Chapter 89 – The Incoming Lady
Unlike Clara and Miss Arrowot, who dressed like ordinary middle-class ladies, Jade wore clothing similar to that of the female students – a humble, slightly patched hand-me-down work dress, paired with a pinafore apron and a simple cap. The cap was little more than a triangular piece of fabric wrapped around the head to keep the hair tidy.
Most customers, after being assisted by the students and deciding what to purchase, went directly to Clara or Miss Arrowot to make payment. Few paid attention to Jade, assuming she was an older student or an assistant helping the young teachers manage the students.
Clara, who had grown accustomed to speaking with customers and could now manage polite small talk, initially believed Jade was being overly cautious about the heated debate surrounding the soon-to-be-implemented air-cleaning regulations. After all, Jade’s name had never appeared in the newspapers; scientific journals interested gentlemen far more than ladies, and this charity bazaar was attended primarily by women. Who would come to their booth asking about Jade?
And for the entire morning, Clara had been right. No customer asked about Jade at all. However, many recognised them as the domus whose students sold biscuits and chips. Some were regular customers who had watched the little stall from its earliest days, and they were pleased to see students looking healthy, better fed, and visibly more educated than the other street urchins. They left encouraging notes, praised the domus’s charitable efforts, and purchased goods as a practical show of support.
However, when ladies adorned with brighter jewels and finer dresses began arriving in the afternoon, Clara noticed something unusual. Several customers lingered near their booth, glancing around as though searching for someone. They would ask for Clara’s name, then Miss Arrowot’s, and afterward their expressions shifted into a mixture of disappointment, curiosity, and mild frustration.
“Pardon me, but I cannot resist my curiosity,” One lady asked Clara. “I heard these crafts were greatly inspired by a rather unique teacher. Does she not wish to share in her students’ happiness today?”
Clara answered carefully. She could not claim Jade was absent – that would be a lie – but she could gently redirect the conversation. Lowering her head slightly, she replied, “Of course, all of our teachers are delighted for the students. The profit from today’s sales will go toward the students’ fund, supporting books, food, medicine, and other necessities for their future.”
Some ladies were quickly diverted by Clara’s answer.
“Oh, it is wonderful to hear the children receive such support. Though does that mean your domus no longer requires donations?”
Once the conversation entered familiar territory, Clara could guide it with ease toward a subject that might benefit the domus.
“My lady, we are always grateful for donations.” She said smoothly. “Small donations remind us to continue working diligently, while larger ones allow us not only to sustain ourselves, but also to assist other domus and the poor within our parish. As you must have noticed, not every domus is blessed with a fortunate location or prosperous neighbours…”
By the end of such conversations, customers often purchased additional crafts or promised to make donations later. It was a skill Clara had never possessed before coming to the domus. Jade had guided her step by step on how to navigate conversation – though Jade herself insisted she only knew the basics and was not especially good at it. Even so, the lessons had helped Clara overcome much of her shyness when speaking with strangers.
Still, some ladies were not so easily diverted by Clara’s gentle tactics.
“It is rather surprising,” one lady remarked, “to find a schoolmistress devoted to science who is also skilled in teaching handicraft. Surely these results are the efforts of the other teachers, rather than chiefly due to her instruction?”
Clara maintained her polite smile. “Our teachers come from many different backgrounds, and those experiences eventually become part of our students’ education. As you may have noticed, our school finds it difficult to retain teachers for long periods, so we expect a yearly rotation. That means each group of students may graduate with a different set of skills.”
She gestured toward the embroidered pieces and trinkets on display. “I am not their teacher. I merely instruct them in needlework. I cannot say how long I shall remain at Wrynfield domus, nor whether I will have the opportunity to instruct another decorative screen lesson in the future, but I am pleased that the girls benefited from my lessons.”
Another portion of the customers shifted their attention to the crafts, and later on the auction pieces, before eventually asking for invitation cards.
Standing beside Clara and helping wrap purchased goods, Jade felt relieved by her friend’s quick response in redirecting customers with ulterior motives into profitable conversations that benefited both the domus and the students.
The same situation occurred with Miss Arrowot. Unlike Clara, who preferred gentle diversion, Miss Arrowot spoke with calm sincerity with little change in expression. “Pardon me, my lady. I am a newly appointed teacher with very little experience at the school. I fear I cannot offer much insight at present, though I would gladly answer your questions should we meet again in the future.”
Rather than ending the conversation once the sentence finished – as Jade herself would have preferred – people here seemed to enjoy prolonged small talk that Jade sometimes found time-consuming and troublesome. Yet, she could not simply walk away once she had engaged with someone, due to the politeness and social manners valued by this society. Miss Arrowot, like everyone else, engaged in small talks with the customers as well after diverting their attention; however, instead of steering discussions toward donations, she quietly expanded her social network. Many ladies did not object to becoming acquainted with the daughter of a knight.
Jade was just about to let out a relieved sigh. Thank the Light – no stubborn ladies had demanded her appearance or caused a scene at the booth. People here value dignity (or as in Jade’s Chinese understanding – their faces) too much; anything that threatened social decorum was avoided whenever possible.
