31 Ruckus at the tea party

Everyone except one person who had watched the spectacle from afar.

It was Ares who was blazing with jealousy.

His love rival was making a move.

"Thank you, Tommy, I really appreciate the gift." thanked Liz with a gentle voice and patted his head.

A pleased smile appeared on Tommy's face.

After all he had received praise from his favourite big sister/future wife.

"Can Tommy stay here to play with big sister?" Tommy asked with puppy eyes and a shy voice.

'As if Eleanor would fall for this act.' Ares thought confidently.

"Of course, you can stay here, be our guest." Liz invited Tommy.

Since no chairs were available, Liz took Tommy on her lap.

Ares was dumbfounded.

'Would Eleanor treat me also like him if I would behave cuter?' he wondered.

All at once his world was completely turned upside down and he really wondered if his way of approaching her was the right one.

Although Ares did not want to leave Eleanor alone with Tommy, he left the garden unnoticed.

As soon as Ares left the garden, Lady Chrester raised her voice.

"Princess Eleanor, excuse me for my discourtesy but I have heard an interesting rumor about you and it seems to be true." Lady Chrester remarked with a scornful smile.

Her mask fell off faster than a child could eat the whole chocolate advent calender without permission.

To her disappointment, Princess Eleanor did not notice her.

"Tommy would you like a piece of cake." Liz offered Tommy with gentle eyes.

Liz noticed that Tommy occasionally stared at the piece, but did not dare to say anything.

"If you offer it to me already, I can't say no." Tommy expressed with a shy face and played with his fingers.

Liz carefully placed a piece of cake on Tommy's plate and he was already drooling.

He gratefully accepted the piece of cake and began to devour it.

At this sight Liz hear sank, because she knew that desserts were a luxury good.

A privilege which only nobles could afford.

It was probably the first time and maybe the only time in Tommy's young life that he had eaten a piece of cake.

"Princess Eleanor, are you deliberately ignoring me? I just wanted to inform you about your current reputation as a gesture of courtesy but I never thought that our princess would react so unladylike." snorted Lady Chrester contemptuously.

After her remark the other ladies began to murmur among themselves and Lady Chrester grinned overconfident.

Liz, however, just glanced over to her for a short moment in disinterest.

'Oh yes, this nervous wreck is still around.'

To Lady Chrester surprise, Tommy defended Princess Eleanor.

"Evil auntie! Don't bully my big sister!"

"Auntie?" she shrieked outraged.

She was scolded by a little kid!

"How dare you, you commoner! Have you heard of manners? I don't think so by judging your table manners. Simply outrageous!" complained Lady Chrester.

Liz heaved a deep sigh.

She knew that she now had to step in before the situation escalated.

Little Tommy buried himself in Liz's neck out of sheer fear of the evil aunt.

"Lady Chrester, the reason why I ignored you at first was to save your face. But apparently you do not seem to appreciate my friendly gesture." Liz particularly emphasized friendly gesture.

"What do you mean by this Princess Eleanor?" she asked her with a suspicious expression.

"Lady Chrester I am convinced that every aristocrat knows the difference between a rumor and a fact, doesn't it? Furthermore, "seems" as a verb indicates fickleness and again no facts. I think that everyone here at the table can agree with me, as each of us has been educated to have a strong sense of judgement, right?" Liz expressed with a distorted smile.

Cold sweat broke out among the noble ladies and they could only nod at Princess Eleanor's utterance.

"And regarding manners, Tommy is a guest of honour of mine, so I expect that each of us treat him accordingly. Otherwise it is an offensive against the royal family." Liz added with a cool voice.

"Of course, Princess Eleanor, I apologize for my misconduct." expressed Lady Chrester with a clenched teeth.

'Just you wait princess Eleanor, just you wait. I will revenge myself on you for today, even if not directly." she calmed herself down.

Liz, who had no idea what was going through Lady Chrester's head, served Tommy the next piece of cake.

"Don't worry, big sister will protect you from the evil aunt." whispered Liz Tommy in his ear.