Chapter 704 - Strange Emotions

"You like this one better, don't you?" Taylor smiled while placing a different cookie on the little girl's plate.

The children had returned from their short horse ride and even went ahead to wash up before reuniting in the back garden where the Countess had set up their venue for evening tea.

No one mentioned what had taken place in the woods after sensing that something serious had been discussed by those two youngsters.

The twins pretended to not have seen anything while Howard and Taylor could only bury their curiosity as neither of the participants of that secret conversation would spill the beans.

In fact, one of the participants, Topher, had not accompanied them on their quick journey back to the mansion.

Instead, they did not know what he was up to but he had arrived much later than them.

They were heading towards the garden when they found Topher walking towards the mansion which came as a surprise to them.

However, they sensed the strange atmosphere that had formed and chose not to mention it again.

Thus this group of children, excluding Topher, had headed towards the venue they had been informed well in advance.

The Countess had instructed the Butler to place three small round tables in the garden and he had made sure that everything was according to her desires.

When tea time began, Howard and Taylor as always sat on either side of the little girl on one table while the seats for the twins and Topher were arranged on another table.

The bigger table was set aside for the Valente and St. Claire couples who had different matters to discuss while the children had fun among themselves.

Rutherford smiled when he saw that the children were engaged in animated conversation and then decided to focus on his wife and her family as well.

Howard had just placed a macaron on Yvonne's table which she accepted with a smile.

However, it was Taylor who made a quick move by placing something else which she might like better.

"I like them both." The little girl smiled at them both, not wanting another quarrel to begin right now.

While the two best friends were competing on who knew her the best, the twins nodded when they saw Topher finally making an appearance.

He nodded back at them before taking his seat next to them.

A maid served him tea as well and soon he too was busy speaking with Knox regarding some matter which they had in common.

However, while his mind was focused on this pleasant exchange, his eyes kept returning to the child seated at the other table.

Topher did not know what had caused this but the sight of Miss Yvonne leaving him while he stayed put had brought a sense of desolation to him.

He had almost called out to her, asking her to stop and not walk away from him but had managed to stop himself in the nick of time.

His mind was filled with bewilderment at this strange emotion he had felt for the very first time yesterday.

'Then why did it feel like I had experienced that before as well?' He pondered while continuing to secretly glimpse at Yvonne who had not sensed his attention yet.

Back near that creak, he had stood rooted in place while the rest went ahead because he had to sort out the sudden overwhelming emotions that had formed in his heart.

However, even when he was trying to make sense of what they were, he had come to no useful conclusion.

The final word of advice the child had given to him echoed in his ears, shaking him out of his thoughtful daze.

Only then did he remember to make his way back to the mansion but even along the way, he pondered on what might this strange feeling be.

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Yvonne had no idea that Topher's heart had clenched at the sight of her disappearing image.

She was busy gobbling everything that her two brothers placed on her plate.

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At the table with the adults, Raylene was inquiring about her father's health and Trisha was happy to explain it to her.

"Hakka is watching over him right at this moment as well." Marcus chimed in, revealing that his etcher was next to their father with the instructions of making sure that he was alright at all costs.

Only the Viscount and his family with a few servants had ventured to the Capital while the rest stayed behind with their Old Master.

Therefore, Raylene was relieved to hear that her father was well-taken care of back at their fief.

"When do you plan to leave?" Rutherford's crude question made Raylene choke on the tea she had just sipped.

The stoic husband handed a napkin over to her while patting her back while she coughed incessantly.

Raylene glared at the man who was pretending to be innocent after asking such a direct question.

She leered at him one last time before turning towards her brother and sister-in-law with an apologetic look on her face.

Trisha chuckled while dismissing her worries and Marcus smiled at her before glowering at that huge man who was only waiting for them to leave.

Just this afternoon, he could not fall asleep because that was the time he would be working if he had still been in his fief.

Therefore, this habit was hard for him to break and thus he felt uneasy to be so relaxed and wished to take a stroll instead of resting in his room.

However, just before he could open the door of his room, his hand which was on the handle of the door could not push it open.

This was due to the sounds which he could hear coming from the corridor outside their room.

The sounds of a coquettish giggle followed by hushed whispers from a gruff voice were all he heard before it faded away.

'Hmph!' Marcus scoffed at the man seated opposite him right now as that voice belonged to him.

The couples were staying on the same floor and what he had heard this afternoon was an exchange between the other couple whose room was next to theirs.

The sounds had ceased altogether after the click of a door closing had reached his ear and as soon as that was heard, Marcus widened his eyes and hurried away from his room.

Trisha was fast asleep so she did not hear a thing but the Viscount, who had heightened hearing was frightened at what he might hear if he stayed here any longer.

Thus he had escaped from his room lest he heard something he should not from which he would not be able to recover later on.

After he had succeeded in scurrying away from that floor, he stopped only when he reached the parlor.

There he sat alone and contacted his etcher, Hakka, inquiring about how everyone there was.

The hawk did an excellent job in reporting everything to his Master and by the time he was done, Marcus decided that it was time for him to return to his room.

Trisha had awakened by then which allowed him to focus his attention on her as he discussed what he had heard from his etcher with her.

Now recalling everything that had taken place, he could discern why his brother-in-law seemed eager to send them off.

'Not that I have any desire to stay with you!' He scoffed in his mind but thinking of his little sister, he could not deny that he wished to spend more time with her.

However, his responsibilities as the head of the Valente fief and the Leader of his businesses could not be put on hold any longer because of his selfish desires.

Therefore, he had already come to a decision regarding this matter after his discussion with Trisha earlier this afternoon.

"We shall make our return at the end of this week." He revealed the schedule the husband and wife had decided on.

After smiling at his sister, Marcus shot a provocative smirk towards Rutherford who appeared to be stunned by this itinerary.

Rutherford had hoped that they would leave soon so that he might spend more time with his wife in their mansion where they had not stayed during the plague.

However, now it seemed that his brother-in-law was going to be a hindrance in this plan of his which was making him grit his teeth and glare at him.