Chapter 323 - His Thunderstruck State
While Yvonne was trying to decipher the kind of person Jasper Brodie was, her brother was standing before a certain man who had been waiting for him.
"Father asked you to fetch me?" Howard St. Claire who was dressed in casual black trousers and a plain white shirt glanced at the coach driver who had appeared out of nowhere.
Rutherford had not informed his son about the trip that Raylene and Yvonne would be making to meet him.
Hence, the young boy was bewildered when someone had come over to his dorm room to inform him that he had a visitor.
Family members could enter the Royal Academy on weekends to meet its students so it wasn't strange that many outsiders were seen moving in and out of the Academy's premises.
But the coach driver who had come to greet Howard was not a member of his family and hence could only wait for his Young Master at the entrance.
The guards had asked him to park the carriage at a short distance away from the main gates to not hinder the other noble families who were arriving to visit their sons.
The driver did not argue and obeyed their instructions as he parked his carriage at the end of the road and returned to the main entrance of the Academy.
The guards then did not make things difficult for him and helped him by sending someone to inform this matter to the young boy who rushed over when he heard that someone was waiting for him.
Now that Howard stood before this man, he had no clue why there was someone who had come over to pick him up.
"Where are you supposed to take me?" He inquired without making any move to follow him.
Seeing his cautious behavior, the driver was not worried as he was given instructions on what to do.
Pulling out a letter from his pocket, he stepped towards the Young Master and handed it over to him.
Howard accepted the letter and the first thing that his eyes fell upon was the seal of his family which proved that this driver was indeed sent by his father.
{He will take you to the inn near the Academy. Fear not and follow him.}
The message in the letter was short and precise, exactly his father's style.
Hence, Howard was beginning to believe that this man was sent by his family and not an imposter.
Just as he was about to fold the letter and place it into his pocket, he felt someone snatch it out of his hands.
Turning around to glare at the impudent person, he found that it was none other than his best friend.
"Eh? Going out to meet your father?" Taylor Tanner inquired after he read the contents of the private letter that had nothing to do with him.
They were still at the entrance of the Academy with many people moving in and out of the place.
For this reason, Howard did not wish to cause a ruckus by punching his friend in the gut which he deserved for his mannerless actions.
Therefore, he nodded and snatched the letter back after which he put it into his pocket.
Taylor shrugged, not bothered by this as he rubbed his chin trying to make sense of this sudden letter and the servant who had popped up out of nowhere.
"Why did the Earl not come here to meet you but instead asked you to meet him outside?" He muttered his suspicions while staring at his friend's face in an attempt to find any clues from him.
Sadly, Howard was just as clueless as him so he was of no help in this matter.
Soon another person arrived at their location and scoffed when he saw the two young boys conversing at the entrance gates.
"Father is about to arrive and here you are?" Topher Tanner sneered at his younger brother whom he had been searching for everywhere.
Howard greeted Topher while Taylor pouted that he was once again yelled at for no fault of his own.
He had just noticed his best friend sneaking out of his room after a messenger had arrived so he had followed after him only to find that the Earl had sent a carriage to fetch him.
Topher ignored his brother who got on his nerves every day as he turned to face Howard.
"Don't mind him and go on." He encouraged him while grabbing hold of his younger brother's collar.
Howard chuckled and waved his hand as he watched his best friend being dragged away by his elder brother.
Taylor's pitiful pleas to be freed were ignored as Topher continued to drawl him in the direction that their father, Duke Obinn Tanner would soon be arriving.
Shaking his head at the two siblings, Howard turned around and sighed when he saw the shocked face of the driver.
'Another one stunned to see how the Duke's children behave.' He inferred the meaning behind this driver's dropped jaw.
"Let's go." He announced, yanking him out of his dumbfounded state.
The driver bowed his head and soon walked in the direction of the carriage which he had parked aside under the instructions of the guards of the Royal Academy.
Howard turned around and glanced at his friend one last time as the siblings were already at a distance away from him after which he began following the driver.
If Taylor had even had the slightest idea that Howard was about to meet Yvonne then he would have thrown a major tantrum to be left alone so that he might follow his friend to meet the cute little girl.
Sadly, luck wasn't on his side as he had to meet his father who was supposed to arrive at the Academy to meet the siblings, thus, missing this rare opportunity of meeting Yvonne.
Outside the entrance of the Academy, the carriages which were moving in and out of the gates could not compare to a certain carriage that was parked at the corner.
When Howard reached his family's carriage, his eyes widened in awe after catching a glimpse of the new means of transport that he had never seen before.
The crest of the St. Claire's family was clear for everyone to see at the side of the carriage and thus many of the nobles had figured out that the Earl had also come over to visit his son.
However, they could not be more wrong as the carriage was empty and was here to pick the young boy up in order to take him to another location.
The location was disclosed in the letter so Howard sat inside without any qualms once he was sure that this carriage indeed belonged to his family.
Once he was inside, he had the same expressions of appreciation as his sister for the handiwork of the carriage makers who had done a stellar job.
The journey was eerily silent as he was sitting alone inside the carriage and he was glad that it had soon come to an end.
Alighting from the carriage, he read the name of the inn and without thinking too much about it, entered while contemplating why he was brought here.
'Is Father here?' He wondered as he looked around the Main Hall of the Serenity Haven Inn, the place that the carriage had dropped him.
The same servants from earlier were present to greet him and without waiting for him to ask anything, they bowed towards him.
"Please follow us, Young Master." The male servant requested and then began to lead the way.
Though confused, Howard did not object as he followed them.
The place where they had brought him to, looked like that of a massive dining hall with many empty tables.
However, they did not stop there but ventured further inside to what seemed like the section where there were multiple private rooms.
Coming to a halt before one such room, it was the maid who knocked on the door and after a few seconds, she pushed it open for the young boy.
Howard's scrutinizing gaze after the doors were pushed open turned into a surprised look when he caught sight of the people who were inside this room.
"Mother!? You!?" He blurted out in shock as his eyes alternated between the two ladies seated at the table in the center of the room.
His surprised face greeted their widely smiling ones which softened his shock.
Yvonne and Raylene waved their hands at him when they noticed that he was standing in the same position.
The little girl even let out a chuckle when she saw how he had rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating right now.
'Was he always this cute?' She wondered while looking at his dumbfounded actions.
Raylene smiled through glistening eyes as she gazed at her son whom she hadn't seen for more than a month.
"Won't you come in, Big Brother?" Yvonne questioned when she found him standing still at the door.
Howard in his thunderstruck state nodded blankly as he took a step in their direction.
Before he could express his doubts and numerous questions about their sudden appearance, he was met with his sister's excited voice.
"We came to meet you because we missed you!" Her saccharine-sweet tone brought him back to his senses as he reached the table they were seated at.
His eyes drifted from his sister who was enthusiastic to meet him to his mother who smiled at him despite the tears that had stained her cheeks.
"I missed you too." He answered, trying his best to sound calm and composed.
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