The next morning I woke up and realized that I was smiling.
Sunlight flooded the room, and birds were whistling outside the window. I stretched in bed and suddenly remembered the previous evening.
The lake. Eleanor. Our kiss…
My smile only widened.
"Merope!" came a voice from the kitchen. "Get up, sleepyhead! The pancakes are getting cold!"
"I'm coming!"
I jumped up, pulled on my dress, and ran out of the room. Mrs. Cole was already sitting at the table with a cup of tea, squinting at me slyly.
"Good morning," she sang. "Sleep well?"
"Morning," I replied, sitting down opposite her and taking a pancake.
"And why are you shining like a polished kettle?" Mrs. Cole asked, pouring me some tea.
"Nothing," I tried to put on a serious face, but the smile kept breaking through.
"Uh-huh, nothing," she snorted. "I may be old, but I'm not blind. Fell in love, did you?"
I froze with the pancake in my hand.
"…What makes you think that?"
"Merope, dear, you've been fluttering around like a butterfly for the last two days, and yesterday you came home late in the evening practically glowing. Do you think I don't know what that means?"
I blushed to the roots of my hair.
"Is it… that obvious?" My voice trembled.
"Only the blind wouldn't notice," Mrs. Cole smiled. "Well, tell me. Who is he?"
I hesitated.
"Not he," I said quietly. "She."
Mrs. Cole raised an eyebrow. For a moment, silence hung in the kitchen.
I shrank in on myself, expecting anything—condemnation, misunderstanding, even anger from her.
But Mrs. Cole suddenly laughed.
"Well, I'll be!" she said. "And I kept wondering why you never even looked at the local boys. Thought maybe you were too scholarly, maybe too proud. Turns out it's like that."
"You're… not angry?" I asked cautiously.
"And why would I be angry?" she took a bite of her pancake. "You're a good girl. She must be too, if you're shining like this. Love is love. No matter who it's with."
The weight lifted from my heart.
"Her name is Eleanor," I said. "The same French girl who's staying with Madame Dubois."
"Ah, that one," Mrs. Cole nodded. "Pretty, smart. I've seen her a couple of times in the village. You'll make a good pair."
"Do you really think so?" I asked.
"I do. But keep this in mind, Merope," she grew more serious. "With someone like her, it won't be easy. A wealthy family, French relatives, you know… That's not the same as courting the village baker."
I flinched.
"Yes, I understand…" I lowered my head. "Perhaps we're not exactly suited to each other in terms of status."
But Mrs. Cole smirked.
"Whether you're suited or not—that's for fate to decide. In any case, you're both still young, and everything lies ahead. Who knows what will happen in the future? Maybe you'll part soon, or maybe you'll carry these feelings through your whole lives."
I stayed silent for a while, thinking about her words.
In truth, I didn't even know what kind of relationship Eleanor and I had right now. Was it friendship? A fling? Or perhaps even something more…
In any case, at some point, while I was deeply lost in thought about all this, the woman placed her hand over mine. I immediately felt the warmth and flinched, looking up at her.
"Don't be afraid," Mrs. Cole said. "I believe everything will be all right for you. But know this: if things get hard or something happens, I'm always here."
I couldn't help myself—I jumped up and hugged her.
"Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you for everything, Mrs. Cole!"
"There, there," she patted my back and chuckled. "The pancakes are getting cold."
I smiled and sat down to eat, feeling warm and peaceful inside. Right now, I wasn't too worried about the future. I was simply happy with what I had in the present and didn't want to guess what lay ahead.
Whether something would truly come of this between Eleanor and me or not… As Mrs. Cole had said, fate would show.
***
The following days turned into one endless, dizzying dream for me.
Eleanor and I met every day.
It was at our usual place by the lake. Eleanor taught me magic—showed me simple spells, explained the theory, and didn't laugh at my foolish mistakes. She truly was a very good teacher.
And yet… that wasn't the main thing.
The main thing was that we were simply together.
I told Eleanor about my former difficult life in the Gaunt shack. She told me about her mother, who had died when she was twelve; about her father, who remarried and almost forgot about her; and about Aunt Madeleine, who was raising her now—a strict but fair woman.
"…I don't think Aunt will approve of our relationship," Eleanor said during one of our conversations when she mentioned her relative, who was currently her guardian.
"Why?" I asked immediately, though I may already have suspected the answer.
Eleanor sighed.
"Well, aside from the fact that you're a girl, you're also from the Gaunt family… And Aunt has always wanted me to tie my life to someone from a powerful magical family that would match us in status. So… It'll be two blows at once for her."
At that moment, I grew involuntarily anxious. I stayed silent for several seconds before carefully asking her:
"…And what do you think about it?"
"I'm already an adult," Eleanor smiled. "And I decide for myself whom to love. I won't allow anyone to interfere in my affairs, even if it's my aunt."
The word "love" seemed to fall between us and hang in the air. We both froze.
"You… you mean that seriously?" I asked.
"What do you think?" Eleanor suddenly took my hand. "I've never kissed anyone. Neither boys nor girls. But with you… it just happened. And I truly feel good. Very… good."
I swallowed. But in the end, I decided to answer her with the same determination.
"Me too," I whispered.
After that conversation, we fell silent and simply sat at our place by the lake. At the same time, a whole whirl of thoughts was forming in my head.
Could it be… had Eleanor really just confessed her love to me? Were we truly dating now?
Since something like this had never happened to me before, I had no experience and didn't even know how it was supposed to unfold. Right now, I was very embarrassed and nervous.
And yet…
"Merope! Merope, where are you?"
Maggie's unexpected voice pulled me out of my sweet reverie.
I was confused when I heard my friend's voice not far away. What was she doing here?
"I'm here!" I called out, standing up.
Maggie ran out from behind the trees, out of breath and flushed.
"Why are you sitting here? I've been looking for you everywhere!" She saw Eleanor and suddenly froze. "Oh."
My friend stopped, looking at the two of us, and stood there a little awkwardly.
"Hello," Eleanor smiled and greeted her first. "You must be Maggie? Merope has told me a lot about you."
"Really?" Maggie glanced at me. "At least good things, I hope?"
"Only good things," Eleanor assured her.
Maggie shifted her gaze from her to me and back again. Something flickered in her eyes—understanding? suspicion?
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" she asked carefully, looking at us.
"No, of course not," I said quickly. "We were just… taking a walk."
"Uh-huh," Maggie smiled, but somewhat suspiciously. "Well, I'll be going then… Are you coming to the stables tomorrow?"
"Yes, of course. But why were you looking for me?"
"…Oh, nothing really! It doesn't matter anymore."
My friend smiled slyly again, looking at us, while I continued to stare at her in confusion.
"Maggie, you—"
"Well, bye!" Maggie waved first and ran off as quickly as she had appeared.
For several seconds after she left, there was silence. Then the girl beside me sighed and looked at me.
"I think she guessed," Eleanor said when we were alone.
"Maggie is smart," I sighed as well. "And she's my friend. I don't want to hide anything from her."
"Then are you going to tell her?" Eleanor asked me tensely.
Of course, she meant our relationship.
I was quiet for a moment and thought about it.
"I'll tell her… someday. When she's ready," I finally answered.