Garden of May

After three days of maintaining complete silence regarding the scandal, the reporters’ fervor finally began to wane. Compared to Benjamin Dawson’s prediction that it would take at least two weeks, public interest seemed to be cooling off surprisingly quickly.

As if someone had swept them all out of the public eye in one stroke.

Despite the frenzy stirred up by gossip rags, the more reputable press had largely refrained from sensationalizing the issue and that made all the difference.

With the attention fading, the past few days had been relatively peaceful.

And ever since she’d heard that River Ross would be returning, she even found herself feeling… strangely at ease.

“Miss, here you are.”

“Thank you, Mary.”

Vanessa pulled the plate Mary had set down closer to her.

It was filled with neatly cut bite-sized fruit—peaches, summer strawberries, blackberries—and a couple of pieces of chocolate arranged among them.

Mary refilled the half-empty glass of apple juice and raised one eyebrow.

“I’ll bring it since you asked… but you really should eat proper meals now. It’s hot, I know, but you can’t live off things like this.”

Ever since the departure ceremony, Mary had grown noticeably calmer and quieter. But whenever she scolded Vanessa, that old sharp edge in her personality resurfaced without fail.

Oddly enough, it was in those moments of bluntness that her humanity showed the most. And now, even that faint warmth felt precious. After all, Mary was the only one left in this estate who still seemed to care about her.

Vanessa smiled gently and nodded.

“I suppose I’ve just had a lot on my mind. I won’t skip dinner tonight.”

It wasn’t entirely untrue.

Lately, eating has been difficult. She knew she needed to eat well to endure this difficult period, but whenever she let her guard down, her hand would drift toward sweets instead—chocolate, candies, jam-filled cookies.

She had always lost her appetite in extreme heat, but this summer felt particularly severe. Even when she was sitting still, a sudden wave of heat would rise through her body.

At times, she felt dizzy—as if she were seasick, despite standing firmly on the ground. Cold sweat would break out for no reason at all. She had never been particularly strong to begin with, so perhaps it was just the recent shifts in temperature…

“…You’ve been staying in the greenhouse lately.”

“Hm?”

“Mr. Ross was worried something might have happened to you. He said you’ve changed a lot compared to when you first came back after graduating. Back then, you were always in the rose garden, the library, or the west drawing room.”

Vanessa’s hand froze, hovering over the chocolate on her plate.

Mary wasn’t wrong. These days, Vanessa had been deliberately keeping her distance from the rose garden, spending all her time in the greenhouse instead.

Of course, “spending time” simply meant staying cooped up in the estate, working through piles of writing. At first, she had done it to avoid the reporters.

But as time passed, she found herself genuinely reluctant to return to the rose garden. Perhaps… she was simply afraid of facing that place without River Ross there.

“I just… haven’t felt like going.”

Vanessa lowered her gaze, trying to sound casual, moving the chocolate slowly against her tongue as she spoke.

“No one’s been taking care of it, so the grass has grown wild again. And there are more insects now.”

“Mr. Ross has been terribly busy. Even managing just one greenhouse takes a lot of effort, and he’s responsible for three gardens. It’s only natural he hasn’t had time to look after the rose garden—especially since it’s so far out of the way.”

“That’s why I always liked it. Whenever I was there, everything felt quiet… even my thoughts.”

After a brief pause, Vanessa added in a softer voice,

“And now… I think I just want to hear someone talking beside me.”

Listening to the maids chatter reminded her of the days when she used to talk endlessly with Rosalyn without worry, without malicious rumors or scandal. Just like when she was still a student in St. Louis.

Vanessa let out a faint, breath-like laugh. Perhaps, out of everything that had happened… this was the hardest part.

That Rosalyn and Blair were no longer by her side.

Just then, laughter drifted in through the open greenhouse door. It seemed Ellie, the maid who had attended her wedding ceremony at Bath Cathedral that morning, had just returned.

Her cheeks were flushed with happiness as she handed out armfuls of white flowers to the others.