Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 176
But Ulysses did not meet Nigel’s expectations. He remained calm. Though the veins stood out on his clenched fists, that was all.
âDisgustingly cold-blooded bastard.â
Nigel felt a bit disheartened. Just as he was about to turn away, losing interest, Ulysses spoke softly.
“That couldn’t have happened, could it?”
“âŚWhat?”
“It couldn’t have happened.”
Nigel was puzzled. Was Ulysses trying to convince himself? But his demeanor was too composed compared to earlier.
“Young Marquis, I understand your intention to deceive me. However, you should refrain from dragging others into your personal vendettas.”
“Are you lecturing me?”
“I merely stated a fact.”
“And how do you know if it’s true or not? Were you spying on us?”
Ulysses shook his head and lowered his voice.
“Sheâs unwell.”
“Unwell? Her?”
Ulysses nodded.
“She was in the study, wasn’t she?”
“You⌠how do you know that?”
“I met her first.”
A crack appeared in Nigel’s expression. Ulysses continued calmly.
“Were you with her?”
“Yes, she didnât look well, so I attended to her and left her to rest there.”
Ulysses spoke while watching Nigel’s increasingly twisted expression with indifference.
“Youâre not the kind of person who would mistreat a sick woman, are you?”
“âŚUlysses!”
Guinevere quickly approached and grabbed Ulysses by the arm.
“Oh dear! I thought you went to fetch a drink, but here you are, chatting away! You should have let me know! Iâve been waiting for quite a while!”
Guinevereâs remaining functioning eye, the one that wasnât covered, looked up at her son with concern, and her gaze naturally shifted to Nigel.
“Nigel, you should have informed me if you were coming! You acted like you wouldnât come, so why the sudden change of heart? If I had known, we could have shared a carriage.”
Shared a carriage? We donât even live together! Nigel scoffed.
He knew that Guinevere had been keeping an eye on him from the start. But now she was pretending to be on good terms? How inconvenient.
Nigel was about to say somethingâanything that would harden her expression or turn her face red with embarrassment. He didnât care what it was.
But before he could unleash his sharp words, a woman descended the stairs.
All three pairs of eyes turned upward at once.
“Cecilia, what on earth were youâŚ?”
Guinevere frowned slightly. She had many questions she wanted to ask but didnât bother. Just by looking at her face, it was clear what she had been doing on the second floor.
Her complexion was pale. The bright lipstick and the blush she had forced onto her cheeks couldnât hide the sickly pallor that clung to her face.
She spoke with a weary expression.
“May I leave now?”
Guinevere immediately granted permission.
In the meantime, Ulysses noticed Cecilia’s dress. The lower part of the dress was wrinkled, and it caught his eye.
Thatâs impossible. I know for sure that nothing could have happened between themâŚ
It bothered him so much that one of his cheeks twitched. He wanted to grab her delicate wrist and drag her back to that room to ask her.
What happened between you and the Young Marquis?
But Ulysses held back. It was an impulse he couldnât justify.
Nigel didnât take his eyes off Cecilia’s face until she turned away. The pale complexion he hadnât noticed under the yellow lights. He swore he hadnât realized.
If he hadâŚ
No, what difference would it make even if he had? We’re nothing but a mess.
Nothing would change. Itâs just a matter of feelings.
“Damn it.”
He ruffled his hair, stopped a passing servant, and downed several glasses from the tray.
***
During the time she should have been resting, Cecilia had been exchanging sharp words with Nigel, like a game of ping-pong. She still felt queasy inside.
Cecilia stumbled, her head pounding and the nausea refusing to subside.
“Miss!”
Mary, who had been waiting outside the dukeâs mansion, grabbed Ceciliaâs arm.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, Iâm fine.”
The Rosencrantz coachman helped her into the carriage.
The carriage was naturally headed back to the Rosencrantz estate. Of course, that was to be expected. But that wasnât her final destination.
Though her condition wasnât great, she still had things left to do.
It was such a busy day.
