Guidebook for the Dark Duke

Chapter 54 - Opportunity Comes

Alia is an unusual girl. She is very assertive in what she does. She is completely different from the girls who rely on men to survive in this era. After discussing with Ford about Evan, she wants to start with Edward. The thought couldn’t be stopped any longer.

It’s just that, although Alia has this intention, the situation at this time does not allow her to do anything. Because of Duke Wilson’s dislike of her, Dr. Hester does not dare to take her with him every time he visits Cornwall Manor. Alia wants to go there together with him and she also asked Dr. Hester to take her over and over again, but she was not allowed in the end.

At the same time, the news of Sheriff Chandler’s arrest of Mrs Johnson spread in Delanlier and everyone was shocked. The woman turned out to be the one who murdered her husband.

Such contradictory facts made everyone unable to believe this result, and some people even wrote to Sheriff Chandler, asking him to investigate this matter thoroughly and not to wrong Mrs Johnson.

But Sheriff Chandler was very confident and was not disturbed by these outside voices. In his opinion, what Mrs Johnson had done before was just trying to push the matter on Rael, whom she hated and tried to hold him accountable for her crimes.

Sheriff Chandler was so convinced of his conclusion that even if Mrs Johnson yelled at him in prison, he still didn’t care. He knows that this poor lady had never suffered such a crime since the day she was born, but now this dark prison is probably the best ending for her. Sheriff Chandler feels sympathy for her but he also sincerely looks forward to the day when the court opens, not that he feels enthusiastic about sending Mrs Johnson to the gallows, but he sincerely hopes that this terrible thing will end soon.

Sheriff Chandler’s urgent mood has not been satisfied. The Judges of Yorkshire are obviously very busy this fall. There have been several vicious fighting incidents in the county. Because of the drought and natural disasters, Yorkshire’s tenants and farmers have been deeply affected and they are all suffering. They lost their food and even lost their homes. These people gathered together and formed a large force so the officials in the whole Yorkshire were very busy, so not many people would care about the little things from this little place called Delanlier.

It was at this time that Duke Wilson’s invitation was delivered to Sheriff Chandler.

Lord Edward’s birthday is coming, and all the people of high status and class in Delanlier has received an invitation from the Duke. Although Sheriff Chandler is not liked by the Duke, it is a pity that he is a friend of Reverend Bruce. Duke Wilson can only reluctantly send him an invitation letter.

Sheriff Chandler didn’t have much self-awareness. Although Duke Wilson’s invitation made him a little flattered, he also took it for granted in his heart.

But unlike him, this invitation made a person ecstatic, and of course this person was Alia, who had been locked out for so long.

In Alia’s view, this invitation letter is simply God’s will. Her father, Dr. Hester is a typical old-fashioned gentleman. Although he loves Alia very much, he sticks to his own bottom line, and would never let Alia get involved in Duke Wilson’s affairs, especially after he found out about Alia’s feelings.

Whether Alia was crying and begging, or trying to convince him, Dr. Hester was stubborn and did not let up until this invitation came.

This invitation letter gave the stubborn and conservative Doctor Hester no room for refusal, because it was clearly stated in the invitation letter that the invited people were Doctor Hester and Miss Alia. As a lady specially invited by the Duke, Dr. Hester was a little embarrassed.

“Oh, my dear father.” Alia was as happy as a lark. “This is very nice. Lord Edward is five years old now, which is a real joy.”

Dr. Hester couldn’t bear to see Alia like this. In fact, according to what he thought, he wanted to make Alia pretend to be sick and avoid this invitation, because he was not sure about Duke Wilson’s treatment of Alia. What does it mean? He is very sure that Duke Wilson didn’t like Alia anymore. This sudden invitation made Dr. Hester a little confused.

“My dear Alia.” Dr. Hester was very cautious, “Lord Edward is still a child, and didn’t you have a cold a few days ago? I think…” Dr. Hester stretched his tone, like an ancient musical instrument, “I don’t think you should go, so as not to let the Lord get sick too.”

Alia’s face gradually turned pale at the words of Dr. Hester and she almost couldn’t believe it. Looking at Dr. Hester, “Father! How can you say such a thing! My cold is gone, this is your diagnosis. Why do you keep me from going to Cornwall Manor again and again? Is it that you don’t trust me?”

