The People of Dewbrook

Chapter Three

When Caroline woke up from her nap, she noticed that the sun was already setting. Upon grasping that, she groaned and squinted her eyes, burying her head in the pillow immediately afterwards, hoping that no one would disturb her while she was getting rid of her sleepiness. That hope of hers shattered the moment she heard a knock on her bedroom door. After she got her head out of the pillow, she turned around and smiled as convincingly as she could, politely greeting the person, whom she observed was Rosemary. It had to be her due to her appearance, which was similar enough to Harold's. Both of them had innocent and gentle faces and rather light blond hair and trustworthy, shining smiles the kinds of which were rarely witnessed in the world.

"Supper has been prepared," Rosemary said in her sweet voice, after which Caroline saw the tray in her hands, which contained a porcelain plate with roasted rabbit meat and a tall glass of red wine.

"Thank you, miss," she chirped, her stomach roaring and her eyes gleaming at how delicious the meat looked, commencing her meal as soon as Rosemary walked out of the room, leaving the door only slightly open.

Half an hour later, when she ate the food and drank the wine and Rosemary cleaned up after her, the two of them sat at the edge of the bed, doing nothing for the first few minutes except staring at the distance in complete silence and occasionally glancing at each other, wondering what they could talk about and which one of them was going to initiate the conversation. To prevent herself from dying of boredom, Caroline decided to ask the first question that came to her mind, which went like this:

"You are a charming and beautiful lady of twenty-eight with a large dowry at your disposal. Why are you not married then? You could have anyone you want, and you reject that opportunity. Your life would be fulfilled if you found yourself a kind husband who would support you financially and socially. After all, you have reached the peak of your beauty and youth, and at your age, everyone either looks for a marriage or has one, except those like your brother, whom no one obliges to make such a commitment. Is there not a man in Britain you could be content with?"

Rosemary sighed, looking at the floor. "My heart has passions that do not allow it to be held in its designated place."

"And what may those passions be?" Caroline asked coyly, having assumed the reason with ease yet still wanting confirmation, for she believed that there might have been a chance that she was in the wrong.

Rosemary shivered. "The admission of those passions is something I cannot let slip from my tongue, but assure yourself that whatever you have assumed is correct, Madam Proust, as you are an expert when it comes to societal affairs."

Caroline smirked. "So who is the object of your affections then?"

"You would not know him," Rosemary said, sighing again afterwards. "It is not a thing of fame but a thing of anonymity. He writes me letters every week, and I respond to him with much intimacy and consideration, but I feel like I hardly know anything about him. I have been made aware of nothing more than his most base interests and thus cannot tell the area of Britain where he comes from, let alone anything vital about his identity. At least there is the picture of him I painted in my mind, which will live on forever because I will never meet him, and if I never meet him, then he can never disappoint me."

"Concerning love and marriage, what does your father have to say about your prospects?"

"He is the reason I can never be with the man of my dreams. Since it is August now, my father has already found me a husband, whom I will know by heart by December. By April of next year, I will be married to a person I never consented to meet, let alone unite with in an eternal process I cannot back away from. My father has got a shining heart without a hint of corruption, which means that the matrimonial partner he has found for me has a personality far more valuable than the riches he possesses, but if matrimony is without love, then what worth does it have?"