No One Ever Loved Me - Chapter 52

I gently slipped my arm out of Lady Rosette’s grasp and took a step back, putting some space between us.

She narrowed her eyes at the sudden distance but quickly replaced her expression with a warm, pleasant smile.

“A cozy family dinner—just us. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Just thinking about it makes me happy.”

Who could have told Lady Rosette where I was going? It certainly wasn’t Sarah.

She had been visibly anxious the entire time we were in the carriage, trying over and over to convince me to turn back and bring more people from the estate.

I had been so sure I’d blocked any attempt Sarah might make behind my back. But clearly, Lady Rosette’s web was far wider and more intricate than I’d imagined.

It didn’t take long to figure out the source.

I hadn’t expected even the coachman to be on her side.

He had always seemed quiet, focused on his work, and uninterested in the affairs of the world.

I’d spent a lot of time with him—second only to Sarah—and I had even developed a quiet sense of trust.

He had claimed he would stay behind to watch the carriage. In truth, he had tipped off Lady Rosette about my destination.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline. I feel uncomfortable around Isla.”

After being humiliated during Josephine’s boat outing, Isla had tried to get back at me by staging a scene—one that would force me to witness Edgar and Elodie in an intimate moment.

Thanks to Ricardo’s unexpected interference, the plan fell apart.

Maybe that’s why Isla had locked herself in her room for days afterward.

When Lady Rosette finally found out what had happened, she hurried to hire a private tutor for her.

And only then did Isla show up at a social gathering again, walking proudly with her new tutor by her side.

I remembered Edgar’s comment as he watched her: something about how you couldn’t expect much from a disgraced baron’s daughter.

“Isla would never do anything like that,” Lady Rosette said. “She adores you. You know she follows you around everywhere. When she was younger, it was only awkward because you didn’t let her get close.”

I corrected her calmly but firmly.

“She makes me uncomfortable, my lady.”

Lady Rosette was momentarily speechless.

Cecilia had never spoken with this kind of tone before—direct, assertive. It clearly caught her off guard.

“Isla doesn’t know when to stop. I don’t know if you heard, but at Josephine’s boating event, her behavior was… honestly, it made me embarrassed.”

The loving mother within Countess Rosette started to surface.

“That’s too harsh, Cecilia.”

“Even if we set everything else aside, the way she acted toward Edgar is something I just can’t ignore.”

Lady Rosette looked like she was struggling to keep her anger in check.

The street wasn’t crowded, but she still didn’t want anyone witnessing the kind and gracious stepmother arguing with her stepdaughter.

“Edgar is my husband. And yet Isla behaved as if she were the Countess of Linton.”

“You misunderstood her.”

“Everyone saw it. Isla got into a minor disagreement with me and immediately ran to Edgar, begging him to take her side like a child. You were there, my lady.”

If Lady Rosette got angry enough to walk away, it would be the perfect outcome for me.

“She grew up without any brothers. Maybe she felt comforted—like she finally had one.”

Unfortunately, Lady Rosette was too sharp for that.

Even in her frustration, she didn’t lose sight of her goal.

“If Isla knew how you felt, she’d be heartbroken. Why don’t we all talk? Once everything is out in the open, you’ll see there’s nothing to worry about.”

She was relentless—just like Ricardo.

And me? I wasn’t good at long battles.

Over the years, I’d developed the habit of giving in just to end things quickly, rather than arguing endlessly.

Today clearly wasn’t going my way. I had gone through all the trouble of arranging a meeting with Marchioness Federica, renting a carriage… and in the end, nothing had worked out.

Like so many of my efforts before, it had turned into another familiar failure.

I was just about to say yes and surrender when—

Lady Rosette seemed to sense it and her face brightened instantly.

“Oh, my goodness, Cecilia!”

The sound of hooves echoed as someone approached.

To my surprise, it was Margaret—on horseback.

“It must be fate! I had no idea I’d run into you on my riding path, Cecilia!”

I stood still, staring up at her in disbelief.

The first thing that came to mind was that this street hardly qualified as a riding trail.

Yes, it was clean and well-kept—but according to Sir Juan, it had been carefully designed not for leisure but to avoid disrupting the private affairs of nobles and their mistresses.

More importantly, I had never heard of a lady casually going for a horseback ride alone in the city.

Even I, a married noblewoman, couldn’t leave home without a maid, a knight, and a servant in tow—even for the shortest trips.

And Margaret? She was unmarried—and alone.

The most baffling part was the way she sat on the horse.

I didn’t know much about horseback riding, but even I could tell she was doing it wrong. She was hunched forward, clinging to the horse’s back like she might fall off at any moment.

The horse, clearly annoyed, kept snorting, trying to shake her off.

They both looked equally uncomfortable.

“A ride?” I repeated.

“Yes! There’s no proper riding field at the Artois estate, so I come here whenever I have the time.”

Margaret said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Maybe it would’ve sounded believable if she’d been sitting up straight. But the way she clutched the reins with both hands, visibly terrified of falling, ruined any credibility.

