Chapter 388 - Familiar Faces
With Duchess Beatrice Tanner leading the way, the rest followed in silence.
Raylene walked next to the lady who was closer to her in age while the children were next to her.
The last were the maids who had come to serve their Madams.
The coaches they had arrived in were left at the same spot and right now they were walking further into the thick trees that surrounded the lake.
"Do you know where we are going, Master Taylor?" Yvonne whispered while leaning closer to the boy who chose to walk next to her rather than walking next to his mother.
In response, all she got was a mysterious smile with no answer to her query.
'Everyone just wants to remain silent today.' She shook her head as her mother too had done the same in the carriage.
Duchess Beatrice smiled at her son who nodded that he had followed her instructions sincerely.
'Keep your word and save me from Father later on!' He pleaded with his eyes and received a nod from her.
Initially, Taylor was supposed to stay at home and train with Captain Desmo Reel for the rest of the day.
However, when he caught wind of his mother's secret plan to spend time with her friends, he chose to follow her.
He often snuck out of training to spend time with his mother but today was a special occurrence when he heard about the girl who would also be making an appearance at this gathering.
His mother had promised to save him from the Duke's wrath if he chose to remain secretive about their destination.
This was why, even when he was aware of where they were heading, he chose to stay mum.
'If not, I would never have hidden this from you.' He pouted at the girl who had her eyes on the path.
But he did not have to keep his mouth shut for long as they had reached their destination.
The little girl's eyes widened when she saw what was ahead of them.
'What is this place?' She marveled as she turned around to glance at the path they had tread.
A short path with thick trees on either side making it seem as though they were far away from civilization.
However, turning to the front, she realized just how different the two areas were.
The trees were cut down to make a large clearing where numerous tents and caravans were pitched.
She could see people moving about from one tent to the other.
Looking at their clothing, she was sure that they were nobles.
'A renaissance fair.' She jested as this was something she had heard about.
"Welcome to the Ocular's caravan." A man with a long black beard and heavy spectacles appeared before them and greeted them with a bow.
"Thank you, Sir Merc." The Duchess answered following which everyone greeted each other.
Confused as she was, Yvonne chose to remain silent while observing the surroundings.
"Ocular is the biggest traveling caravan that trades in all things rare and valuable." Taylor whispered in her ear as he had visited this place with his mother before.
This had piqued her interest, beginning to pay closer attention to everything around her.
"Your guests are awaiting your arrival." The man named Merc revealed which elicited a clap of joy from the Duchess.
The group soon followed the man who led them towards one of the tents at the far corner of the grounds.
A large tent, enough to fit twenty people was where they arrived.
The moment they entered this tent, the little girl's curiosity to see who the guests faded without a trace.
'Ugh…' She groaned at seeing familiar faces but could not let irritation appear on her face.
Those seated inside were already alerted of the newcomers' entry so they were looking in their direction when they entered.
"Greetings, everyone." Duchess Tanner, the hostess of today's gathering greeted as she stepped inside and walked towards them.
Raylene and the two children followed her and went to greet them all.
The little girl's eyes scanned the tent and she felt a headache arising when she recognized a few of them in this room.
Surprisingly, just like her, the boy next to her had a similar expression of annoyance on his face.
"Let's go sit, Vonny." Taylor announced as he ignored the people here and dragged the little girl with him.
'Won't stop him?' She looked back at her mother who should have been paranoid by now but found that she was waving with a smile.
Frowning at the changes she noticed in her mother's attitude towards Taylor which had been cautious at first, she sulked once again while being dragged along.
___
A few minutes before they had arrived,
Inside the tent, the atmosphere was lively as a bunch of Madams from influential families sat together on one table while their children mingled while seated on another.
On the table with the ladies were Marchioness Kiron, the previous host of the end-of-summer vacation tea party.
Next to her sat Marchioness Yona, the lady who had proposed marriage between her daughter, Cecily, and the Kiron family's Jacob, and finally was a new lady, Marchioness Leopold who was absent during the last gathering.
"Who do you think the Duchess is bringing along with her?" Lady Yona inquired while alternating her eyes between the other two women.
To her right was the one she wished to suck up to, for the marriage proposal and to her left was someone wealthy and worthy of getting closer to.
She did not wish to alienate one and favor the other.
While Lady Leopold shrugged with indifference as it did not matter to her, Lady Kiron smiled and chose not to answer.
'They think they are above me just because their families are wealthier than me.' Lady Yona lowered her head at being ignored and gritted her teeth.
Turning her eyes towards the table with their children, she gazed at her child who was seated at the far end of the table next to a young boy.
'Make a favorable impression on him, my Cecily.' She hoped while turning her eyes to the last son of the Kiron family.
The young girl was too busy fawning over the boy to even notice her mother's gaze so Lady Yona could only sigh and avert her attention to the entrance of the tent.
At the children's table, four children were seated out of which three were girls and only one bespectacled boy sat at the end of the table.
The boy was the third son of the Kiron family, Jacob Kiron.
Sitting right next to him was the same girl from last time, Cecily Yona, and on the other end of the table were Aleena Kiron and Elna Leopold.
Aleena continued to shoot hostile glances at both Cecily for sticking close to her elder brother and then at Elna who did not even glance at her.
'Look at her acting all high and mighty!' Aleena scoffed at the girl she was often compared to.
Elna was a cold beauty just like her mother and chose to shrug at the animosity coming from the other side of the table.
Just when Aleena was about to confront Elna about this disrespectful action of hers, the sound of footsteps entering the tent made her swallow her words.
Turning around, she rose to greet the Duchess who appeared first but her smile faded when she saw the lady with her and the child who followed.
'Why is she here?' Aleena gritted her teeth, recalling the humiliation she faced because of her little sister's defeat in the quiz before Topher Sama, her secret crush.
However, her anger faded when she saw the boy who had arrived with them.
'Is Topher Sama not coming?' She wondered and peeked behind with anticipation only to find that there was no one there.
Cheering herself up, she decided to ignore that other girl and try to build up a proper friendship with the younger son of the Duke to help her get closer to her crush.
Sadly, before she could greet the young boy, she observed how he grabbed the little girl's hand and pulled her along.
'Why are they close to each other?' Aleena gritted her teeth as she was not willing to see someone else getting close to the person she wished to be acquainted with.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel