He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 155

155. Beneath the Shadow of Happiness

◈ Manchester, Tenement Housing Complex.

After about a 30-minute carriage ride from the factory, we arrived in the neighborhood where Mr. Scipio Marshall lived.

It was a collective residential area mainly inhabited by low-wage workers in Manchester, with closely packed, cramped, and dilapidated buildings.

‘The environment seems even worse than the run-down houses in London’s Covent Garden market street…’

Most of the men seemed to have gone to work at factories or the docks, and mainly women and young children were seen around the houses.

‘The house number is… 17, I think…’

House numbers began to be introduced in major cities in England from the mid-18th century.

However, since systematic numbering like modern times had not yet been established, finding a house with just the street name and house number wasn’t as easy as I thought.

‘This seems to be the right house…’

As Tae-oh was looking around, a middle-aged woman came out of the house he was looking at, carrying a water bucket in her hand.

“Madam! Excuse me, do you know where Mr. Scipio Marshall’s house is?”

The woman, wary of Tae-oh, put down the bucket and silently pointed somewhere.

The place she pointed to was the furthest room on the second floor of the building.

Fortunately, it seemed we had found the right place.

Tae-oh thanked her and went up the stairs, knocking on the door of the room she had indicated.

Knock, knock, knock-

“Dr. Marshall, are you home?”

After waiting for a moment, a sound was heard from inside the house, and soon the door opened.

Clunk-

“Who is it… Oh, isn’t it Lord Sanderson? How did you get here…?”

It was Dr. Scipio, looking quite surprised.

However, his face had become much thinner in just a few days.

“Ah, I found the house. I had something important to tell you, so I went to the factory, but I heard you haven’t been in for days. I was worried and came to find you.”

Dr. Scipio seemed embarrassed but also grateful.

“You were worried about me and came all this way… I’m so grateful. It’s humble, but please come in.”

Tae-oh followed Dr. Scipio into the house, who opened the door wide and welcomed him.

* * *

The house was small and stuffy because the window was small.

However, like the factory office, the room was neatly organized.

The bookshelf was filled with far more books than in the office, and the desk and bed were neatly arranged, making it feel cozy.

“Ah, I’m so sorry to serve such poor tea to the CEO of T&S Coffee.”

The tea he brought out was cheap Turkish coffee sold on the market, but it wasn’t that bad.

“No, it has a pretty good aroma.”

“Yes, it’s the best coffee I have, so I enjoy drinking it.”

As he sipped his coffee, Tae-oh noticed a portrait of a dignified middle-aged white man on his desk.

Judging from how carefully it was placed, it seemed to be someone of special significance to Dr. Scipio.

“Perhaps… is the person in that portrait Earl Marshall?”

At Tae-oh’s question, Dr. Scipio smiled faintly and nodded.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“The Earl must have been special to you?”

“Yes. Actually, I have no memory of my biological parents at all. I was an orphan even before I was captured as a slave. So, Earl Marshall, who took care of me like a parent and supported me, has been my father figure.”

Earl Marshall, who had him study out of curiosity about black intelligence, seemed to have been impressed by Scipio’s outstanding mind and diligence, and gave him generous support and affection.

If Earl Marshall had lived longer, Dr. Scipio might have achieved even greater accomplishments at the university.

“You don’t look well, Doctor. Are you feeling unwell?”

Judging from his movements, there didn’t seem to be any particular physical problems.

However, his emotional state seemed very dark, and I could feel that he was struggling mentally.

“I don’t know. A few days ago was the anniversary of Earl Marshall’s death, and since then, my heart has been heavy, and I’ve been feeling weak.”

“I thought that if I went to work in this condition, it would only interfere with the factory work, so I haven’t been able to go out for a few days.”

Mental problems affect the body much more than you think.

Dr. Scipio became depressed on the anniversary of the Earl’s death, which caused his vitality to decline, making him feel like he was sick.

“Doctor?”

“Yes.”

“I think I know how you feel right now. Although Earl Marshall was not your biological parent, he understood you better than anyone else and supported you so that you could do what you really wanted to do.”

“……”

“If Earl Marshall hadn’t passed away suddenly, he probably would have considered special provisions for your life after his death in some way before he died.”

At Tae-oh’s words, Dr. Scipio’s eyes turned red.

“…Yes, he probably would have. Given the Earl’s character, he would have been more than capable of doing that.

In fact, when the Earl was alive, I didn’t really understand the meaning of his great favor. I was just grateful for his support and encouragement, and I just thought that I should study harder and improve myself so as not to disappoint him.

And every time I showed him some kind of achievement, he was happier and more congratulatory than anyone else in the world, which made me study even harder.”

Dr. Scipio looked at the portrait of Earl Marshall and continued.

“But when the Earl passed away, I felt like I had returned to being a useless black slave. I couldn’t even enter the Earl’s funeral. The young masters cursed and kicked me out, asking why a blackie like me dared to come here.

Nowhere, not even at the university, treated me the same as before. In a scary world that suddenly revealed its true colors, I was so tired and scared that I couldn’t function.

I ran away and came here to work as a laborer and was adapting to it… but a few days ago, on the anniversary of the Earl’s death, I suddenly wondered what I was doing here. I also felt depressed, wondering how pathetic the Earl, who was watching me from heaven, would think of me.”

His desperate emotions were conveyed to Tae-oh. It seemed like it was time to get to the point.

“Doctor. Actually, I have been thinking about establishing and operating an educational institution in London for a long time. As you said last time, I believe that potential can explode only when the education level of the public is improved before technological innovation.”

“……”

“And I am someone who thinks that your knowledge and abilities are truly precious, just like Earl Marshall thought. So, Doctor.”

“……?”

“From now on, I would like to sponsor and support you in place of Earl Marshall.”

