Chapter 257 - The Countess' Kind Invitation
Rutherford was happy with two things that just took place.
The first was the news of his daughter passing the final trial by fulfilling both the conditions set by his son and the last was the scene he had witnessed.
'Vonna looked away as though she was being burned by fire.' He surmised after watching the short-lived interaction between the two children.
When his daughter and that boy had spoken up at the same time, he felt an unexplainable irritation in his heart which only intensified his dislike towards the boy who had accompanied the Tanner siblings to their estate.
However, when he saw how his beloved child had turned her gaze away he could not stop the proud smile from materializing on his lips.
"The two of you sparred for more than ten minutes!" A loud and joyful exclamation brought the Earl out of his celebratory thoughts.
Yet, once again, his face darkened when he saw the one who had just yelled in enthusiasm.
'I had just stopped worrying about one boy and now another had popped up.' He sighed at his pitiful state.
He knew that this was only the beginning and that there would be multiple such instances in the future where he would have to stand as the protective shield between his innocent daughter and the hooligans who would try to get closer to her.
But he would not have too much to worry about everything on his own as there was someone else who shared the same ideals as him.
Howard glared at his friend who was gleaming with enthusiasm after hearing what Yvonne and Damien had just said.
'I cannot deal with him…' He thought while looking at the boy with brown hair.
'But I most certainly can deal with him!' He scoffed as his eyes turned towards his best friend who got too close to his little sister.
Yvonne looked on in amusement as her brother was now standing before her with the intention of blocking her from Taylor's view.
'He looks like a puppy standing before a hound.' She chuckled when associating the red-headed boy with a puppy in her mind.
Her laughter halted people's thoughts and they looked at her only to realize that they had forgotten to celebrate her grand victory after the Marquess' declaration.
The first to react was her father who scooped her up in his arms and patted her head.
"You did exceedingly well, Vonna!" He praised her for all the hard work and efforts she had put into what she had learned and executed today.
His sly eyes turned towards the younger son of Duke Tanner and were jubilant that he had thwarted the boy's plans of getting close to his daughter.
'All I wanted to do was pat her head!' Taylor pouted as he looked at the cute smile the girl had while her father patted her head.
This only strengthened his resolve to pat her head in the future and get the same satisfying reaction from her.
Rutherford had no clue that he had just thrown a rock at his own foot by rubbing his affection in Taylor's face.
This would certainly backfire in the future yet none of them were aware of the countless possibilities that the future held.
Topher and Damien rolled their eyes when they noticed the fire of determination burning in the younger boy's eyes.
Nonetheless, they did not bother with him as they knew that Taylor's determination could never survive past its initial hours thanks to his lazy attitude.
Whatever it was that he had planned would be fruitless as he would never work hard towards it.
They were well aware of this fact so none of the boys bothered to even find out what it was that he had decided to do at this moment.
Yvonne was busy basking in the warmth from her mother and father, her elder brother included that she had not noticed the interaction between the other three boys.
Even the two men who were standing a short distance away from the family were smiling while looking at this heartwarming scene.
"You forgot to mark the time, didn't you?" Marquess Samed mocked the man beside him.
This taunt brought a frown to Captain Desmo's face but he refused to answer this man's instigations.
Sullivan smirked and looked away as he knew that he was correct in saying so.
After all, during the final trial, he had been watching the show while keeping a steady watch over the time.
This was why he had noticed that everyone was so engrossed in the fight that none of them had thought of stopping it when the duration had come to an end.
'Even if I did remember the time, I wouldn't have stopped the trial.' Desmo sneered at the man who was acting high and might because he had caught this mistake.
When Desmo had seen that she had done beyond his imagination, he did not bother to keep a watch over the time and decided to let the fight run its course.
'If she wins then she wins, but if she doesn't then…' He did not continue his train of thoughts.
While these two men were scoffing and sneering at each other, the Countess of the St. Claire's family had an announcement to make.
"Please join us for the lunch we have prepared in the celebration of our son's return from the Royal Academy and our daughter's victory in the trials." Raylene St. Claire spoke in a clear and confident voice.
Her usual coquettish behavior which she displayed before her husband was nowhere to be found and in its place was the vigor and authority that the Madam of a noble family should possess.
Her biggest fans, her husband and children were impressed with her way of handling this situation with maturity and poise.
'As always, she knows how to carry herself when outsiders are present.' Yvonne gave her mother an imaginary thumbs up for her performance.
In response to her invitation, Marquess Samed was the first to nod his head in urgent approval.
He had tasted the dishes from his pupil's family and was amazed at the quality of the ingredients and also the expertise of the chefs they had.
'What else can you expect from the richest family in the Kingdom?' He had thought when he had first tasted their meals.
Thus he was always willing to stay back to eat it whenever he got the chance.
There was another person who had similar thoughts like the Marquess.
'The drinks the servants leave for us before the training taste great so I wonder how the food must taste.' Desmo Reel pondered on what might be for the meal today.
This curiosity to find out brought a nod out of him as well.
The ones who remained were the three boys who had come in Duke Tanner's carriage straight from the Royal Academy.
Topher was about to reject the Countess' kind invitation when he almost stumbled and fell.
The cause of his falter was none other than that dumb younger brother of his.
"We would love to, Countess!" Taylor accepted the invitation on behalf of the other two boys as well without asking for their say in this matter.
'Glare all you want, I am not going back so soon!' He harrumphed when he saw his elder brother and his friend shooting daggers at him but he did not care about them any longer.
Thus, everyone made their way towards the Mansion of the St. Claire family.
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