Dr. Hester had never seen Alia look so angry, and he panicked a little, “Oh Alia, my lovely daughter, that’s not what I meant.” He was a little incoherent for a while, “I mean, of course I believe you, but this invitation is really strange, you know, Duke Wilson, to you…”

His tone became lower and lower, and finally he was a little embarrassed by Alia’s look.

Alia’s face flushed red and she bit her lower lip. Her shame was like a poisonous tongue that twisted her heart to death.

“I…know what you mean.” Alia replied dryly, “I won’t have any more wishful thinking, but Lord Edward has been close to me since he was a child. This is his birthday, and he also invited me. I… I don’t want to disappoint him.”

Dr. Hester looked at Alia with some worry. If it wasn’t for a reason, he wouldn’t want to put this cruel thing on the table, but Alia was his child after all, he couldn’t watch by the side and lead her into the abyss.

“Okay.” Dr. Hester finally compromised, maybe Alia was right, this special invitation to her might just be because of the Lord Edward’s love for her, “Since you think so, then let’s go together. Just, Alia,” He looked straight into Alia’s depressed eyes, “You must promise me, don’t think about delusional things that you can’t get.”

He understood his own daughter, Alia has been unruly and stubborn since she was a child. If she was a boy, she would definitely have a bright future, but she is a girl. In such an era, such a girl is very unusual.

Arya nodded helplessly but she did not agree with Dr. Hester’s point of view. Although the Duke disliked her very much now, it was only because of Reverend Bruce. Under the deliberate guidance of Ford, Evan had turned into a vicious villain in her heart, he has become a hypocritical person with no mercy.

No matter how different Alia is, she is just a little girl. When the person she likes hates her to the extreme, she will subconsciously find excuses for him. The Duke doesn’t really hate her, but he is just being deceived by Reverend Bruce. Just being deceived.

As long as she thought about it like this, the painful emotion that tightly bound her heart was finally relieved.

********

The time for Lord Edward’s birthday banquet was set three days later. During these three days, Alia searched for everything Edward might be interested in, and finally chose what Dr. Hester brought back from London which was a set of hardcover books. In her opinion, Edward is a smart and well-behaved child and such a child would like books the most.

When the day finally came, Alia put on a gorgeous dress, and with Dr. Hester, set foot on the carriage to Cornwall Manor.

Because of Dr. Hester, they were personally greeted by Butler Chris. When Butler Chris saw Alia, his expression was stunned for a moment. He glanced at Dr. Hester, who was smiling and a little guilty.

“Dr. Hester, Miss Alia, you’re welcome. The Duke is welcoming the guests in the hall at this time. Please come with me.”

Butler Chris’s politeness was indifferent, which obviously relieved Dr. Hester’s mind. He was relieved but he was still a little nervous. He followed Butler Chris and walked towards the hall.

Alia didn’t notice the change in her father, and she was eagerly looking forward to seeing Duke Wilson.

The moment Alia stepped into the hall, she saw Duke Wilson. He was wearing a decent suit, standing in the center of the hall, with a decent and flat smile on his face as he greeted every guest.

His eyes slid along the crowd to Dr. Hester and his party. Alia tugged at the edge of her skirt a little excitedly, expecting a different look on his face.

Unfortunately, the final result disappointed her. Duke Wilson didn’t have any special expression on his face and it was even colder than before.

“Doctor, Miss Alia.” Duke Wilson nodded calmly.

Dr. Hester felt like the big rock in his heart was lifted at this time, it seemed that Duke Wilson at least did not reject Alia’s presence.

“Lord Duke, thank you very much for your invitation. I hope Lord Edward can grow up healthily.” Dr. Hester bowed.

But Alia seemed to be frozen by something as she looked at Duke Wilson blankly.

The Duke frowned with disgust. Dr. Hester’s heart jumped and he quickly pulled Alia’s hand. Alia then reacted and bowed to the Duke.

Duke Wilson gave Alia a very cold look and said, “You are too polite. You are the most sincere friend of Cornwall Manor. I hope you will find this banquet enjoyable.”

The Duke said the most mechanical welcome speech and with another look at Butler Chris, Dr. Hester and Alia were quickly taken away.

Alia looked back at Duke Wilson with regret. He looked impatient with them, but when the next person came forward, he became the gentle and polite Duke again.

Alia felt disappointed in her heart for some reason. At this moment, she suddenly raised her head to look at the second floor and she looked straight at the room where Evan lived. She did not see that person today.