Guidebook for the Dark Duke

Chapter 59 - GDD Chapter 59

Evan’s hunch was very correct. When he returned to the Delanlier Church, on the first Sunday, Ford did not come to worship. Ford was a priest of the church yet he did not come to worship. He put the feud between the two of them on the table.

Most of the townspeople in Delanlier were unaware and only a few sensitive gentlemen and ladies could see that something was wrong here, because although Ford had only been in Delanlier for a few days, the sense of his existence is very strong. Even the person with the least interaction with him will not ignore his existence.

After the service, a very flamboyantly dressed lady walked up to Evan. She looked thirty years old and she was wearing a bright yellow dress that only little girls would wear, with a pink hat tied in a bow tie on her head. The artificial smile squeezed on her face is contrived and eccentric.

“Reverend.” She said in a sly voice, “Do you remember me?”

Evan looked at the woman in front of him, thought for a moment, smiled and nodded, “Miss Blair.”

The woman had made an impression on him on his first day in the church, and Sheriff Chandler had told him the other day that it was this woman who was Rael’s alibi witness.

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to remember me.” Miss Blair giggled. She seemed to want to make her voice more delicate but the effect was actually quite terrifying.

Evan resisted the urge to touch his arm that had goosebumps, forced a smile and nodded, and immediately asked, “Is there anything you need?” He really didn’t want to be entangled with this lady.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Miss Blair seemed to be trying to wink at Evan, but Evan didn’t even look at her.

“I want to ask you something.” Because of Evan’s indifference, Miss Blair was obviously a little frustrated, “When will the trial of Mrs Johnson’s case begin?”

Evan tensed when he heard her ask this.

“Why do you ask this?” Evan tentatively asked with a smile.

Miss Blair looked a little upset when she talked about this, and the artificial smile on her face could not be maintained at this time. She just waved her hand and said, “It’s nothing, just asking casually.”

Although she said this, her expression was obviously implying otherwise.

Evan couldn’t help but have some doubts in his heart, and after a little pause, he said, “I don’t know this too well. It is said that the county court is very busy these days, I’m afraid it will not be until next spring.”

“It will take so long?!” Miss Blair exclaimed.

Evan looked at her and raised his eyebrows. Miss Blair lowered her head hurriedly to cover up and spoke while stumbling through her words, “But…poor Mrs Johnson, I really feel…heartache for her.”

Evan’s emotions changed, but there was only a smile on his face, “You are really a kind lady. If you want to know anything about Mrs Johnson, you can go to Sheriff Chandler, I think he knows more about the matter.”

Miss Blair smiled reluctantly, then mumbled a thank you, turned and left.

Looking at Miss Blair’s leaving as though she was running away, Evan’s expression was thoughtful. It was really strange that Miss Blair was so concerned about Mrs Johnson’s affairs. According to his understanding, the two people had no interactions before, the only thing that can be considered a connection between them is that Miss Blair proved Rael’s alibi’s…

Evan’s eyes sank, it seems that this case is not so simple.

Early the next morning, Evan went to see Sheriff Chandler. When he just arrived at the sheriff’s house, Sheriff Chandler was trying to feed his daughter mashed potatoes. Evan’s arrival promptly alerted the sheriff and he was rescued from this predicament. With a grateful face, he hugged his daughter and passed her to Mrs Chandler and dragged Evan out of the house.

The two of them chose a quiet tavern and sat down. Sheriff Chandler ordered a large beer. He didn’t seem to have much of a mental barrier against drinking in the morning, but Evan was different from him. This body he got in this world was originally very weak, so he just had a glass of water.

Sheriff Chandler took a sip of beer first and smacked his lips contentedly, “What are you doing here today?”

Evan held his own glass of clear water in his hand and stroked the edge of the glass, then said, “Sheriff, did Mrs Johnson explain why she went home from the Women’s Association?”

Hearing Evan asking about this, Sheriff Chandler pouted, “Do you think she had something tangible to say? It was just evasive words, saying that she was worried about Mr Johnson’s asthma, so she wanted to go back and have a look, but she didn’t expect to see Mr Johnson dead when she got there.”

Evan listened and after hearing this, he frowned, “Mr Johnson does have asthma. I heard Dr. Hester say this once before.”

Since Mr Johnson’s death, all the rumors about him have long spread in Delanlier.

Sheriff Chandler snorted coldly with some disdain, “They are husband and wife, of course Mrs Johnson knows about this kind of thing better than anyone else, but I have never seen Mrs Johnson caring about Mr Johnson so much. Now the fact that she is saying this now, is too ridiculous to be true.”

