
“It’s all too grand and spacious—it feels strange. It makes me uneasy, sister.”
“Then where do you intend to stay? Will you head toward Quad Street?”
“I’ve already looked into that area, but there’s somewhere else calling to me. In any case, that was quite a meal.”
His slippery smile as he dodged the question struck her as suspicious, but the Marchioness pressed no further.
“Well then, shall we?”
Edward rose from his seat with alacrity.
“I should send word to Patrick Bennett first, then I’ll return shortly… and speak with Beatrice.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————