So Infatuated

In late autumn, the county of Lance was enduring a long rainy season. Victoria could bear it no longer and hired a governess for her unruly, unmanageable daughter, Eve. A month later, the young lady had mended her ways, becoming as gentle and obedient as a puppy—except for her insistence on marrying the governess, even resorting to a hunger strike. Victoria, her head throbbing with pain, hurried back to the estate. Just in time to witness the two of them kissing as if no one else were present. The gentle, quiet governess, her face flushed, wore a green plaid dress and was tightly embraced by her daughter, her waist held captive in her arms like a fragile plant. Meeting Victoria’s gaze,...