“…What? You’re going to sponsor me?”

Dr. Scipio was startled by the sudden offer.

“I am now proposing that you lead the research institute and vocational school that I will establish in London.”

“What… what is that?”

“No, this is not a proposal, but a plea. I’ve been thinking about establishing a school in various ways, but I’ve been worried because there’s no one to lead it properly.

But now that you’ve appeared before me, I don’t know how happy I am.

So, if you could lead the school, I would be more grateful than anything else.”

“You’re going to entrust the school to me? Are you serious?”

Tae-oh nodded.

“Yes! That’s right. And after listening to your story today, I suddenly had this thought. Perhaps Earl Marshall led me here after seeing you as you are now….”

The doctor finally shed tears at Tae-oh’s words.

Scipio, who had been kicked out of the university and was working in a factory, felt like everything he had studied so hard had become useless, and sighed every night.

An unbelievable opportunity had come to him.

Tae-oh was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

The problem of establishing an economic research institute and educational institution in London, which he had been worried about for a while, could now gain momentum with the doctor’s participation.

Earl Marshall in the portrait was smiling contentedly as he looked down at the sobbing Dr. Scipio.

◈ Late July 1781, Paul Osborne’s mansion.

“You have very simple luggage.”

Lord Peterson said, looking at Dr. Scipio’s moving luggage in another carriage.

Since most of it was books and small items, one carriage was enough.

Lord Colin Peterson was happier than anyone else at the news that he was returning to London with Dr. Scipio.

He had always felt sorry for him because he could not demonstrate his abilities due to his skin color and background, even though he had an excellent mind and outstanding knowledge.

Dr. Scipio thanked Lord Peterson.

“Lord Peterson, thank you so much for everything. And I heard that you recommended me to Lord Sanderson. I will never forget this kindness and will gradually repay it as I live.”

“No, Doctor. I’m just sorry that the help I could give you was so little. I’m so glad you have this great opportunity.”

Lord Peterson also supported Dr. Scipio’s future, holding his hand with teary eyes.

Tae-oh said goodbye to Mr. Osborne and Mrs. Catherine Peterson with regret, and got into the carriage, promising to meet again.

Clatter- clatter- bump-

As the carriage left the port of Manchester and entered the forest path, Dr. Scipio soon fell asleep.

He must have been tired from cleaning the room and moving the luggage since dawn.

Tae-oh, who was resting his eyes with the green scenery outside the window, suddenly thought of Lord Patrick Bogart.

‘It’s been a month, so it’s almost Marquis Perry’s birthday party. I wonder how much he has improved with Mr. Bach’s teachings.’

In fact, a month is a very short time to change something.

Especially in the field of art, which requires strenuous practice.

He was a little worried, but Tae-oh had high expectations for Mr. Bach’s conviction.

◈ A few days later. London, Johann Christian Bach’s house.

“…At that time, I was a little worried that Patrick might run away because he was having a hard time because I was too demanding.

But no. Patrick, who felt the joy of music, bothered me even more, haha.”

Tae-oh, who arrived in London, had Dr. Scipio Marshall stay at his house and visited Bach’s house early the next morning.

He couldn’t help but go because he was so curious about how much Patrick had changed in a month.

“The speed at which he absorbs what he is taught is really extraordinary. In fact, since he didn’t know how to read sheet music, he couldn’t distinguish the pitch and duration of each note through the sheet music at first.

But when I played the notes on the piano and told him the duration and pitch, he quickly followed. Then, in a few days, he even started reading sheet music well.”

Patrick had always been insecure and withdrawn because he had always been teased about his voice.

He even cursed his own voice.

But his voice was recognized as a heavenly voice by even the master of opera… How excited he must have been!

“What’s even more amazing is that when I taught him how to produce sounds easily, his vocal range increased even more.”

“What? It went up even more than before? Wow- I can’t imagine how high it will be.”

“Haha- You’ll know when you hear it live at the birthday party. You’ll probably be surprised.”

In this era, it was taken for granted that nobles were idle [unemployed].

Patrick had plenty of time to learn because he had so much free time.

“That’s really a relief. I was worried that he wouldn’t be able to find enjoyment because he had hardly been exposed to music, but I feel relieved that he is doing well.

Then, Marquis Perry’s birthday is coming soon, so the song you will sing at that time has already been decided? What song is it?”

There was only about a week left until the performance. I was very curious about what song he would sing.

But Mr. Bach looked embarrassed.

“That’s… unfortunately, we haven’t decided yet.”

“What? Not yet?”

“Several songs came to mind and I tried to teach him. But I don’t know if it’s because of my own ambition, but when I thought this song was okay, another song sounded okay, and then when I tried a new song, it was also okay… Haha, it seems that even if you are too talented, it is not easy to choose a song.

But since this is the first time he is officially performing in front of people, I wanted to choose a perfect song that is popular and showcases Patrick’s high notes to instill confidence in him.

Anyway, it’s his first stage, and if he faces unexpected appearances and reactions there, he may develop unnecessary fears and lose confidence. So it’s really difficult to pick one song.”

“Yes….”

No matter how gifted Patrick was, he had to start practicing right away if the performance was only a few days away.

But it was a problem that they hadn’t even decided on a song.

Then, the movie ‘Farinelli’ suddenly came to Tae-oh’s mind.

Because when he first heard Patrick’s voice, he was reminded of the castrato [male singer castrated before puberty to preserve their soprano or alto range] singer Farinelli in the movie.

Tae-oh carefully mentioned one of the songs that the main character sang in the movie Farinelli.

“Then, teacher… how about the aria ‘Ombra fedele anch’io’ from the opera Idaspe? I think it would suit Patrick’s voice very well….”

At that moment, Bach’s eyes widened.

“…’Beneath the… shadow of happiness’?”