Sheriff Chandler said this, and Evan was silent, after a while, he finally said, “Maybe. It’s just that I think this time is a little weird. I saw Miss Blair yesterday and she asked me about Mrs Johnson, and I feel that the lady’s attitude is a little unusual.”

Sheriff Chandler was very calm, “Miss Blair has always been such a neurotic person, don’t be too worried.”

Evan watched Sheriff Chandler drinking his glass of beer as if nothing had happened. His eyebrows furrowed deeply, this matter is obviously not so simple.

In the end, because Sheriff Chandler didn’t care, Evan left still filled with suspicion, but soon, he had no chance to worry about it, because his own problems began to appear.

He didn’t know since when a message began to spread through the whole town. That Reverend Bruce was not as pure as he appeared. He had once made a big mistake in London, so he was sent to a countryside town like Delanlier to be the priest there.

This kind of news has no basis or evidence, but it is favored by people in places like Delanlier. The transmission of this news is so viral that in one day, it seemed like everyone in Delanlier had heard about it. Their honorable priest has an unusual past, and they are even more curious about what this honorable priest did to receive such a punishment.

Of course, Evan also heard this rumor, but by the time he heard it, people around him had started to look at him differently.

Evan’s heart is actually very worried. On the surface, such rumors don’t seem to have any substantive significance, but this blow to his reputation is very obvious. In this era, for a priest, his reputation is the most important thing. If his reputation is ruined, his career will also come to an end.

Evan knew very well in his heart that he had to suppress this rumor. If he wanted to suppress the rumor, the first thing he had to do was to find the source of the rumor, but Evan was not worried about this, because he knew very well that only Ford can do this kind of thing.

Back then, the original owner ruined Ford’s reputation, and with the character of Ford, he would never let Evan go.

Mrs Sanders also heard about this rumor. Like Evan, the first thing she thought of was Ford. Perhaps it was her intuition as a woman. Mrs Sanders always had a lot of dislike for Ford and treated him with the most cautious attitude.

“Reverend Bruce.” Mrs Sanders looked worriedly at Evan who was kneeling in front of the statue of Jesus, and whispered, “Now that the ridiculous remarks in the town have spread, do you want to clarify?”

Mrs Sanders’ idea is also the most mainstream practice now, but Evan doesn’t think so. Since Ford can make this move, he must have something to hold it. If he clarifies it to reporters now, he might fall into his trap.

“My dear lady, please don’t worry.” Evan’s tone was very calm, “The rumors won’t do anything. I haven’t done anything shameful, so don’t pay attention to such rumors.”

As Mrs Sanders listened to him sau this, she was getting more anxious in her heart, “Reverend, even if you haven’t done such a thing, you can’t let things develop like this. Most of the townspeople are very ignorant and they can easily believe it even though there is no basis for this kind of thing. If you leave it, ignorant people are hotbeds of rumors, you can’t let things develop like this. If you let the church find out, I’m afraid that there will be more trouble.”

Mrs Sanders’ concern is very reasonable and Evan is also very clear in his heart. But he has his own plans, so he can only decline Mrs Sanders’ kindness.

“Ma’am, I’m very grateful for your concern, but sometimes some things get darker and darker. The more I say, the more mistakes I make. Let God judge this matter.”

After making a sign of the cross and ending his prayer, he stood up from the ground, turned to look at Mrs Sanders, and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, the townspeople aren’t as ignorant as we imagine. As long as I am firm in my heart, everyone will see the truth.”

Mrs Sanders was noncommittal about Evan’s optimism. She had seen the power of rumors. Her act of giving Little John up for adoption was also because of the fear that rumors will ruin the lives of both mother and son. Now Evan’s wayward treatment of this matter makes Mrs Sanders feel very anxious.

“Okay, if this is your decision.” Mrs Sanders nodded her head, but she thought to herself that Reverend Bruce was still too naive and believed in the power of human nature. This matter still has to be told to Duke Wilson. Among the people Mrs Sanders knows, only Duke Wilson is both powerful and concerned about Reverend Bruce.

Now that Mrs Sanders had made up her mind, she left Delanlier Church very quickly and walked towards Cornwall Manor. In fact, she was still a little uneasy, because she had not had much interaction with the Duke before. She was afraid that the Duke would not see her.

But to Mrs Sanders’ surprise, when she reported her intentions, she only waited for a few minutes at the door and was greeted in person by the Chief Butler of Cornwall Manor, Butler Chris. Mrs Sanders suddenly felt a little better about Duke Wilson.