The People of Dewbrook

Chapter Six

Rosemary placed two fingers on her chin. "I am still wondering how that strange event came to be in the first place. It is not as if this town was famous for its burglaries, for who could ever have the gall to do such a thing? I have a hunch that the person in question was not looking for a particular object, but instead for a way to disturb the family and the rest of the town. However, the motive still eludes me."

Caroline scowled. "Why would the burglar not have looked for a particular object and fled after their plans were foiled at the moment?"

Rosemary shrugged. "This whole situation is unnatural, but I believe that there was no true burglar in the first place. If there were, Stephen would have been disturbed as well, but it was only Mildred who showed any signs of distress. There must be something that she is hiding, and she was worried that someone could blackmail her, mistaking random noises in the night for the footsteps of a person who intended to do so."

Caroline let out a sigh of relief. "I thought it could have affected any of us for a moment, but come to think of it, I also doubt that a threat ever existed. Let us finish our breakfast at last, shall we?"

Rosemary nodded.

After that, they ate for half an hour, and when they were done, the maid cleaned up the table shortly. Caroline and Rosemary were about to leave the room, but they halted their movement as soon as they saw a familiar figure descend the stairs. The man, known as Elliott Wells, was of tall posture, his way of walking was stiff and his body worn by age, yet on his face, there was a lively and earnest smile, accompanied by red cheeks. He was dressed in his best suit, and he hugged his daughter once he came face to face with her.

Caroline knew he would fail to remember to ask her why she was still there this time, so she smiled and turned to have a good look at them. After all, the family members were known for their enormous generosity and understood the pain of grief perfectly, and she tried her best to repay their kindness, a duty which she did not think of lightly, helping them out in whatever way she could and just being very kind to them overall. She was also incredibly lucky that her ulterior motives were still away from their minds.

Rosemary was visibly still a bit sullen, trying to hide it from her father the best she could, which surprised Caroline a little, but not much. When he glanced at her, she smiled brightly as if nothing had happened. For the following hour, the three of them talked about the most mundane of things while preparing for the grand event, and from time to time, Caroline would still catch a glimpse of the young lady's sorrow.

It seemed to last for an eternity until, at once, the fiance came to their door. It could not have been anyone else knocking due to their refusal to accept other visitors that day, which the father notified the servants about the previous night. The moment he walked in, everyone turned to face him, all forming their best smiles and greeting him with utmost politeness without hesitation.

As was to be expected, Rosemary was the one observing him the most. After silently looking at him for a while, she concluded that her father had found the most suitable match he could have. The white suit with colourful patterns he had on him was truly one that belonged to a gentleman, and even in poorer clothes, him being a gentleman would have been glaringly obvious due to his posture and the rest of his appearance. His thick brown hair was slicked back, but not so much as to make him resemble those arrogant men whose sole purpose in life was to woo women, especially easy ones. His small, bright red lips were part of what made him look as charming and kind as her, accompanied by his gentle blue eyes that gleamed with purity and wonder. He was quite the man she could even come to love the same way some other wives came to love their arranged husbands, if only she could ignore the love she already had inside her, but she had to promise herself that she would at least try, and she did.