4

Oscar had decided to help Madeleine. But even though several days had passed since their collision outside the Cornell property, he never approached her to speak about it.

He decided to wait for two reasons. The first, because he wanted to verify both that the male protagonist would attend the Summerfield´s ball, and that there was an effective way to outwit the Cornells so that they´d let the protagonist go to London without questioning her. The second, and this one wasn´t his fault at all, because since he rejected her, Madeleine had been avoiding him continuously and without any dissimulation. Every time their gazes met, she made a disapproving face and turned around, implying she didn´t wish to have anything to do with such a disobedient young servant.

Pursuing his own interests, Oscar didn't care what Madeleine thought of him; now that he could finally consider the former done, he only had to drag her into his perfect plan. To do this, he waited for an afternoon when work allowed him to stay in the gardens of Rose Cottage, the Cornell property.

As the property was not too large, the boss had never bothered to hire extra staff to take care of the garden. No, that task had always fallen on Uncle Rob and, in the long run, on Oscar himself. Well, both took turns, dividing the areas in which to work, depending on which day.

This was perfect for him, since while he was pruning the hedges he was able to observe how the sisters left the house on a break from their lessons.

Oscar no longer got along as well with them as when they were kids and played together, so the usual routine was that if he was working around while they were there, he wouldn't speak to them except to say hi. And this in case they crossed paths and made eye contact, because the gap between social classes was already too well forged between them. He´d have earned a good reprimand from his masters, if spoken out of turn.

This is why Oscar was pending. Ordinarily, Madeleine was the only one who had no qualms about approaching him of her own free will, no matter if her family disapproved of such behavior. But being as angry as she was, that became impossible. The only way to convince her to speak was to wait until her other sisters were not around and then yes, say the magic words:

"Madeleine, I'm willing to help you."

And Madeleine, who had already started walking toward Theresa when Oscar appeared, stopped in her tracks.

“What did you just say?”

"This is, if you still wanna go to London."

It was obvious that he wanted to. Madeleine turned and, ignoring all the rules of etiquette, ran back towards him. An expression of pure joy was drawn on her face, nothing to do with the many murderous looks she had given him in recent days. She must have forgotten all the signs of injury, as well as the rejection made by her dearest friend, because she immediately took his hands saying:

"I knew you wouldn't leave me alone and helpless within this crisis! Why did it take you so long to decide to come to my rescue?”. Without giving him time to reply, she added, elated. “Never mind! Since you have made up your mind to help me, I´ll forget how bad you were with me in the past.”

"Listen, I'm going to use your idea. But I need you to help me sneak into your father's office.”

“Eh…? But it´s not necessary, I can go in in a moment, take the things you need and go out again. Even if father catches me, it won't be a problem. I can tell we ran out of paper or something, he sure won't get mad!”

"No, it´s essential that I go in there. If you really want to go to London, this is non-negotiable.”

Oscar didn't want to explain himself. He wanted to write the forgery at Cornell's office because it seemed like the safest and most comfortable place in the entire house to do it without worrying about someone finding out. And it would have been extremely suspicious for someone to see a servant copying a letter --even if he had his back well covered and they couldn't know what it was-- when he had never been seen taking a book or writing a text without being told by force. Besides, Cornell's office was the only place in the whole house that had wax candles for the sealing that would come later. How was Madeleine going to steal one of those and excuse herself without destroying the whole plan?

Because Madeleine never thought about them, not in the original version or in this one. Maybe that's why she didn't ask for explanations either, blindly trusting in the one who a few minutes ago was still an ungrateful traitor.

"Well, how do we do it?"

In order to start the operation, it was not necessary to wait for Mr. Cornell to leave his office because, at that time, he usually was not in it. That was to begin. Then it was easy for Oscar to sneak through the corridors and into that room without being seen. Once inside, everything depended on Madeleine's ability to get no one else to come; The room that Ms. Groves used as a study room for her students was next door, so anyone wishing to enter the office would have to stop by there first.

Oscar didn't feel at all safe knowing it was up to Madeleine not to get caught, but he had no choice. In the original work, by doing things sloppily —that is, making a poorly made copy and not paying attention to the stamp — they were instantly discovered. And, after the protagonist cried her eyes out, her parents agreed to take her to London on the condition that she worked to earn a little money and thus be able to pay at least the hotel expenses. Anyway, what to say about it? Madeleine never worked. She threw a tantrum at the original Oscar and he, without thinking twice, gave her all his savings.

It was pathetic, and Oscar had no intention of repeating the same mistakes as his predecessor. Much less was he going to let himself be humiliated.

As soon as he got to Cornell's office, he settled down at his desk, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write with infinite care. Madeleine had gotten him an invitation to one of the Tanner balls, so he didn't have to worry about coming up with the right words to make everything sound believable. Copying the formative style of that letter was enough. He had about half an hour before it occurred to the boss to show signs of life and he was determined to make the most of it.

When he was halfway through the letter, the sound of chairs being dragged across the floor came to his ears, along with the voices of women speaking of world history, a clear indication the girls had returned from recess and were resuming their lessons.

Either way, with the door closed and Mr. Cornell in the living room with his mistress, there was nothing to fear.

Oscar finished writing and looked for both the envelopes and the candles. Rummaging through the drawers, he realized the master was not one of those security-obsessed individuals, for nothing was locked. It seemed that he was asking for a robbery. Perhaps this was the reason why, in his search for the candles, Oscar happened to come across a document which, upon further examination, he thought it might be useful in the future.

Of course, he had no qualms about folding it as best he could and putting it into his pocket. Still, he didn't think Cornell was going to miss it, tucked into a pile of bills and miscellaneous receipts that had long since been paid.

