We don't heal in isolation, but in community.

In a room full of paintings here and there, "Oh Wow!" Clara gazed upon the painting in front of her.

Drawn in beautiful strokes, was the image of a tall handsome young man, with Tan skin and long wavy dark hair tied with a green ribbon into a low ponytail, next to him was a beautiful east Asian woman with long straight black hair standing with her arm wrapped around the man's arm.

"Bernardino was a sight for sore eyes, wasn't he?" Clara said, "Is she his wife?" She added pointing at the woman in the painting.

Frowning, "Yes, that was Bernardino's wife, her name was Yamei, she was in china visiting some distant family and he was traveling there when they met each other.

She was one of few people he met there who could speak English, because Yamei was in fact a member of the Ton, so naturally the two became friends.

And after meeting again in England, they eventually fell in love and got Married.

Yamei was actually my first lady friend ever." Safa explained.

"Oh!" Clara gasped, "Losing her must've been the reason why you didn't befriend women much!" She said.

"No, it was her deceit...Yamei only befriended me to win over Bernardino, she hated me from the start." Safa replied.

"What?!"

"I thought she was my friend but then I discovered the truth, still...I pretended to like her afterwards because Bernardino was head over heels for her."

"But Why did she hate you?"

"Because she was jealous of all the attention and love I received from Bernardino." Safa replied.

...Some time later...

"Lady Danbury!" Colin was surprised to see Agatha about to leave the Bridgerton house, "Ah! Colin? Do you not have a home of your own now? Or are you arguing again with Penelope?" Agatha said jokingly.

But Colin couldn't bring himself to laugh, "Colin, is something wrong? I thought you were supposed to be at your friend's house?" Violet asked, she was standing next Agatha in her winter coat, and immediately noticed her son's distress.

Looking away, "I had an argument with Fabian...I made things worse, again..." Colin replied.

"It seems to me like you are in need of advice, I was about to take my leave but I suppose I can talk with one more Bridergton." Agatha said.

"Thank you, to be honest I meant to ask you for an advice anyways..." Colin replied, "Well, it is good luck then that I am here." Agatha said smiling.

"Then I shall leave you two to talk, I will head to check on Penelope and my grandson, I was planning to anyways before you arrived." Violet said before she walked away.

"Thank you mother." Colin replied, "Hmm, shall we?" Agatha said and Colin nodded as he followed her to the drawing room.

...Few moments later...

"So this friend of yours, his name is Fabian I believe?" Agatha said.

"Yes, Fabian Kainz...is it alright if I ask you to keep this conversation between us?" Colin asked.

Agatha smiled, "Worry not, I promise you."

"Thank you again lady Danbury..."

"Tell me, what about your friend, what advice can I offer?"

Sighing, "Well, About 5 days or so, both Lord and Lady Stuart have passed away, did you hear about them?" Colin asked.

"Ah!" Agatha nodded, "I did, however I was not well familiar with the couple so I did not hear immediately until I read what your wife had wrote, and to be honest I was quite busy I eventually missed their funeral."

"Their funeral was actually delayed, they were buried just yesterday and that is because Lady Struat's only nephew, Fabian Kainz, was overseas and the service was delayed so he can arrive to attend it." Colin replied.

"Oh my! I see...well, when you do solve your issue with your friend, please give him my condolences." Lady Danbury said.

"As you wish...as I was saying, Fabian is the late lady's only nephew and they are, or were...each other's last remaining relatives."

"I see...the poor boy must be heartbroken."

"He is beyond that, but I was quite heartless with him, it was not my intention but I still behaved irrationally."

"How so?" She asked.

"Well a solicitor came to read the late couple's Will, and although Fabian was not interested in becoming so...apparently it is their wish for Fabian to be the next Lord, and the Will was approved and everything but..." Colin hesitated.

"Let me guess...there is some sort of a condition stopping him from becoming a Lord?" Agatha guessed.

"Almost! Fabian is currently penniless, his aunt used to support him as he traveled around the world, but with her death, if he wishes to access the Stuart's inheritance, he must become Lord, and he could only do that if he marries a wealthy woman who adds value to the Struat title...and this is all according to the will." Colin explained.

"Hmm, Seems like the marriage market is high on demand lately...Does Fabian oppose the idea of marriage?"

"He is reluctant...he wants to be free and just travel but because he has no money, he says he would be alright with marrying as long as it is the result of a love match, however he believes that he would not be able to love any woman of the Ton because he sees them as shallow creatures.

And he thought at first that a woman as mentioned in the will could only be a Ton lady, although we have confirmed today that she does not necessarily have to be a lady of the Ton, she could be just an ordinary wealthy and respectable woman."

