Chapter 28
Haewon hid in her room. She stood with her back against the wall, listening to the rhythm of his footsteps, the low murmur of his voice through the walls as he addressed her mother, who was thanking him profusely and begging him to do all that he could to discreetly bring Yeonhee home.
He sounded brusque, tense. His discomfort was evident.
“Agasshi!” Maid Boram gasped, rushing over to Haewon. “You are still in that dress from this afternoon? You will catch your death. Come, let me change you.”
Haewon hadn’t changed since arriving, too soon swept into the nightmare of her missing sister. “Thank you,” she whispered as Boram stripped her down to her undergarments.
Boram left, then soon returned with a bucket of clean water, a little breathless as she spoke. “Good heavens. I just passed that tall, proud guest of ours. Your father was apologizing for dragging him here. And Lord Yu is staring at the door, as though he would like nothing more than to leave.”
Embarrassment heated Haewon’s skin as she crouched before the bucket in partial undress, wiping the bare sections of herself, her skin flushed a deep red.
“The ordeal the Shin family is putting that gentleman through!” Boram went on, “Earlier today, you clung to him in the water like a clam onto a rock—”
Jade gasped, a sewing needle held midair. “You swam with Lord Yu?”
“I didn’t swim with him,” Haewon protested. “I fell into a pond and he assisted me out.”
Boram huffed out a breath, taking the wet cloth to clean Haewon’s back, her throat, behind her ears. “And now Lord Yu, heir to Myeongwoldang, a giwajip with ninety-nine rooms, has stepped into our Haewon agasshi’s … tiny abode.”
“I can’t imagine why my name should be uttered in the same breath as his,” Haewon said stiffly.
“I can’t imagine why myself,” Jade chimed in, and there was an odd glint in her eyes, as though she were privy to some great secret. Once Boram stalked off to retrieve clean clothing, Jade leaned forward and whispered, “Young Master Byeongho told me.”
Haewon tensed. “Told you what?”
“You know how servants gossip. A few overheard a conversation at Myeongwoldang, and the story reached Young Master Byeongho. He told me a mysterious young woman had rejected Lord Yu. Of course, I instantly knew who the lady in question was. Oh, Haewon-ah.” Her brow puckered, her eyes warming with anguish. “Is this true?”
“I meant to tell you,” Haewon rushed to say, her voice lowered into a bare whisper. “But the opportunity never came.”
“Have your feelings for him changed? Perhaps he is still besotted with you.”
“I will tell you more later, eonni. But you needn’t look so concerned.” Haewon forced a smile as Boram returned. “It is over.”
That was the truth. Lord Yu could not care for her any longer, not after how she had humiliated him, and certainly not after spending an evening with her uncouth and less-than-perfect family.
Her heart was heavy as she dragged herself into fresh undergarments. Boram proceeded to wrap her chest with a clean roll of jolitmal. The fabric cinched around her, a tightness she’d had to live with ever since her chest had filled out. Yet tonight, it felt even more constricting.
“Your parents have always offered room to elderly travelers, or couples, never a young man every family in the capital is vying to make their son-in-law.” Boram chattered on as she continued to attend to her mistress.
“I wonder what the villagers will say when they discover this. Though, I suppose that will be the least on their minds when they learn of Mistress Yeonhee!”
Haewon groaned, her head aching at the reminder.
“Perhaps,” Jade said, “perhaps we will find her, before anyone knows better.”
“Like I always say, every woman is surrounded by a neighborhood of spies.” Boram now roamed about, picking up the undergarments soiled by the pond water.
“People will know, if she doesn’t return by tomorrow.
Someone is bound to recognize her wandering alone in the capital, the longer she remains missing.
Society is unforgiving of young ladies. Didn’t the official who investigated Jade not say those very words? ”
“Yes.” Jade shook her head as she returned to her needlework. “He declared the virtuous woman is one of the greatest treasures of Joseon. And that it is better for a woman who loses her greatest possession to choose death.”
Haewon scoffed. “I’m sure members from Father’s clan will begin conspiring against Yeonhee as soon as they hear the gossip.
” She angrily pushed her arms through the straps of her nighttime dress and, once secured, shrugged into her white jacket.
“But I will sooner push them into the deep water before they manage to lay a hand on Yeonhee.”
“I’ll bring you the rope.” A sweet smile played on Jade’s lips as she stabbed a needle into her embroidery. “So you might bind them up.”
