"Not yet, Mother." James sat up, looking at the extremely beautiful woman.
"I can tell you've been studying for a long time. I told you earlier that you just recovered and shouldn't overwork yourself!" Elizabeth sat beside James, hugging him and saying with a pained expression, gently kissing his forehead.
"It's really fine. It's been over a month, I've recovered long ago. See, haven't I been doing great lately…?"
"That's good, that's good…" Elizabeth tightened her embrace around James, murmuring.
She always felt a deep sense of guilt after James recovered from an illness. Her eldest son, Tony, had died in her arms, which had driven her to a hysterical breakdown. And James was always feverish and sickly, each time seeming to dredge up old memories, making her frantic and out of control.
When James first fell into a feverish coma at the age of four, Elizabeth had held his tiny body, crying out Tony's name repeatedly. Master Howlett then ordered the servants to confine Elizabeth to her room, forbidding her from coming out.
This also made the Mother feel extremely guilty for not being able to accompany her sick son. However, there might also be other reasons…
Victor Logan was a very special child. This wasn't just because of his young yet tall and strong physique, or his somewhat disgusting and grotesque fingernails; more importantly, he didn't at all resemble a servant's son. His speech and demeanor made it seem as if he were the young Master of the estate.
He exuded an inherent pride that refused to be subservient, only reining it in slightly and even feigning a servant's humility when in front of Master Howlett.
Even in front of Master John, he often spoke harshly. This was perhaps another reason John disliked him, besides Victor's father, Thomas Logan.
The evening air was even cooler. The large balcony of James's room was not only spacious but also offered an excellent view. He increasingly enjoyed practicing his martial arts there.
Although he only practiced genuine exercises to strengthen his bones and muscles and invigorate his blood, it still emphasized a clear and expansive mind.
The magnificent Rocky Mountains and forests, untouched by human footsteps, the myriad stars overhead, and the large, bright moon—such an environment for practice truly lived up to the martial arts scripture's saying: "Mountains nourish bones and muscles, stars open the Ren and Du meridians." It was an excellent environment for training.
Channeling energy, breathing, mental visualization—he could now complete the first volume of the martial arts he is practicing. After all, a child's body was more suitable for this kind of foundation building. Compared to starting practice in his twenties in his previous life, his progress was now many times faster.
James lay on the balcony, somewhat bored. The vast estate was eerily quiet.
People in the 19th century didn't have much entertainment; around ten at night, it was already as desolate as two or three in the morning.
James's father, Master John Howlett, had gone to the East in recent days to inspect the breeding status of the ranch livestock. Now, the family's affairs and business were mostly managed by John. Master Howlett was essentially living out his retirement on the estate, but as long as he was there, all of the Howlett Family's industries would operate smoothly and steadily.
"Elizabeth! Let me finish, damn it! You wait for me!"
James vaguely heard what sounded like suppressed roars coming from the garden not far below the balcony.
"Thomas, you're hurting me!" A woman's somewhat sharp voice rang out. This time, James confirmed it was his Mother, Elizabeth. He nimbly flipped onto the ridge below the balcony, creeping closer like a civet cat.
"Tell me! Is James related to me or not?!" The gardener, Thomas Logan, wearing a coarse linen shirt, was burly with a chest full of thick hair. One hand gripped the delicate arm of Mistress Howlett; he didn't budge an inch, no matter how she struggled and tore at him.
"James is of course John's son! Could a crude lout like you father such a beautiful child as James?!" Elizabeth's fair skin was flushed crimson from shame or intense struggling, as she sharply retorted to Thomas Logan's questioning.
"No, no, that's not right! Although James doesn't look like me, he doesn't look like John at all. He only looks like you! I was curious back then, the day James was born aligns with ours…"
"You shut up! Thomas, you shut your stinking mouth! We ended long ago, I forbid you from ever bringing that up again, never! You're just a gardener! Just a gardener!" Elizabeth's furious reprimand seemed to deeply sting Thomas Logan. The man's face showed intense malevolence; he let go of her hand, eerily calm.
"Yes, I'm just a gardener, and you are the most noble Mistress of this estate. But what does a Mistress Howlett, who secretly cuckolds her husband with a gardener, have to be proud of?!"
"No, Thomas, it won't work… We can't let anyone know about us, do you understand? Howlett will kill us. It was just a mistake I made. I had lost Tony then, and Victor's Mother also died in childbirth because of him. We were just two heartbroken people who accidentally came together. These things really can't be known!" Elizabeth's beautiful face was filled with pleading, making it hard to refuse.
"At least, at least think about James! He's still so young, do you think Howlett would spare his life?"
"So James is my son!" Thomas's emotions flared up again. Elizabeth didn't respond, her excessive silence making it seem as if nothing had happened that night, all answers unspoken.
"Let's go, Elizabeth. Let's leave this place!"
A fleeting hint of disdain flickered across Mistress Howlett's face, but her lowered gaze concealed it well.
"Where can we go? We have nothing. Where can we go with the children?" she sighed helplessly, filled with sorrow and confusion.
"Just the two of us! We can go anywhere, even, even to the United States! Going back to Britain is fine too. I only want you, only you. You should understand my heart, shouldn't you? When we were little and played together, you liked me more, didn't you? John is just lucky to have the Howlett surname!"
Elizabeth felt even more contempt for this man who only wanted the woman and was even willing to abandon his two sons. Ignoring her regret for her past mistake, she placated Thomas, saying, "Will you let me think about it properly? My dear, this is not a small matter; at least we need to plan thoroughly."
Elizabeth's soft words filled Thomas Logan with joy. The brute, whose head seemed to be filled with muscles, nodded excitedly, as if a beautiful and happy future was right before his eyes.
The two whispered for a moment longer, then quickly left the garden, leaving only James lying on the corner of the roof, gazing at the starry sky, stunned and motionless.
This was probably a standard, clichéd love triangle. Young John, Thomas, and Elizabeth had grown up together. In their youth, they were inseparable, perhaps John and Thomas were even good brothers. Both boys liked the beautiful Elizabeth, and at that time, the tall and strong Thomas was more favored by girls.
But as they grew older, John, as the son of the estate owner, naturally had a promising future, while Thomas was just a poor boy from an ordinary farming family. How to choose was self-evident in Elizabeth's heart.
The former brothers became enemies because of this; their simple friendship no longer existed. Perhaps something else happened in between that made John Howlett begin to detest his childhood friend.
But now, if the scandalous affair between Mistress Elizabeth and Thomas Logan were exposed, it would undoubtedly be a massacre, and even Master Howlett's beloved "grandson," James, would not be spared.
He couldn't quite remember when or how he had returned to his bed. What bothered James wasn't his Mother's affair with the gardener, or that he was a bastard from that illicit relationship, but rather how to escape this "disaster" unscathed.