The Duke of Harrington Is Looking for Nanny - Chapter 7

The Duke’s carriage, emblazoned with a black eagle, was as grand and comfortable as its name suggested. Bella gazed at Mrs. Meghan, who was sitting across from her, then turned her delighted eyes to the beautiful scenery unfolding outside the window, like a child.

Only the two of them were in the carriage. No matter how generous the Duke’s family was to Mrs. Meghan, all the maids couldn’t leave their posts at once. Someone was needed to look after Julian in place of the nanny. In the end, it was decided that Mrs. Meghan and Bella would go out first, and Courtney and Daisy would go out for lunch tomorrow. Bella smiled softly, remembering Daisy, who had been so proud that the Duke’s family was the only noble family that would give them time off for personal errands.

The carriage carrying her sped along an endless forest path. She remembered walking up the unfamiliar road on the day of her interview.

How are those people doing? Emily must have returned safely and be on the ship.

The sudden recollection made her realize that she had become quite accustomed to life in the Duke’s household.

“Nanny, you look like a very young lady.”

“Pardon? Me?”

“Yes. You don’t look like a mother at all.”

“Thank… you…”

“Ohoho~ Are you grateful? It seems that looking young is popular these days.”

Mrs. Meghan laughed, amused. Bella, startled, secretly patted her chest.

“Have you not yet met the Duke?”

“No. He’s been busy since then…”

“And the Young Duke?”

“I heard that the Young Duke is also busy preparing for graduation.”

“Hmm… I think it would be good to meet him as soon as possible. But he doesn’t seem to have much affection for the Little Master…”

If they were a typical father and son, he would have visited the room that very day to see what kind of person the nanny was. But if the rumors were true, Julian was not related to Duke Harrington by a single drop of blood. Even the Young Duke, who shared half of the Duchess’s blood, didn’t even go near Julian’s room. Who could blame this complicated family history?

“Still, it won’t be more than a month. Don’t be too disappointed if he doesn’t seem interested.”

“Not at all. I’m so grateful for this life. I’m working with such a good person… It’s all more than I deserve.”

“Oh my, how lovely you are.”

Mrs. Meghan grabbed Bella’s cheeks with both hands and shook them, as if she couldn’t handle the cuteness.

“You’re the lovely one, Mrs. Meghan, not me.”

Bella laughed at the Daisy-like behavior, and Mrs. Meghan laughed heartily along.

“I’m sure they’ll like you too, Nanny.”

“I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Clip-clop, clip-clop—the sound of the coachman urging the horses on could be heard. Before she knew it, the scenery outside the window had changed to a bustling downtown area. The carriage slowly came to a stop, and as the coachman opened the door, Mrs. Meghan and Bella carefully stepped out. Passersby glanced at them, recognizing the Duke’s carriage.

“I’ve already made arrangements. Let’s go there first.”

Mrs. Meghan grabbed Bella’s wrist with an excited voice. Two porters who had been riding in the back of the carriage quietly followed them.

‘Merlin’s Clothing Store’ mainly sold everyday clothes for commoners, not party dresses for nobles. Mrs. Meghan often used this store, and Daisy and Courtney also gave it a thumbs up, saying it had many practical yet pretty clothes.

“Oh my, oh my, is this the new collection?”

“I’ve set aside a piece just for Mrs. Meghan! It’s so popular that we can’t keep it in stock~ Ohohot!”

Mrs. Meghan was more fond of dressing up than she thought. She always wore neat, achromatic clothes, so Bella hadn’t realized it, but she picked out two rather colorful skirts and pondered which one was better. She looked no different from a teenage girl, and Bella smiled softly without her knowing.

Leaving the busy Mrs. Meghan behind, Bella moved to the corner where relatively demure dresses were hanging. The basket in her hand contained several outfits that Mrs. Meghan had recommended in advance, as well as several indoor dresses for breastfeeding mothers.

“My, my, you must be with Mrs. Meghan. How did you know these dresses are this year’s new products?”

“Ah, is that so…?”

Merlin, the owner of the clothing store, who had given Mrs. Meghan free time to go treasure hunting on her own, approached Bella. She took out a dress without hesitation and began to explain with a gleam in her eyes.

“This one has a generous neckline with elastic, so it’s easy to pull down and up like this. It’s a popular item for mothers with children these days.”

The clothes she offered were all made of soft material, well-ventilated, and beautifully designed. These seemed to be the clothes that the maids had mentioned, which came from across the sea.

“Is it very… see-through?”

Bella asked shyly. Her tone was more like confirming that the clothes were very see-through, rather than worrying about whether they were see-through. Merlin lowered her voice and whispered softly.

“Yes. Since it’s a well-ventilated material, it’s quite see-through. But would mothers worry about that? To take care of a child, you have to be comfortable first.”

Merlin pounded her chest, saying it was her own experience.

“If you’re too embarrassed, you can wear a robe cardigan over it like this. This is also a new product for this summer, and it’s light and not too hot to layer, so it’s popular.”

Bella’s expression brightened like a flower as she saw the new clothes Merlin offered. The robe cardigan that the store owner offered was a garment that could be worn over the dress like a gown. If she wore it over the see-through indoor dress, she wouldn’t have to worry about her skin showing.

