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Chapter 25
“Da-da-da, da-da-ra-ra-ra, da-da-da.”
Whether Edward was flabbergasted or not, Eugenia was completely absorbed in dancing, tapping out the rhythm with her leather shoes.
Thinking that nothing he said would get through to Eugenia, Edward turned to Jane, who was standing nearby.
“Jane, don’t tell me even you’ve been swept up into Eugenia’s ridiculous antics!”
Jane’s expression wavered slightly. Normally, she would have shrunk back and immediately obeyed her uncle’s words. But soon, Jane lifted her head firmly.
“Uncle, it’s just a party.”
Jane spoke. Her voice trembled a little, but she was clearly expressing her own opinion.
“I’m going. Even if Grandmother or you try to stop me, it won’t matter. I’m going to dance all night like everyone else. I don’t think that’s wrong. Like Eugenia said, our Plennigan family needs to change too.”
“You, you….”
Edward couldn’t finish his sentence, instead trembling as he pointed a shaking finger at Jane. At that moment, something suddenly came to my mind. The legend of the Plennigan estate that Carol had told me before.
[There was once a young lady named Adelaide who loved dancing parties, and it’s said that the ghost of Lady Alice Norma appeared and sternly pointed a finger at her. And the next day, Adelaide was found dead!]
‘No, what am I thinking? That’s ridiculous.’
I gave a bitter smile and forced the thought out of my head.
‘Anyway, there’s a summer festival in the village next week.’
I suddenly remembered that Aileen had mentioned the summer festival in a letter she sent me before she passed away.
‘Originally, I would have come here as the young lady of the Whittington family. I would’ve taken a walk in the nearby forest with Aileen and gone to the summer festival together.’
Aileen could no longer enjoy such simple pleasures. The thought made my chest ache.
‘So I have to uncover the truth behind Aileen’s death. Just wait a little longer, Aileen.’
According to Amy, this year’s summer festival was expected to be much more extravagant than usual.
“I don’t know the details either, but apparently it’s because there’s a mayoral election next year. The current mayor wants to get re-elected, so he’s trying to win people over.”
“What does that have to do with me? Women don’t even have the right to vote anyway. Still, it should be fun.”
Carol said with an excited expression from the side.
“They’re even setting up a circus tent in the square. And apparently an animal called an elephant is coming.”
“An elephant? What’s that?”
“Not sure, I’ve never heard of it either.”
“I’ve read about it in a book. It’s a large animal with a very long nose.”
Hearing my explanation, Amy and Carol seemed to imagine it. After a moment, Amy shook her head.
“If I imagine a cow with a long nose… I still can’t picture it.”
“Just think of it as a nose as long as a human arm.”
Even after my explanation, both Amy and Carol burst into laughter.
“Come on, Ellie. That doesn’t make any sense. That would just be a monster.”
“Anyway, we don’t need to see an elephant. More importantly, they’re doubling the number of stalls compared to last year, and there’ll be fireworks at night!”
“Fireworks! They haven’t had them in years! I’m excited!”
Carol and Amy were both maids working in the Plennigan estate’s annex, but their families lived nearby. So they were well-informed about local affairs.
As the festival day approached, I could see the maids becoming restless. Mrs. Pierce, the head maid, warned them not to get too excited, but a few words weren’t enough to calm the atmosphere.
There had been some commotion in the estate due to the dance party issue at the Hayes residence. But in the end, Edward couldn’t withstand Eugenia’s stubbornness.
“Uncle, what’s the big deal? If you don’t allow it, I’ll just sneak out of the house. And I’ll tell everyone how unreasonable it is to forbid your nieces from going to a dance party.”
Of course, it wasn’t a threat that would normally work—but Edward was also overwhelmed at the time, busy with renovating a shop in town and expanding a warehouse along with Thomas.
So, completely fed up, Edward finally snapped and said, “Do whatever you want!” and stopped paying attention to his nieces’ affairs.
“Delia, are you really not going to the dance party?”
Eugenia, now free to attend thanks to her persistence (though she likely would have acted regardless), busily prepared with Jane. But Delia once again refused to attend the party.
“I… I just feel scared of places with so many people…”
“What are you talking about? Don’t be ridiculous. Come on, let’s just go and have fun. We don’t get opportunities like this often. We’re going with permission!”
