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It was late afternoon when Riette von Lindman arrived at Herhardt’s mansion, his carriage loaded with luggage for his short stay at Arvis.
“Welcome, Riette.” Elysee von Herhardt greeted him cheerfully, “I wish my sister had come with you.”
“My mother is going on a trip soon.”
“She must be planning a trip to the south for winter.”
“Yes, she detests the cold.” Riette smiled as he conveyed his mother’s regards with a gentle voice. “Where’s Madam Norma?”
“She’s taking a nap at the moment. You may say hello to her later.”
Elysee von Herhardt led Riette to the living room.
As a cousin and a close friend of Matthias, he had wandered in and out of Arvis growing up, and was already considered a part of the family.
The two had tea in the living room, after which Riette went for a stroll in the woodlands of the Herhardt estate. Matthias wouldn’t return until nightfall, and it would take some time for the servants to organise Riette’s belongings. Thus, curiosity got the better of him. Riette decided to set out for a special occasion: to meet the elusive child who lived in the woods, Leyla. In other words, the woman who was wreaking havoc in Matthias and Claudine’s once orderly life.
Riette knew the child, but he had never spared her a single glance. To him, she was just one of many in the bevy of servants who took up residence in Arvis. He sympathised with her plight and thought of her as quite a pretty girl, but that was all. So imagine Riette’s surprise when he discovered that the woman Matthias had taken an interest in was Leyla Lewellin.
Scandalous affairs between aristocrats and their servants were nothing new, but if the aristocrat were to be Duke Herhardt, the story would take on a life of its own. Even if it was just a passing fancy.
‘Duke Herhardt lied.’
As the gardener’s cabin appeared on the horizon, Riette reminisced about that evening last summer when Claudine had abruptly brought up Matthias.
‘He lied in order to separate Leyla from the doctor’s son.’
Claudine had smiled, but Riette saw through her facade when he caught a glimpse of her frightening, icy gaze.
‘The blue-blooded Matthias von Herhardt lied and schemed just to have that pathetic orphan. Can you believe it, Riette?’ Claudine scoffed.
‘What kind of lies did he spew?’ Riette had asked, but Claudine had given no further explanation.
‘I hope he gets her as soon as possible.’
Claudine looked out her window impassively, as if nothing had happened. The long, summer sunset split the skyline beyond Count Brandt’s estate like a blade of gold.
‘He needs to have her in order to dispose of her at the earliest.’
Claudine muttered with a look of boredom sketched on her face, as if she were a spectator of a third-rate, low-class performance.
Riette could peer right into her mind. She didn’t look jealous of Leyla Lewellin. She simply portrayed slight dismay and scorn at her noble fiancé’s lowly inclinations.
Rather, if Claudine had been jealous or distressed, Riette would have asked her to marry him instead of getting tied to a marriage that would’ve made her miserable. However, Claudine was adamant that marrying Matthias would be the only way for her to receive the happiness she so desired.
That day, the two of them had sat down for tea and chatted pleasantly, later enjoying their dinner in the same amicable atmosphere. The following morning, Riette had left the Brandt estate with Claudine standing at the door until his car was out of sight.
‘Why is that memory persisting and becoming a lingering regret?’
A forlorn laugh escaped Riette’s lips just as he arrived in front of the log cabin. A forest trail linked the hedgeless hunting grounds and the small cottage.
Every passing second, the glorious lamp of heaven leisurely dripped gold onto the glittering river. As the sun slowly set beyond the horizon, the lighting inside the house dimmed down. Instead of leaving, though, Riette decided to wait. With his back resting comfortably against the porch railing, he looked up at the deciduous branches.
Riette Lindman harboured feelings for someone who would never be miserable because of love. And he knew well that the woman he loved was the root of his woes.
Yet, Riette enjoyed having a simple and carefree life, so he was willing to embrace his tragic love with ease. He didn’t mind providing Claudine with some fun and helping her through his pranks.
Just when he was about to light a cigarette, Riette suddenly heard footsteps coming from the other side of the forest trail. Sounds of conversation floated down the path.
He shifted his attention to the direction of the distant sounds and took a long drag of his cigarette. He then exhaled a cloud of smoke as he kept waiting. Before long, a bear-like man and a woman half his size appeared before him. They stopped short of the entrance when they noticed Riette.
With a grin pasted on his face, Riette approached the pair. The gardener blurted out a greeting upon recognizing the man and the petite lady next to him bowed her head.
“Hello there, little forest bird girl.”
Riette greeted her calmly, similar to the time he watched her cry as she buried the bird that Matthias had slain.
“Ah. Should I say bird lady now? Or bird teacher?”
Leyla’s eyes glinted in suspicion behind her glasses, her brows furrowing as she processed his nonsense.