“Then I’ll take these two dresses… and the robe cardigan…”

“Oh my, Merlin! Don’t listen to her and pack everything you took out now.”

“Yes~ Thank you~ You’re so generous, Mrs. Meghan~”

Merlin hummed and took all the clothes she had taken out inside.

“You don’t need that much, ma’am…”

“Think of it as my gift. My retirement has become much easier thanks to you, Nanny.”

Mrs. Meghan winked and smiled.

“By the way, tell me which of these two is better. Is this red skirt better?”

Mrs. Meghan, excited about her long-awaited outing, hummed. The two servants who came as porters had to wait outside the clothing store for another hour.

The sun, which had been shining overhead, was setting.

***

A shabby carriage rattled along a busy main street where people were coming and going. The carriage, which seemed to be used for carrying goods from stores, swayed as if its wheels were about to fall off. Passersby frowned and moved away, but the coachman went ahead without a care.

“Huh…? Isn’t that the Harrington’s carriage?”

The inside of the carriage was so narrow and small that two adult men could barely sit facing each other. The man sitting in the seat of honor, with a listless face, yawned widely and suddenly sat up straight. His light blue eyes were directed out the window.

“Who’s that?”

The Harrington Duke’s carriage he was talking about was parked on a street lined with many stores. Boxes of flamboyant colors, freshly wrapped, were being piled on the back of the Duke’s carriage.

“…That’s Mrs. Meghan.”

The man sitting in the reverse seat replied willingly. The man in the seat of honor, with his flamboyant blond hair, rested his arm on the window frame and propped his chin up with a lightly clenched fist.

“No, next to her.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“That woman over there.”

The man pointed to the woman with his chin, as if frustrated, and then propped himself up again.

She was an ordinary woman. Her light brown hair rippled like ocean waves and flowed down to her shoulder blades. She had no bangs, so her cute, protruding forehead was clearly visible. Her face was in her early twenties? Maybe mid-twenties. She was neither tall nor short. After greeting the woman who seemed to be the owner of the store, she smiled gently, her light green eyes curving softly next to Mrs. Meghan.

Beneath the sun-like shining blond hair, light blue eyes were fixed on that smile, unable to look away.

“Shall we find out?”

The man sitting in the reverse seat asked, but the man in the seat of honor did not answer.

The Harrington’s carriage, loaded with all the luggage, soon began to move towards Ice Road. The man continued to follow the carriage that the woman was riding in with his eyes. The man’s expression, which had been fixed out the window until the carriage was out of sight, soon changed back to a listless one.

“Shall we find out?”

The man sitting in the reverse seat asked again, as if confirming.

“Forget it. It’s probably nothing.”

The man in the seat of honor soon waved his hand as if he had lost interest. He hadn’t heard anything from his childhood friend. The blond man, who knew how many maids there were in Harrington House, thought that she probably wasn’t a member of the mansion and closed his eyes.

Did Mrs. Meghan take in a daughter-in-law? That couldn’t be.

She had already given birth to two daughters and sent them off to get married. He hadn’t even heard rumors that she had a hidden son. The man frowned and pondered, and the corners of his mouth were pulled to both sides. Small dimples appeared and disappeared.

“By the way, is Harrington’s advertisement still up? I heard they put out an advertisement all over the empire a while ago.”

“That advertisement has already been withdrawn. It seems they’ve found a nanny.”

“They found a nanny?”

The man sitting in the seat of honor bit his lower lip. The woman with the brown hair next to Mrs. Meghan. Her gentle, clear smile kept flashing before his eyes.

“That woman… find out about her. In as much detail as possible.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The man’s light blue eyes did not move, fixed on Ice Road. As if his fickleness was nothing new, the man sitting in the reverse seat answered without hesitation.

***

Bella woke up to the sound of Julian fussing. Julian, who had already woken up, was wriggling, trying to grab the frame of the crib. Bella was startled and rubbed her eyes, then quickly picked up Julian.

“Young Master, are you awake?”

Bella yawned and checked the time. It was almost 12 a.m. She had woken up two hours earlier than usual.

“Can’t you sleep?”

Bella asked kindly, and Julian moved his arms around. It was about time he wanted to move around. Bella put Julian down in the crib for a moment and tied up her long hair, which was getting in the way.

Until Julian fell asleep again, Bella read the baby a fairy tale, touched his hand, hugged him, and soothed him. She also changed his cloth diaper and put it in the laundry basket outside the room. But the baby, who couldn’t know the nanny’s true feelings, didn’t seem to want to sleep at all.

‘It’s going to be a tough night,’ Bella thought.

“He said he’d come… in the early morning…”

She picked up Julian, who was fussing to be held, and walked slowly around the bedroom in circles. Then, suddenly, she remembered the conversation she had had in the morning. The butler said he would come during the early morning feeding time. And he…

Her face flushed red as she remembered Aiden’s words whispering in her ear. The clothes she had bought during the day were piled up in the dressing room. One side of the wall, which should have been full of the Little Master’s clothes, was filled with the nanny’s clothes in just one day. Bella hesitated for a moment and headed to the dressing room with Julian in her arms.