“I just… don’t like talking to strangers…”
Eugenia clutched her chest in frustration after hearing Delia’s words, but in the end, Delia still decided not to attend the dance party. Instead, she planned to go to the festival with a couple of older maids.
Even the Plennigan family sometimes attended the festival. Of course, young women had to be accompanied by a maid as a chaperone—to ensure they didn’t speak with unfamiliar men.
Among the Plennigan family members, only Lady Melissa chose to stay alone in the west wing. Mrs. Pierce also remained to take care of her.
Everyone else planned to enjoy the festival in their own way. The men of the household had no restrictions, so they would likely drink or meet women as they pleased.
Helen, Catherine, and Lucy planned to meet local women they knew, browse the stalls, and watch the fireworks together. Even though they were from the same household, they weren’t particularly close and would go separately.
Not only the family members, but most of the servants were also given permission to leave the estate and enjoy the festival. Some maids had to accompany the young ladies, but others were free to go.
However, the estate could not be left completely empty. Even though Mrs. Melissa would be looked after by Mrs. Pierce, someone else was needed just in case.
A few servants were assigned to guard the front and back gates in exchange for a few bottles of alcohol the next day. They preferred drinking over the festival anyway, so they didn’t complain.
“There’s no need for many maids to stay behind. After all, except for Lady Norma, everyone will be out for the festival.”
On the morning two days before the festival, Mrs. Pierce said that someone needed to remain at the estate.
“But just in case something happens, we need at least one person. Is there anyone willing to stay behind?”
The maids exchanged glances but no one spoke up. It was only natural—everyone had been looking forward to the festival for so long. The idea of staying alone in an empty estate while everyone else had fun was miserable.
Seeing that no one volunteered, Mrs. Pierce eventually looked toward me.
“Ellie.”
I knew this would happen. I grumbled inwardly.
“You’re the youngest among the maids, so I hope you’ll yield this time. I’ll speak to the lady so you can get a half-day off later.”
There was no point refusing—it wouldn’t work anyway. So I agreed.
Amy and Carol felt bad for me, but I wasn’t particularly disappointed.
To be honest, I had felt a bit heavy-hearted lately. The festival was originally supposed to be spent with Aileen, and now I would be enjoying it alone.
‘Well, it’s fine. It’s not like this is the only festival.’
When I told Ian about being left alone in the east wing of the Plennigan estate on festival day, he slightly furrowed his brows.
“That’s unfortunate.”
“Well, it’s not that disappointing. I don’t have any work to do anyway. I can just laze around in my room.”
I said cheerfully.
“I do regret missing the fireworks though. The last time I saw them was two years ago, I think? They were supposed to be spectacular, but they were disappointing.”
“I’ve heard this year’s fireworks will be quite grand. They’ve even prepared special fireworks imported from abroad.”
“Now I really regret it. So what about you, Ian? Are you going to hang around with the men of the Plennigan family?”
At my question, Ian smiled faintly.
“Do you want me to?”
“Well, that would be torture. Then are you going to the dance party at the Hayes residence?”
“The party Miss Eugenia and Miss Jane are attending, you mean. I did receive an invitation, but I’m not very interested. From what I hear, it’s more focused on dancing, with little drinking.”
“Everything is judged by alcohol with you, huh? You drunkard, Ian!”
Despite my complaint, Ian only laughed.
“If I have time, I might drop by. I’ve been invited to several gatherings from noble families in the area—I’m rather overwhelmed.”
“Popular, aren’t you, Lord Penwood.”
I pouted and added,
“So basically, that means the estate will be empty that day, right?”
“Pardon?”
“That means I can go anywhere freely in the estate. Maybe I could find something about Aileen’s death.”
At my words, Ian let out a soft sigh.
“Miss, are you trying to grasp at any straw now?”
“I mean… I haven’t found anything yet.”
“You’re neither a detective nor an investigator. Just because you haven’t found anything doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong. Searching blindly without any clue is just a waste of time.”
“I know you’re right, Ian. But it’s frustrating—nothing is moving forward.”
Ian looked at my face quietly for a moment and said,
“Don’t push yourself so hard.”
“Hmm?”
“There will always be times when things don’t go smoothly. You should just relax. Try to enjoy the festival. If you clear your mind, you might find a path forward.”
As always, Ian was right. But I still felt like I was groping through a fog.