But going back to what had brought him there, Oscar wasted no more minutes examining various papers and inserted the invitation into the envelope. He lit a candle and carefully let a reddish substance drip onto the sheet. He had barely spilled a couple of drops when the boss's voice was heard from the other side of the wall, causing him to almost drop the candle out of fright.

He couldn´t clearly hear what he was saying, but he imagined it was some compliment to the supposed gifts of study that his daughters possessed. In any case, he had to hurry: if Mr. Cornell was so close, Madeleine couldn't hold him long.

With his nerves on point, Oscar extinguished the flame and returned the candle to its place as soon as he had finished using the sealing wax. Quickly, before it was dry, he proceeded to stamp on it a small piece of wood on which he had carved, with considerable difficulty, figures that closely resembled the Summerfield family crest.

It was fortunate that there was a book on heraldry in the family library. Book that, nobody noticed, was missing for a couple of days while Oscar was doing his tricks with the piece of wood and a blade.

He had just propped the wood on the paper when he heard someone approach the door and, not two seconds later, a piercing scream echoed from the next room. What the hell was that girl thinking? When he asked her to please give him some support in this, he told her if she found herself in the situation of having to entertain his father, she should do so in a natural way. She didn't need to howl, like she was being killed!

Though, on second thought, it was in Madeleine's nature to be dramatic.

Several voices, and from this he could hear every word, due to the collective exaltation, rushed to ask Madeleine if she was alright. Oscar didn´t know if she responded, only that when he opened the window to leave, ending his task, he heard something heavy fall to the floor of the study room and several screams of hysteria. Whether it was from sheer horror, seeing one of the girls threw herself on the floor and play dead, or calling some maids who would soon show up.

"Couldn't she have faked that faint in a slightly less theatrical way?" Oscar wondered once he was safe from prying eyes, with both invitations in hand and a plan that was going well.

He had left everything as he found it in the office before he left, except for what he snatched, of course, and with the window slightly open so the smell of the candle would disperse. The next thing was to meet with Sayer.

Willie Sayer was Oscar's best friend.

Well, the best friend was a saying, because Oscar never took the time to make any more friends. The only one he got along with, other than this one, was his cousin. But his cousin was gone and, knowing that in the original novel he was hardly mentioned, it was unlikely that he would appear.

Sayer was, so to speak, Snodland's unofficial postman. The reason that it was not official was that, although he worked in the only post office in that part of the region, until then he had dedicated himself entirely to cleaning the place and various errands for those who did worked there, barely being allowed to go beyond the four main streets of Snodland.

Perhaps due to a lack of staff, his boss had trusted him a few months ago to deliver mail. But even so, the people of those towns --or, to be specific, those who had no relatives in distant lands and therefore had nothing to send long distances-- were more adept at sending a messenger themselves under their own wing. instead of paying the postal service for their services. So Sayer had little to do in that job. The only thing he could do, when he had nothing to hand out, was to continue acting as the servant to the top brass, if only to earn a few shillings so he could eat hot that day.

That someone offered him a letter to deliver in person, without going to his boss first, was enough to make him happy. Of course, the smile on his face faded as soon as he had read the recipient's address.

"What joke is this? Are you asking me to give you something that is already in your possession?" After a pause in which he just reaffirmed that he wasn't understanding anything, he inquired again. “How did this come to you?”

"You could say it fell from the sky."

"It definitely could! Do you have any idea how much it costs for these rich men to even notice you to say good morning? And now they go and invite one of the Cornells to their ball, but... Wait, the Summerfields have been in London all season, haven't they? So how do they know Madeleine?”

"I've already told you, these opportunities are falling from the sky," Oscar insisted, immediately changing the subject. “Can you come to deliver it tomorrow or not?”

"Why wouldn´t I?" Sayer put the letter away with the others that were still pending delivery, instantly understanding that this was a fairly well-crafted forgery. “I already knew Maddie was eager to be seen in society, but I'm surprised you haven't tried something like this before. Knowing her, any day away from the countryside is a privilege for her. And you... Would you not grant her any whim she asks for?

Oscar felt a chill run down his spine when he heard those words. If you already found it embarrassing to read the dialogue with seconds that Sayer directed to the original character, it was even more repulsive to have to listen it face to face.

"Actually, I'm doing this for me." Oscar decided not to lie, despite feeling that the other would not believe him. “It´s public knowledge that Cornell's businesses are not going through their best moment and, instead, there is no shortage of gentlemen in the city looking for new people to incorporate into their service. I am just trying to fulfill my obligations to this family, so in the future I will not have to make a great effort to find a good and better paying job.”

After saying this, Sayer gaped at him. Oscar didn't understand what his problem was, but it was making him uncomfortable.

“What?” He snapped, annoyed.

“You´ve changed.”

"It must be your imagination, I'm the same as always."

“Cannot be! I called Madeleine by her diminutive and you went off the subject, when you usually get angry because " be respectfull, nobody can call her Maddie except me, for that I have her permission." And now you talk to me about leaving for another job, as if the one you have now meant nothing to you, when in the past you would rather starve under the Cornell´s roof than find another where you can no longer see Maddie at all!”

"Forgive me for wanting to survive while others go under," Oscar smiled.

That malicious smile was not like his friend either. Sayer's brain seemed to explode with excitement at such a discovery.

“Oh God! Don't tell me… Was your infatuation cured?”

Oscar did not answer that question, mainly because he could not be cured of something that he never had. He turned to leave the office, trying to contain his laughter, as he heard Sayer say from behind:

"If it's healed, does that mean I can stay with Maddie?"