Garden of May

“I don’t believe that’s a matter for you to concern yourself with, Miss Morton.”

“You’re going to need a shield.”

The word stopped him. A shield.

Theodore had been about to summon a servant to have her removed, but paused instead.

“That scandal is far too filthy for an unmarried woman to bear. At this rate, no one will want anything to do with her. She’ll be cast out of society entirely.”

“….”

“A simple affair with a commoner would have been better. But rumors that she sold her body for money… No matter what she was prepared for, this is far worse. Newspapers, magazines, every social gathering—she’ll be torn apart like some monstrous witch. How many people do you think could endure that without breaking?”

“You exaggerate.”

“If Lady Vanessa were about to become a duchess, they’d reluctantly pretend to accept her… but tell me—do you intend to align yourself with Somerset? With that family?”

Hayley lifted the corner of her lips, as though she already knew the answer.

“There’s no reason to endure unnecessary losses. You’ve already calculated that, haven’t you?”

“….”

“There’s only one way to restore Lady Vanessa’s reputation. Convince everyone that the scandal is nothing more than a malicious lie. An engagement announcement would suffice. It would help even more if we appeared… deeply affectionate.”

“You think I’d marry to protect that woman’s reputation?”

“If your feelings were sincere enough to give her ‘The Mermaid’s Tear,’ then yes.”

“Why must it be you?”

“You’ll have no choice but to choose me.”

She pulled the brandy glass toward herself without the slightest hesitation.

“I don’t care who you take as your mistress.”

“Is that because you love Edgar, Lady?”

For the first time, Hayley Morton’s composed expression faltered. The confidence she’d worn like a mask slipped, revealing something far more brittle beneath. Her gaze dropped, something Theodore had never seen from her before.

“…Love is a luxury. I want a higher position. And I want that value to last forever.”

“….”

“I’ve heard you’re infertile.”

Theodore lifted his glass lazily.

That rumor had long circulated in high society. A duke of twenty-three, still unengaged, so such whispers were inevitable.

What few knew was that he himself had spread it.

A convenient excuse to silence his grandmother’s demands, avoid a royal marriage, and sever the cursed Battenberg bloodline he had inherited from his detestable parents.

Despite the severity of the rumor, things had not gone entirely as planned. But now, there was at least one outcome that aligned perfectly with his interests.

A way to end the bloodline legally and quietly.

“You only need one child from me. That’s all you’ll have to endure. Since Edgar is your cousin, the bloodline won’t even be diluted.”

It was a calculation so precise it was almost laughable.

“After that, I won’t interfere with whoever you choose, wherever you go. I can live quietly at a country estate, a duchess in name only. Or I can shield your beloved mistress from the cruelty of society… I’ll do anything. As long as you grant the Battenberg name to the child I bear—Edgar’s child.”

Her gaze sharpened again as it fixed on him.

“And that will become the most reliable shield to protect Lady Vanessa for the rest of her life.”

* * *

As summer edged toward its end, the heat did not fade. It grew fiercer, more relentless.

Coolness lingered only briefly in the early mornings and late nights. By midday, the blazing sun poured down over Gloucester’s lush gardens. It was the kind of day where sweat formed even if you did nothing at all.

Vanessa leaned her cheek against the round wooden table, slowly sipping iced apple juice.

“I’ll be back soon.”

It was a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time from River Ross. Only then did her heart begin to beat again, she could breathe. Only then did she feel the heavy, humid air of summer.

Why did such a simple sentence mean so much?