“Lady Margaret, if you want to have a conversation… perhaps you should start by getting off the horse?”

Did Lady Rosette not notice the strange atmosphere I felt?

“Oh! I didn’t even realize you were here, Countess Rosette. Cecilia was in the way, and I must have missed you.”

Margaret gave a small nod from atop her horse.

There was definitely a hint of her usual mischief—trying to provoke—but more than that, it looked like she was just too afraid of falling to move too much.

“You two weren’t having a warm, friendly chat, I imagine. Must’ve been a chance meeting—like mine.”

This time, she was clearly trying to annoy Lady Rosette.

“I understand it’s hard for some to see a mother and daughter getting along. Still, you’d do well to be more mindful of your words, Lady Margaret.”

“‘Mother and daughter’?”

Margaret let out a loud, sarcastic laugh. It was rare to see her laugh, so the effect was jarring.

“What’s so funny?” Lady Rosette asked coolly.

Her icy tone might’ve been more intimidating if Margaret wasn’t still up on the horse, above her line of sight.

“Oh… I thought you were joking. You weren’t?”

“Cecilia,” Rosette said, turning to me, fully ignoring Margaret now. “Haven’t I told you enough times to choose your friends wisely? People of our status should know who we can and cannot associate with.”

“If Baron Estas heard that, he’d be heartbroken, Countess,” Margaret fired back without missing a beat.

Lady Rosette’s face changed.

Even I was taken aback. I hadn’t expected Margaret to bring up her family so boldly.

“If Baron Estas hadn’t been around, would you have even become a countess?”

Lady Rosette’s hand, clutching her basket, had gone pale.

But Margaret didn’t stop there.

“You’re an inspiration to all us baron’s daughters. I mean, you became a countess—even if it was as someone’s second wife. Honestly, I think I’ll stop rushing into marriage and just wait for a count to be widowed.”

I stared at Margaret, stunned.

What was she trying to achieve by provoking Lady Rosette like this?

Despite the growing tension between Isla and me, Rosette still held a strong reputation in high society. Even if cracks had started to show, people still admired her for managing the household alone after losing her husband at such a young age.

If Margaret wanted a ticket into elite society, the last thing she should be doing was turning Lady Rosette into an enemy.

“Well, I suppose dinner’s out of the question now,” Rosette snapped. “Once you’re done associating with that rude girl, then we’ll see if our family can sit down together again.”

She spun around and returned to her carriage.

It took off with a jolt—faster and rougher than usual—vanishing from sight in seconds.

“Lady Margaret…” I began.

“Cecilia.”

Margaret flashed a wide smile—but her lips trembled right after.

“Could you… help me down?”

She looked truly terrified, so I quickly called for Sir Juan.

With practiced ease, he stepped forward, helped her dismount, and set her gently on the ground.

The moment her feet touched the earth, Margaret collapsed into a sitting position.

“Ugh… I thought I was going to die.”

“I thought horse riding was your hobby?”

“Of course that was a lie! Do you think Baron Artois would ever buy me a horse this expensive?”

“Then… whose horse is this?”

The horse, clearly fed up, kicked at the ground with its hind legs.

Sir Juan quickly grabbed the reins.

“Lord Ricardo lent it to me. But more importantly—Sir, could you take this beast over there? Turns out I really don’t like horses. Or heights, apparently.”

I blinked at her.

“What did you say? What was that?”

“I just realized… I have a fear of heights,” she muttered.

“No, before that.”

“Oh…”

Margaret avoided my gaze.

“Lady Margaret.”

“Lord Ricardo lent me the horse. He said Cecilia might need help, and told me to take a stroll around here.”

I turned to Sir Juan. He immediately shook his head.

“It wasn’t me.”

“So there’s someone else in contact with Lord Ricardo?” I asked.

“I haven’t been in contact with anyone, my lady,” Sir Juan replied firmly.

“He’s telling the truth,” Margaret added, finally standing on shaky legs. “That knight isn’t involved. But Lord Ricardo? He’s probably creeping around somewhere, watching you even now.”

“Excuse me? Creeping around?”

“Stalking, Cecilia. Following you around in secret, watching your every move. That’s what stalking is.”

I hadn’t asked what the word meant.

“Wait—why would Lord Ricardo…?”

It would’ve been a lie to say I didn’t have any idea. But I hadn’t thought he was the type to go as far as stalking.

“He’s probably nearby, spying on you as we speak.”

“That’s ridiculous. I don’t believe even Lord Ricardo would stoop that low.”

Our last meeting had ended with him suspecting my true identity.

If it were me, I’d be racking my brain trying to make sense of the impossible, not wasting time on something as ridiculous and irrational as stalking.

It was too thoughtless, too foolish, and too beneath him.

“Cecilia.”

Margaret placed a hand on my shoulder, shaking her head.

“Lord Ricardo is a man without sense, wasting his time on pointless things. He’s pathetic.”

She said it with such absolute certainty that I found myself, almost without realizing it, nodding in agreement.

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