"I'll handle it myself... We're at the final stage anyway. It's not a big deal."
Jenkins remarked calmly, then glanced over at the Gearman.
"Let's begin, then."
"Very well. Let's begin."
As the voice faded, the frozen world began to flow once more. The loose change between the coachman's fingers resud its clinking count, and the words caught on the old butler's lips finally drifted out into the rain:
"Miss Evelyn, thank you for being so punctual. Oh, what dreadful weather. Let's not stand out here talking. Please, co in. The servants have prepared towels and hot tea. Perhaps you can have a cup to warm up before you begin this week's lesson with the young lady."
Then, as if he hadn't seen Jenkins and the Gearman at all, he led Miss Evelyn into the manor.
"Can't I get involved? I'd just figured out the perfect excuse for being here."
Jenkins muttered, falling into step behind them with the Gearman. A servant holding an umbrella closed the estate's main gate after them, as if they had deliberately waited for them to enter.
"People can see us and will tacitly accept our presence. However, they will only interact with you if you initiate contact. When you do, they'll perceive you as trustworthy, but that won't an they'll just hand over what you're looking for."
"Got it. Before, ti was frozen. Now, our presence is just... muted."
"What do you an by that?"
The Gearman clearly didn't understand Jenkins's analogy, and Jenkins had no intention of explaining. The estate's courtyard path wasn't long. Jenkins quickened his pace and caught up to the old butler and Miss Evelyn in the middle of the rainy courtyard.
"Mrs. Evelyn?"
He asked, testing the waters. The woman turned her head quite naturally.
"Yes. Good afternoon. Though it would be more appropriate to call Miss Evelyn."
"Good afternoon, Miss Evelyn... Would you like to carry your bag?"
He offered. The woman gave him a quizzical look before handing over her bag.
"Thank you."
Perched on his shoulder, Chocolate shot him a look of pure disdain. Jenkins's emotional intelligence was wildly unpredictable; even his cat never knew when such a display of social grace might suddenly manifest.
"Miss Evelyn, you're a family tutor?"
He deduced, based on their earlier conversation.
"Yes. I am Miss Nancy's tutor for poetry and literature."
Nancy Franklin was the daughter of the estate's owner, Viscount Franklin. She was an acquaintance of Hathaway and Briny, though they weren't especially close. Jenkins himself had only t her briefly, exchanging fewer than ten sentences with her, so he knew very little about the young noblewoman.
Considering his objective was the 'Heart of Selfless Dedication,' and the woman before him was a tutor, it seed likely her profession was directly related to what he needed to obtain.
He thought for a mont, then probed:
"Do you know about the Heart of Selfless Dedication?"
"What?"
Miss Evelyn looked at him with a furrowed brow, her expression one of pure confusion, as if she hadn't understood a word he'd said. It was then that Jenkins realized that 'obtaining' it wouldn't be as simple as just asking. The difficulty of this Mysterious Realm was higher than he'd anticipated.
"I an," he corrected himself, "Viscount Franklin dotes on Miss Nancy, being his only daughter and all. As her tutor, I imagine the Viscount compensates you well, doesn't he?"
"It's adequate."
The woman answered vaguely, not offering the specific details about her salary that Jenkins had hoped for.
"It seems your progress isn't going very smoothly,"
the Gearman comnted from the side. Jenkins shook his head.
"The fare she paid the coachman was in exact change, which ans she prepared it beforehand. If soone isn't struggling financially, they'd typically pay with a larger denomination and leave the rest as a tip. Preparing the exact fare suggests her financial situation isn't great."
He then took a closer look at the woman's attire:
"When you're tutoring a nobleman's daughter, you can't afford to look shabby. This is probably her best outfit. But look at the creases—it tells she lives in a small place, one where she has to fold her clothes for storage, hence the pronounced lines. The sharpness of the creases also suggests it's been folded for a long ti. I'd wager she only ever wears this when she cos here to teach. All of which points to her financial situation being rather grim."
He paused for a mont before continuing,
"She is also a virgin, and likely lives alone. As a single woman of about twenty-five, her largest expense would be rent. She couldn't possibly own a house in Nolan; I'm quite familiar with the property market here. So, assuming she has no expensive vices like gambling, her expenses should be modest. The fact that she's still pinching pennies under these conditions tells she's intentionally saving money, and that this job doesn't pay very well."
"What does saving money have to do with how much she's paid?"
the Gearman asked.
"It's simple. If she's saving money, she's likely working more than one job. The butler just ntioned 'this week's lesson,' which implies she only cos once a week. If the pay were substantial, I doubt Miss Evelyn would limit herself to a single weekly session."
Alexia Miller hadn't just been Dolores's tutor in Ruen; she had also taken on students in Nolan, so Jenkins had so inside knowledge of the profession. Typically, two lessons a week was standard, at least in Nolan.
"So you've concluded from these unsubstantiated deductions that her inco as a tutor is low?"
"Yes."
Of course, his reasoning was full of holes. The real reason Jenkins was so certain was that he'd once heard Briny mock Viscount Franklin for his stinginess. It stood to reason that the salary for any tutor he hired wouldn't be very high. Naturally, there was no need to share this detail with the Gearman. It was enough that Jenkins knew.
"But that raises a strange question. If Miss Evelyn is only doing this job to save money, what does that have to do with 'selfless dedication'? She's clearly not in it for the love of teaching."
Jenkins looked to the Gearman, but the latter didn't answer. Instead, he prompted:
"They're about to go inside."
The group of four had reached the steps of the manor, where a maid was waiting with a towel for Miss Evelyn. The rain hadn't been heavy, so her clothes weren't soaked, and there was no need for her to change.
The young lady was still taking her afternoon nap, and the maids had gone to wake her. While she waited for Miss Nancy Franklin to get ready, Miss Evelyn went by herself to the study on the second floor.
This was the young lady's personal study, not one belonging to her parents. Jenkins and the Gearman followed her inside. Unsurprisingly, the servants didn't offer them—or the cat—any refreshnts.
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