The lady’s Secret Life as a Pirate,
Chapter 48 —
**“He said he would contact me, but I haven’t heard anything.”**
“Who?”
“Florian, of course.”
Astrid sat on the bed next to Rosana, letting her take care of her right foot. After walking around barefoot, the bottom of her foot had been hurt. Now, three days later, it was finally starting to scab and heal.
“It looks much better now,” said Rosana, as she applied ointment and wrapped the foot in fresh bandages.
If Astrid had just rested for a day or two after getting hurt, it would’ve healed faster. She had good healing ability. But since she kept going out every day, the healing was slower.
Rosana had asked Sir de Galision to help keep Astrid from walking too much, and he agreed. But it wasn’t possible to avoid walking entirely.
“Is he busy?”
“Probably. Didn’t you see the port yourself? It was crowded.”
“The launching ceremony will be a big event. A lot of people will come to the city, and it’s a busy time for merchants.”
Astrid nodded, still looking uncertain. Rosana gently poked her cheek to cheer her up.
“What do you want to do today?”
“Hmm… Can I walk today?”
“A little, yes.”
“Then I want to go back to the seaside cliffs we saw yesterday.”
The area with luxury homes like the de Galision villa was on a small hill by the coast. Yesterday, they had only gone as far as the carriage could take them, but from the top, you could see the cliffs, crashing waves, and the rocky islets of Alledo.
“I’ll go tell them now,” said Rosana.
As she opened the door, she was surprised to find a servant there, about to knock. Both froze for a moment.
“There’s a visitor for Miss Del Font,” said the servant. “A tailor from Orteze is here.”
“Oh, not just the dresses, but the tailor too? Can you send them up here?”
“You’ll need to come down, miss. The young master already brought them to the drawing room.”
Rosana threw a shawl over Astrid’s indoor dress and they headed downstairs. In the drawing room, the tailor and her assistant were unpacking the dresses. Alejandro was leaning casually against the doorframe, watching them. He stepped aside when he noticed them.
“I’ll give you two some space,” he said.
“You should stay,” Rosana told him. “This is the dress for the launching ceremony.”
After thinking for a moment, Alejandro sat on the sofa. The servants brought in a folding screen and set it up in a corner of the room. Astrid and Rosana went behind it with one of the dresses.
Alejandro, arms crossed, turned to the tailor.
“You’re from Orteze?”
“Yes, sir,” the middle-aged woman said with a deep bow.
Alejandro tapped his chin thoughtfully. A strange irritation started to rise inside him.
“So, she’s going to wear a dress from another man and attend a ball with yet another man?”
“Wow, that bothers you?” Astrid shouted from behind the screen.
“It’s about basic manners,” he replied.
“Oh, look who’s talking about manners!” she teased.
Then came a light smack—likely Sir Felix scolding her for being improper.
Rosana chimed in from behind the screen to explain. “This dress wasn’t a personal gift. It’s from the merchant company. After Miss Astrid wore the siren costume in the play, many people wanted that fabric. They’re using her to promote it. Isn’t that right, tailor?”
“Yes, exactly,” said the tailor quickly.
She could tell Alejandro was not someone to mess with. She decided not to mention that Florian had come up with the design sketch.
“It’s just business, then?” Alejandro asked.
“Of course,” the tailor said with another bow.
He nodded, though not fully convinced. Still, the tailor was glad he hadn’t seen how Astrid and Florian had interacted—if he had, she wouldn’t have dared to say that.
Alejandro thought about what had happened three days ago at the Orteze branch. Mateo had grinned foolishly, trying to guess Astrid’s feelings, and Florian had stayed close beside her, acting overly friendly.
Even though Alejandro avoided gossip, he knew that the Orteze merchant leader was desperate to earn a noble title. And now he understood why Florian, despite their past, was hanging around Astrid again.
He frowned, thinking that both the title-hungry father and the obedient son were the same.
Soon, Astrid stepped out from behind the screen, wearing a shiny green dress. It was the same fabric as the siren costume from the play, and in the daylight, it looked even more magical.
“How does it look?”
Alejandro looked at the dress silently. He had just been thinking bad things about its origin, so now he saw flaws everywhere.
“The sleeves are a little short.”
“It’s hot lately! And her arms are beautiful, they should be shown off,” said Felix.
“The neckline is too low.”
“Oh please, that’s standard these days,” Felix shot back.
Astrid added, “If you don’t like it, just say you don’t like it.”
She looked annoyed. Alejandro sighed and finally said, “It does suit you well.”
Even if he didn’t like where it came from or the style, it looked perfect on her. He had to admit the designer had a good eye.
Rosana and the tailor went over the final details and everything fit well. The tailor, exhausted, quickly packed up and left.
But she was stopped by Astrid, who ran out barefoot.
“Is something wrong, miss?”
“Is there a message for me?”
“A message?”
“Like a note from Florian. Nothing this time?”
“Oh… No, nothing this time.”
Astrid looked disappointed. The tailor apologized and left, telling her to enjoy the dress.
—
**Later that day…**
Though it had only been a day since their last visit, the seaside cliffs looked even more beautiful. Waves crashed against the rocks, the sun was blazing, and the sea breeze wiped sweat from the back of their necks.
They couldn’t take the carriage to the very top, so Astrid and the others walked up slowly, enjoying the sea air.
At the top, a large tree offered shade. The servants laid out a cloth and unpacked food. It was Rosana’s idea to have a picnic here.
As soon as the spot was ready, Astrid stretched out and leaned comfortably on a tree stump.
She watched the sea, heard seagulls, and listened to the breeze rustling the leaves.
Then came the sound of slow footsteps. Lieutenant de Galision was arriving, a little behind everyone else.
“That’s surprising,” Rosana whispered. “He looks like the strongest one here.”
Astrid thought the same and watched him walk the last few steps. His silk shirt was light, and his pants were proper yet practical. Then she noticed the answer: his shoes looked loose and uncomfortable.
“Your shoes don’t fit, do they?”
Alejandro looked down at his feet.
“Thanks to someone whose foot got injured.”
“Wasn’t it you who said your shoes were fine even though they were worn out?”
He sat at the edge of the picnic cloth, clearly not wanting to join in. Astrid leaned forward and examined his shoes.
“These look more worn than your old ones.”
“They were my father’s. I found them in the villa.”
“Oh? Then they must be hard to walk or run in today.”
“It’s not that bad…”
Astrid stood up and shook off her dress playfully.
“Rosana, I’m going to look at the cliff for a bit.”
“Alone? It’s dangerous.”
“No, Lieutenant de Galision will come with me. Right?”
She grinned mischievously down at him.
Alejandro had a bad feeling and quickly got up—just in time to see Astrid, whose foot had healed, start running along the cliff edge.