"So she must be wealthy...I can see why they would ask for such woman, I suppose it would only ruin the Struat title further if their future Lord ends up marrying a girl from a humble background...I heard that the late lady was a maid and that has caused a bit of damage to their reputation." Agatha said.

Nodding, "Yes, so in order to balance the scale, Fabian must marry rich." Colin replied.

"And is this why you argued with your friend?" She asked.

"Well...it is just that since his arrival everything was rushed, he did not have time to process his grief...he had to put on a brave face while hosting the funeral and burial services, and both the solicitor and I sort of pressured him into accepting the idea of marriage...especially me.

And today I discovered something that made me pressure him even more, but he ended-up suffering from a breakdown...he broke down crying and asked me to leave him alone." He replied.

"I see, you should apologize to him as soon as possible..."

"I know...I just want to help him, he has to find a wife before the next spring season."

"This year's season?"

"No, the next."

"So he has around a year to find a wife."

"Correct."

"And what was that thing you discovered today that made you pressure your friend even more?" Agatha asked.

"Three days ago, Fabian and I met a friend of The late Lady, A woman who came to attend the funeral." Colin said.

"A woman? I am starting to see where this is going..." Agatha replied.

"Well, this woman is unusual by all accounts, however she has managed to captivate Fabian because he admitted today that for two nights in a row, he has been dreaming of her in his sleep." Colin replied.

"Dreaming?"

Blushing, "Yes...indecent dreams I might add." Colin said looking away, embarrassed.

Surprised, "Oh! I see, you think your friend might be developing feelings for this girl!" Agatha said.

Colin nodded, "Yes...but the problem is that he is refusing to even consider this woman as an option."

"And why? Is she not wealthy?" Agatha asked, "On the contrary, she is, her necklace alone could fund his travels for a year...the problem is that she and Fabian have decided to befriend each other, and apparently he spoke to her about The Will, so she responded by telling him not to consider her for marriage because she does not wish to marry at all...she is what they call a spinster by choice.

And Fabian is adamant about respecting her Choice, especially since she was much more kinder to him than That solicitor or myself have been...and if you read about the Gun salute that happened, well you should know that it was her idea, she even fired the bullet for the late Lady Struat." Colin explained.

Surprised, Agatha started to feel a sense of deja Vu, "Oh and I almost forgot, this woman has a thing for befriending gentlemen, she has a manservant who follows her everywhere she goes and A Lord who is also her friend, they both call her just by her name.

She brought both men with her during the funeral and burial services! She even brought her puppy with her!" Colin said.

"A puppy?!" Agatha was shocked, "By any chance, does this woman rely on a cane to walk?" She asked.

Amazed, "How did you know! She does actually, although apparently a doctor has ordered her to use a wheelchair recently, she actually came in her wheelchair to the services." Colin replied, "Do you know her by any chance?" He asked.

"Her name is Lady Vega, am I correct?"

"Yes! So you do know her, lady Danbury?"

"You could say that, although her and I are not on good terms at the moment...and believe it or not, that puppy was a gift from me to her, as an apology for overstepping her boundaries...and although she accepted the dog , she has not accepted my apology." Lady Danbury replied.

"What a small world, I did not imagine you would know her, since she is not a member of the Ton as far as I heard." Colin said.

"So your friend is enamoured by this girl..."

"I Know it is very early to say so, but it seems that way..."

"Do you believe she is suitable for your friend?" Agatha asked.

"Suitable, I would not say so...I am only thinking of her because Fabian wants a love match...but in terms of suitable, she might not be." Colin replied.

"Why?"

"Forgive me for asking again, but You do promise secrecy on the matter?"

"Yes."

"Then I suppose I can tell you."

Taking a deep breath, "Fabian's greatest joy in life is his travels especially overseas, lady Vega however hates the sea and made a vow to never board a ship.

Fabian wants a wife who would either join him on his travels or would not mind him traveling on his own, and he believes due to her trauma, lady Vega would not allow such a thing." Colin explained.

Sighing, "I see...do you know why she hates the sea?" Agatha asked.

"Her family died there."

"Oh my!"

"Yes..."

Agatha sighed again, "Goodness..."

"I wanted to reach out to you, in fact I had agreed with Fabian after that solicitor's visit to ask for your help in finding him a love match." Colin said.

"Then you did good, I shall do whatever I could to help your friend." Agatha replied.

Happy, "Really?! Although we might need to wait a couple of days before we start looking for someone for him, because he does deserve some peace to mourn properly." Colin said.

"Waiting should be fine, but We do not need to look for anyone new, at least not for now." Agatha replied.

Confused, "What do you mean?" Colin asked.

"Lady Vega! We need to first make sure that she is actually not suitable for Fabian before we go look for another match!" Agatha replied.

"But they are both against this?!" Colin said.

"Oh please, as if you were not against Penelope but then married her!" Agatha replied.

"You do have a point." Colin said.