Riette’s impression of Leyla Lewellin remained unchanged. She was certainly pretty, but not stunningly so that it would dazzle the men around her. Yet, he seemed to have an inkling of how she managed to tickle the fancy of the doctor’s son and his very own noble cousin.
“Anyway, nice to meet you, Leyla.”
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
“Be careful of Marquis Lindman.”
It was a severe warning when coming from Bill Remmer, who was glaring at something towards the end of the table. Leyla giggled placing down the pot of freshly cooked stew in the middle of the table.
“This isn’t a laughing matter. Don’t just take it lightly”
“Uncle.”
“I don’t believe that lazy flirt just came out for a walk this far.”
Bill bit the loaf roughly, tearing it into smaller pieces.
“He greeted you and prattled on about pointless things. It’s extremely suspicious so you should be more careful.”
“Yes, yes.”
Leyla readily replied, knowing his nagging would never end if she didn’t comply. At her half-hearted response, Bill was unconvinced.
“Keep my words in mind, Leyla. Not all aristocrats are as decent and dignified as Duke Herhardt.”
“Yes… Huh, what?”
Leyla’s forehead scrunched up in the midst of her inadvertent nodding. Bill’s exaggerated reverence of Duke Herhardt left her speechless; but she could not dissent because except for her, everyone else viewed Duke Herhardt in such light.
Leyla just kept nodding as she hurriedly ate her bread, keeping her opinions to herself. Nevertheless, memories of that indecent, undignified man became more vivid. She started coughing, choking on her bread as she remembered the offensive bows and expensive pens he sent to her in school.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Leyla shook her head. “I was hungry, but ate too fast just now.” She took off her glasses, and wiped away the tears that resulted from her violent coughs.
Bill burst out laughing as he watched her. “At moments like this, would you still seem like a child.”
He had a chastising tone, but Bill’s smile said otherwise.
“Eat some more. But carefully this time.”
Bill took a big serving of meat, placing it one by one on Leyla’s plate. Then another. The food piled up higher everytime Bill moved his hands.
“This is too much!”
“Don’t you know? I like children who eat like cows.” Bill, like always, refused to listen to Leyla’s objections.
“I am no longer a child.”
Leyla declared , yet Bill’s only response was adding one more piece of meat onto her plate.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Their balmy evening was spent chatting and laughing at the table. Leyla found it difficult to eat like a cow; but she tried to eat enough, to please her uncle.
Leyla washed the dishes as Bill Remmer mended the squeaky desk chair. Afterwards, the two of them sat on the porch, warm mugs of coffee in hand, and viewed the falling russet leaves . The wind brought on a palpable chill, but Bill and Leyla would continue their day-end conversations for as long as they could until winter arrived.
“Good night, Leyla.”
Bill gave his rudimentary but warm goodbye before entering his room.
“You too, Uncle. Good night.”
Leyla’s lips held a gentle smile, as usual. Her bubbly voice had the essence of a sliver of light flowing through the gap of a curtain.
After returning to her room, Leyla sat on the chair Uncle Bill had fixed for her and corrected her students’ test papers. Later, she read some mystery novels borrowed from the library and replied to letters from friends who had become teachers at other schools.
After finishing the last letter, she suddenly remembered the pen the Duke had given her as she closed the lid of her own worn-out one.
Leyla was silent for a brief moment as she looked blankly into space, before deciding to open the desk drawer. The pen she had reluctantly brought home was still neatly stowed in its box.
‘I knew it.’
Growing up, Leyla had heard many a tongue-click whenever she made a mistake or tried to be more well-behaved than her classmates.
‘As one would expect from a child who grew up without parents.’
The remarks she’d grown used to hearing always carried one of the two emotions: scorn or pity.
Leyla always wondered why she was singled out for blame every time, even though the other children made the same mistakes as her. Nevertheless, as she grew older, Leyla realized that society’s rules didn’t apply equally to all of its members.
So she wanted to do better.
Even if she couldn’t be perfect, she was determined to live a life where she didn’t garner sympathy from others. Every time she faced the world’s harsh standards, Leyla tried her best to stand her ground and fight. She wanted to live a respectable life for Uncle Bill, who had cared, loved, and raised her in all the ways that count.
After she made up her mind, she pulled the pen out of the box without hesitation. Her hand reached for a piece of paper to wrap the package in.
Leyla meticulously packed the parcel and scrawled down the address using an old fountain pen. The receiver was the owner of Arvis, Duke Matthias von Herhardt. As for the sender, she wrote down the stranger’s name and address from whom she had received the pen.
When dawn came, Leyla stuffed the box into her bag and set off for the day’s work. She had to leave the house earlier than usual to make a quick trip to the post office in the nearby hamlet.
After returning the present, Leyla felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her chest.
Leyla believed it was over now.
She was sure of it.