“And I…” Boram took the bundle of clothing and dumped it into a straw basket. “I will serve as your alibis. I will declare that Mistress Jade and Haewon spent their entire day”—she waved her hand—“toiling in the kitchen.”
They all three exchanged smiles, each of them barely able to hide their fear and sadness.
But Haewon knew, with certainty, that even if Yeonhee turned out to be the fifth great scandal in Joseon history, alongside the infamous Lady Eowudong, Lady Yu Gam-dong, Lady Geumeumdong, and Lady Dongja, Yeonhee would always be swaddled in a kind of innocence.
Haewon had carried Yeonhee on her back. She had washed her little sister’s face. She had seen her joys and snotty sobs.
She knew Yeonhee.
Yeonhee would always be their Yeonhee.
Later that night, long after the twenty-eighth rumble of the Bosingak bell signaled the closing of the fortress gate, Haewon lay on her bed mat, staring blankly up at the ceiling while the others slept.
It was truly difficult to sleep when she was constantly wondering what the inscrutable, unsmiling giant was doing at the other end of her home.
She wondered, too, how she might warn Lord Yu of the danger his reputation was in, without revealing herself as Magpie.
He needed to know—by involving himself in the search for Yeonhee, it would bring him toe to toe with the very inspector who was searching for Black Lotus.
With a sigh, Haewon abandoned her mat and sat before her low table, preparing the paper and writing equipment. She lit a candle and leaned into the golden circle of light. After a few attempts, she composed a satisfactory note, dried the ink, then folded it in half.
Now lay her dilemma.
She could wait to deliver the note tomorrow. But her parents would expect her to remain in her room, and any chance of slipping away unnoticed would be lost with Mother and Father awake.
She could also sneak it under the study door, where Lord Yu was staying for the night, then flee.
Haewon folded her face into her hands, her heart thundering in her ears so loud that she couldn’t think. This question would keep her up all night, and she wanted to be done with it. She never wished to think of Black Lotus and Magpie again.
Blowing out the candle, Haewon rose to her feet with the note clutched tight and padded across the dark room. She had to remind herself there was nothing to fear. Lord Yu wouldn’t see her; she would be as quick as a mouse in the shadows of night, as quick as lightning itself, as quick as—
Boram tossed in her sleep, mumbling something about rice cakes and sweets. Then she fell motionless again.
Holding her breath, Haewon pulled the door open, wincing at every rumble and rattle of the doorframe. Then she stepped out and held herself still, listening for movement. There was none. Not a single murmur, creak, or shuffle. Everyone seemed to be asleep.
Her feet bare and her steps quiet, Haewon snuck across the wooden maru floor, the main living space where they would take meals together as a family.
A few paces more, and she stood before the latticed door of the study, the hanji screen glowing a pale, moon-touched blue.
Holding back the swell of her skirt, she crouched, note in hand as she stretched, about to slip it under—
The door suddenly slid open.
Haewon froze, staring at her fingertips, nearly touching a pair of silk white boseon. She glanced up, slowly, past the trousers, the silk robe that drifted elegantly over them. She dared not stare up any higher.
“Mistress Haewon?”
She shot to her feet. She hadn’t planned for this!
Then a most dreadful and horrifying realization dawned on her: She was in a state of undress.
Bareheaded and in nothing but her nightgown, a sight reserved for only the closest of family members.
She darted a glance around, searching for something, anything, to wrap herself in. But there was nothing.
“I … I couldn’t sleep,” he said, his voice tense, “so thought I might take a walk—”
She made the mistake of looking up, and her heart stuttered at the sight of him. His dark eyes were fixed on her, studying her intently.
“Why are you here, Mistress Haewon?” he whispered.
“Well…” She bit her lower lip, and his gaze fell, riveted on her mouth. Her heart threatened to explode from her chest. Why were they standing here, like a pair of newlyweds on their wedding night?
She tried to stomp the thought away, blaming all of Jade’s romantic literature for putting that in her mind, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Yeonhee?” Mother’s voice startled the silence, echoing from the room across the main living space. “Yeonhee-yah, is that you?” Footsteps shuffled. “Yeobo, wake up. I think Yeonhee has returned.”
Haewon’s blood ran cold. The moment her parents stepped outside, they would see her alone with Lord Yu. Her mother would not hesitate; she would declare Haewon’s honor compromised and hound Lord Yu to the ends of the kingdom until he took responsibility.
Lord Yu must have thought the same.