Samuel Smithson was quite happy because of what Lucy Sullivan said but when he thought that her words might not be sincere and were just meant to make another man angry, he felt extremely frustrated.
"Brother Samuel, I don't want to stick my nose in your business but Lucy isn't a good woman. And everyone in the village knows that she's still obsessed with Albert Hudson. You'd better stay away from her." Edward York recalled seeing Lucy at Samuel's house and tried to persuade him earnestly.
Their village was small, and everyone knew about Lucy's infatuation with Albert, from the elderly to the wobbling children.
Edward admitted that Lucy was beautiful, with fair skin, big eyes, and a soft voice that made her more lovable compared to the other girls in the village, let alone the other female city dwellers. But her behavior wasn't worthy of his Brother Samuel.
In Edward's eyes, Samuel was the best and deserved even a princess. How could he be with a woman who had another man in her heart?
"I have it under control." Samuel didn't like it when others belittled Lucy. But he knew Edward only had his best interests at heart, so he didn't say anything harsh, though the tone was far from pleasant.
After finishing breakfast, Lucy cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks.
Although she wasn't used to doing such chores, she thought about settling down with Samuel and getting used to doing these household tasks in this era.
Lucy remembered how the original owner of her body had drunkenly claimed she would find a man a thousand times better than Albert and then sneaked into Samuel's house without bringing anything.
People in this era were conservative, so Lucy and Samuel, who already shared an intimate physical relationship, should move in together as soon as possible and hold a wedding ceremony.
With this in mind, Lucy decided to move her things from the dormitory.
On her way, she encountered many villagers working. Every time they saw her from a distance, they would gather together and gossip. When she approached, they would quickly disperse and greet her with a smile as if they were close friends.
But as soon as she was out of sight, they would regroup and point at her.
Lucy wasn't a fool. She didn't need to guess that they were calling her shameless, chasing after men and not behaving like a married woman. There would even be some unmarried men speaking lewdly behind her back.
If it were the original Lucy, she would have felt ashamed and angry because of the constraints of the era, but the modern Lucy didn't care at all.
So Lucy ignored the fake closeness and pointed fingers, responding with a smile to those who greeted her, and keeping her head high and back straight when she heard bad remarks.
Lucy's dormitory had been renovated from a village house, which was made of stone instead of adobe like many other houses, offering a relatively better living environment.
Lucy shared a room with three other girls. She was just about to get inside when she heard their gossip.
"What if something happened to Lucy since she didn't come back last night?"
"What could happen to her? She claimed she was going to find a man, so she could be rolling in bed with some guy right now, who knows?"
"Emily Linton! Don't talk nonsense! We all came here together. If people heard what you said, what would they think of Lucy? A woman's reputation is a big deal!"
"As if she cared about her reputation! If she did, would she chase after Albert every day? A girl who doesn't know the meaning of restraint. It's so embarrassing. I must have been cursed in my past life to end up in the countryside with her!" Emily yelled angrily.
The villagers were conservative. Because of Lucy, the rest of them had suffered a lot of scorn.
"Madeline Leighton, don't pretend to be a good person. In reality, you hate her the most, right? You two are in the same team, but she does nothing but chase after men. How do you feel about that?" Emily taunted Madeline.
Madeline looked guilty, for she indeed didn't like Lucy.