Chapter 21: “An Unexpected Guest and an Unexpected Invitation”:
After returning from the hospital, the two of them sat silently on a bench in the garden. Liri busied herself with counting money, while the nun tried not to let Liri see how dire their situation truly was.
Just then, the noisy sound of a carriage arrived at the front of the convent, and someone pushed through the thin, latticed door.
“Timothy?”
Startled, Liri jumped to her feet, causing Purbol to tumble to the ground. She picked up the cat, whose tail puffed up like a brush in protest, and quickly ran outside to calm it.
“Timothy!”
Timothy looked at Liri with slightly surprised eyes. They exchanged awkward greetings, as if they had been caught trying to deceive each other.
“My goodness, Timmy? Timothy Rutland?”
Sister Volina examined the young man, trying to find traces of the little Timmy she remembered. She was astonished at how much the boy who had lingered around Liri had grown.
“It’s been a long time, Sister,” Timothy said, giving her an awkward smile.
“Liri, what are you wearing? You’ll catch a cold.”
He frowned at Liri’s thin clothing, noticing she hadn’t even draped a shawl over herself.
“Timothy, what brings you here?”
“I’m a little hurt that you’d ask that after I came all this way,” he said, clutching his chest as if wounded by her question.
Liri couldn’t help but laugh at his exaggerated gesture. Timothy sighed, relieved to see her smile.
“That smile suits a friend you haven’t seen in a long time.”
Now fully grown, he draped his arms over both of their shoulders and hurried along. Purbol, the cat with a large head, meowed and tried to squeeze between them.
“Sister, Liri, let’s go inside first. I’ll explain everything once we’re in.”
The three of them sat facing each other at an old table set up in a corner of the kitchen.
“Timmy, you’ve grown so much. It feels like just yesterday that Mrs. Rutland complained about you always following Liri around!”
“My backside still tingles from getting spanked by Sister,” Timothy joked.
“You two together remind me so much of the old days. Right, Liri?”
Liri nodded happily. Why would Timothy come all the way to East Longfell? Had something happened in Londinium?
Timothy pulled out a small cloth pouch containing glasses.
“Liri worried a lot about you. Fortunately, my uncle got lenses from overseas. How do they fit?”
“Oh my, Timmy, thank you so much.”
The Sister gently clasped Timothy’s hand.
“You may have heard, but the cookie incident was quite the scandal,” she said.
“Timothy, Sister is worried, you know,” Liri interjected, giving him a pointed look.
Timothy raised his hands in surrender.
“Don’t worry too much. It’s all in the past. I happened to be nearby for work, and what a coincidence this is.”
The Sister nodded.
“I was worried about a girl traveling alone by train, but it worked out well.”
“Oh, Timmy, it’s not because you didn’t want to go back to your parents’ house, right?”
Liri teased. Timothy coughed nonchalantly and grabbed a muffin from the table.
“Ah, this is delicious! Did you make this, Liri? Really tasty.”
As the three talked, the heavily overcast sky began to sprinkle snow.
Timothy seemed determined to complete all the pending work at the convent before returning to Londinium with Liri. He repaired the creaking chicken coop and played with the lonely, bored children.
“Liri, what are you looking at?”
Sister approached Liri, who had been staring out the window. Liri turned her gaze to the Sister.
Timothy was in the middle of a snowball fight with the children. They threw snowballs at him, laughing and shouting.
“Ah! I surrender, I surrender!”
“Let’s turn him into a snowman!”
“Please spare me! Or… I’ll eat you all!”
“Run! It’s a snow monster! Aaaaaah!”
The laughter spread even inside the stone walls. Timothy noticed Liri watching outside and waved energetically.
“You too, come out!”
Liri waved back quietly, smiling.
“It’ll be easier for you to leave if the snow eases up. But now that Timothy is here, I feel reassured,” the Sister said, looking at Liri intently. Timothy had a youthful adult presence now, and Liri had shed some of her childish demeanor.
“Looks like Timothy likes you,” she added unexpectedly.
Liri laughed. She knew the truth all too well.
“We don’t match,” she said calmly.
“Still thinking about becoming a nun, huh?”
She was bright and clever. The Sister didn’t want her to spend her life as a simple countryside nun when she had so much potential, even though she worked as a maid in Londinium.
“When she’s absorbed in a book with curiosity shining in her eyes, she hears nothing else. That girl isn’t meant to be a nun,” the Sister continued.
“Why did she even come here? From the moment she crossed the convent threshold, I knew she wouldn’t become a nun. To pretend otherwise and toy with her heart—that’s a sin too.”
“Don’t say that. I don’t want to lose Timothy. He’s a good friend,” Liri replied.
“The paths we don’t take are always frightening. But you know, Timothy is a good kid. He would even worship your shadow.”
Timothy twirled the children in his arms despite the snow and sharp cold, wearing just a thin shirt, his cheeks flushed.
He pressed against the window, knocking.
“Come out.”
The Sister alternated her gaze between Timothy and Liri, as if subtly suggesting that Liri accept his attention.
Instead, Liri smiled at Timothy once, then picked up the yarn the Sister had prepared.
“Sister, do you remember the play we did?” Liri asked.
The Sister nodded.
“Zizi couldn’t memorize a single line and cried in front of the guests,” Liri recalled.
“It was remarkable. She cried so pitifully that everyone threw flowers and coins onto the stage. And I, playing the tree, tried to pick them up…”
“Thomas suddenly ran onto the stage!”
Liri giggled at the memory. It was joyful, but thinking back made her feel older.
“Sister, I’ll earn enough to put on plays and make the children happy again. I know everything now. You don’t have to hide it from me.”
The Sister frowned at Liri’s words.
“Lord Belmore ruined things for us, but we’re here together now, aren’t we?”
By now, the snow had stopped, and the world outside the window was pure white. All stains and sins seemed covered, nothing ugly remained.
When Liri didn’t come out, Timothy stepped inside. A rush of cold air followed him.
“What were you doing?”
“Can’t you see? I was praying,” Liri said primly.
Timothy knelt with a solemn expression.
“What was today’s prayer topic, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Liri instructed.
Timothy repeated after her.
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Timothy gazed intently at the smiling Liri. She removed her smile and subtly looked away.
Why couldn’t we stay children forever?
She couldn’t bear the way Timothy looked at her.
The next day, the two departed for Londinium. Timothy let Liri go ahead while he spoke at length with the Sister.
Meanwhile, Liri checked her mother’s letters over and over, almost memorizing them, then tucked them into a corner of the book she had brought. She also slipped the note from her pocket alongside them.
She resolved to work hard and find her mother—not just struggling to survive, but learning how to truly navigate life.
Timothy eventually finished his talk with the Sister and came outside.
“What were you talking about for so long?”
“She said to take care of little Liri,” he said. Liri looked away, embarrassed.
“So, you didn’t do whatever it was you came to East Longfell for? Seems you’re doing pretty well these days.”
“Well, since I’m doing well, I might as well share it with you. Want to come to my house for Christmas? My parents are curious about you,” Timothy said naturally, munching on the muffin he had brought from the convent.
Liri straightened her skirt, buying herself a moment to respond. She knew Mrs. Rutland wouldn’t welcome her warmly.
“Christmas is for family,” Liri said, recalling the time she spent in the warehouse of that house—the dusty floor and the distant view of the Belmore Hotel.
Even if Timothy took her there, she wouldn’t be welcomed. And Mrs. Rutland would probably like that fact even more.
But Liri neither had the skill to spin her warehouse memories into a story nor the courage to tell the truth.
“Well, then you can just become my family,” Timothy replied naturally, seemingly unaware of Liri’s inner thoughts.