Though the occasional gentlemen standing a few feet away continued to stare rather intensely, as though weighing or judging her…
Well, they could not seem to identify the bold woman who had dared speak of science. Perhaps someone had already informed them that none of the better-dressed ladies in the booth matched the person they ought, leaving them no choice but to study the entire booth suspiciously. Their eyes were very busy, darting from person to person.
Anyhow, Jade was happy to note some of them eventually purchased light boxes and greeting cards. So she did not mind the staring, as long as it translated to the solid benefits of clinking coins.
Still, Jade did not lower her guard. The determined ladies would eventually come looking for her.
Because of Ashborne.
She knew perfectly well that, given Mr. Rich Sponsor’s qualifications – wealthy, noble, polite, good-looking, and not known for gambling, despite his eccentric hobbies – he would naturally become a prime target for unmarried upper-class ladies seeking a husband. Although the idea that marriage should be based on love and romance had begun gaining popularity among young maidens, many Matrons still cared little whether affection existed between future spouses. What mattered was securing the fortunes and status of both families.
That likely explained why many Mistresses of the Houses tolerate their husbands’ affair. A kept nymph* could not threaten the legal rights of a wife as only the wife’s legitimate children could inherit the family fortune, while any nymph – and the children born outside marriage – remained forever pushed behind a social veil, acknowledged yet quietly scorned.
Lord Ashborne, the Mr. Rich Sponsor of their school and domus, ranked among the kingdom’s most desirable bachelors – perhaps even across the continent. Jade suspected as much after receiving several letters written in slightly awkward phrasing mixed with unfamiliar foreign terms. The letters were subtly sharp, wrapped in layers of politeness and friendly advice to strongly suggest her remain where she belonged and avoid involving herself in men’s affairs – particularly in the orbit of an ideal husband candidate.
However, most of the time Jade had a hard time understanding these letters because the language was polished to an almost painful degree, written in elaborate cursive and filled with refined phrasing. She often treated them as a way to learn new vocabulary, flipping through a dictionary as she read. She certainly did not expect to write that way herself; she was still far more comfortable with her daily “peasant” language, written in a modern day standard font.
In short, the ladies who had chosen to advise her through carefully worded letters would almost certainly appear at this charity bazaar in person, and Jade was mentally prepared for that encounter.
Not long after, a young lady approached, accompanied by a chaperone and a maid.
Jade swore she could sense an aura around this young lady.
Yes, the young lady fit every beauty standard of this era: delicate, pale, quiet, with sloping shoulders and a tiny waist. She stood a few inches shorter than Jade. The jewelry she wore suited her perfectly, and the butterfly ornament perched upon her hat hinted at considerable wealth. Every step of her seemed to display the refinement of an upbringing carefully cultivated by an aristocratic family. The chaperone – whether an older sister, aunt, or distant relative, Jade could not tell – looked visibly proud of her.
An alarm rang in Jade’s. Every instinct told her this lady would become her trouble for the day. So Jade lowered her gaze even further and bowed her head slightly, silently praying to the Light that Clara would manage to redirect this visitor as smoothly as she had the others.
The young lady lightly touched one of the trinkets with her lace-gloved hand, an exquisitely delicate fan resting in her palm. Jade caught a brief glimpse of it, and sighed inwardly. Compared side by side, their crafts could not compete with such elegance.
Their crafts were simply too humble – a better description than the term “rustic”. The materials were scraps or inexpensive pieces salvaged wherever possible. The true value lay in the craftsmanship itself, which was why customers still found the items worth purchasing.
The young lady examined the display quietly. She spent a long time simply looking, and Jade gradually forgot about her while helping one of the girls wrap purchases for another gentleman.
When Jade next glanced over, Clara was already speaking with the lady. Though the young lady remained outwardly polite, her expression calm and unreadable, Jade noticed Clara growing increasingly tense. She approached quickly and managed to catch the end of the young lady’s words.
“I am certain she can spare a moment for the daughter of an Earl,” The young Lady said, her tone lightly suggestive. “I simply must congratulate the girl, so near my own age, whose name has appeared in scientific publications. It is rare to see such an achievement emerge from so humble a setting.”
Miss Arrowot was occupied with another customer, and Clara’s tightened lips made it clear she felt cornered. So Jade had little choice but to step forward. “My Lady, is there anything I may assist you with?”
“Yes, I would like a moment with Miss Jade Lysmere.” The young Lady barely spared Jade a glance, assuming she was another assistant at the booth; her eyes remained on Clara as she pressed. “I trust someone of her responsibility would not absent herself from such an important occasion.”
Instead of answering immediately, Jade gave a small curtsy. “Yes, my Lady. I’m Jade Lysmere, the schoolmistress you wished to meet.”
The young Lady snapped her gaze toward Jade, whose presence had remained thin until Jade spoke. Her widened eyes and slightly parted lips revealed her shock. She glared at Jade from head to toes before letting out a stiff, incredulous exclamation. “You are Jade Lysmere?!”
Jade merely inclined her head again, politely.