Chapter 151 - New partnerships
Early the next morning, Scarlett was led through a series of long corridors by a young woman dressed in plain attendant’s clothing. She felt like she recognized the servant, possibly from her previous visit to Beldon’s house in the capital a few months ago, although she couldn’t be entirely certain.
Following the chaos of the previous night, Scarlett would almost have expected the Tyndall estate to be bustling with activity today as well. However, to her surprise, things appeared strangely calm from what she’d seen. Having left her quarters earlier than most due to her scheduled meeting with Beldon, she hadn’t come across many other guests. The few she had seen seemed largely unaffected by the events of the previous day.
Considering that the majority of the remaining guests were nobles, she supposed that their pride and the need to uphold their image might have played a role in their apparent aloofness. Nonetheless, it caught her a bit off guard how casually everyone was behaving. Discounting the increased presence of guards and certain areas of the castle being closed off, one could almost forget that the place had been attacked the night before.
Say what you will about nobles, but she couldn’t help but respect their ability to shrug off things like this when necessary.
“The young master is inside,” the woman in front of her said, coming to a halt in front of an oak door. “He has had little chance to rest since yesterday, so please be considerate.”
Scarlett observed her for a moment before shifting her gaze to the door. “I will keep that in mind.”
She hadn’t slept at all during the night, so it wasn’t as if she was brimming with energy either. But she could manage it until they were back in Freybrook, at least.
The servant woman nodded, lowering her head as she opened the door. Scarlett entered the room and spotted Beldon seated on a couch in the center. He still wore the same clothes she had seen him in the previous day, though his jacket hung on a rack near the entrance. Currently, he sat in only his white undercoat, holding a stack of papers in his hands. His dark hair was combed to the side, slightly disheveled, but overall, he didn’t look too worse for wear.
As the door closed behind Scarlett, the man looked up at her with a small smile and gestured to a couch opposite him. “Baroness, welcome. Please have a seat.” Leaning forward, he placed the papers he’d been reading on a table in front of him. “It’s unfortunate that our second real meeting had to take place under these circumstances, but I appreciate your presence and willingness to meet. There are some matters that I wanted to discuss with you.”
“No need for gratitude,” she replied, walking over to sit down. “I also have topics I wish to deliberate with you over.”
She briefly glanced at the papers on the table. Even upside-down, she could tell they contained a list of names with descriptions next to them. Some of the names were ones she recognized. Seemed like the man was in charge of damage control.
“I am glad to hear that. Contrary to what people might think, I don’t often receive personal visits from lovely ladies such as you.”