Chapter 160 - A Bad Thing?

Over the next few days, her classes had been going exceptionally well and her training with the Captain too had been progressing at a pace which without a doubt had satisfied Yvonne.

"Today, I learned how to hold a bow!" The little girl exclaimed at the dinner table where the family of three had gathered to have their meals.

Earl St. Claire was eager to hear all about how she had held her first bow and failed at shooting her first arrow.

"The arrow fell straight to the ground on my first try." She laughed at herself while shaking her head in dismay.

She smiled while recalling that comic scene where the arrow plopped to the ground instead of shooting ahead at a high speed as she had expected.

Two weeks had passed since the commencement of her training period and every day, she was learning something new about the skills that she had insisted to learn more about.

Each day, Captain Desmo would arrive with the rising of the sun to teach her something new and then vanish before the next tutor could arrive at the mansion.

This carried on without any problems as they worked in unison to ensure that no outsider would catch wind of the secrets hidden inside this mansion.

Even Marquess Samed appeared for his classes as usual though he still seemed to be stuck up on the fact that he has yet to meet his etcher.

After their little intervention to prevent him from quitting his job, the Marquess had discussed the same with his sister, Duchess Beatrice Tanner who had made sure to talk some sense into her younger brother.

Thus came the end of his obsession with resigning his job as a tutor.

Though he did not give up on the idea of finding his fated etcher by any means necessary.

Back at the dinner table, Yvonne continued to narrate how she and her trainer had ridden their horses and then went over to practice archery in the woods behind the mansion.

Rutherford smiled at his child who was working hard unlike what they had first imagined that everything that she had demanded was on a whim.

'It feels warm in my heart when I see her smiling without a care while speaking about how he spent her day.' He smiled at the animated actions that the child made with her hands as she tried to explain what she had done.

Raylene on the other hand had puffed up her cheeks as she glimpsed at her daughter from the corner of her eyes every few seconds.

Her daughter's excitement gave her joy but at the same time, she could not help but be anxious for the little child.

Once Yvonne had completed retelling the events of the day, she glanced at her mother who had put her head down and was munching away at the pieces of meat which were on her plate.

'What is up with her and those teary-eyed glances she keeps throwing my way?' She wondered and then went back to eating her food.

Being the observant husband that he was, Rutherford rolled his eyes at his wife who wished to say something but was hesitant for no apparent reason.

'Last night she whined until I shut her up in my own way and now that she has the chance to speak, she does not open her mouth.' He shook his head as he sneered at his beloved wife.

The cause of the mother's worries and her anxiety was connected to her daughter's health and overall wellbeing.

Raylene had been fretting that her daughter was overworking herself during her morning training with the Captain followed by her many classes and then stayed cooped up in her bedroom in the afternoon after her lunch.

The only times that they caught sight of their child was when she was moving from one class to another or when they met at meals like right now.

The worried mother wished to find a way to get her daughter to rest or have some fun rather than just studying and sleeping every day.

"Vonna, your Mama has something to say." Rutherford called out to her and then poked his chin out in Raylene's direction.

Stunned at the sudden limelight that she had gained, Raylene choked on the mashed potatoes that she had just spooned into her mouth.

However, the ladylike mannerisms that had been drilled into her from a young age came to her rescue as she placed the napkin before her mouth and then made sure to swallow it all before she looked at her daughter.

'So she had something to say to me?' Yvonne nodded as she waited for her mother to speak her mind.

Raylene did not wish to keep her daughter waiting and hence went straight to the point.

"Vonny, I am worried about you." She announced the thoughts that had been swirling in her mind for quite some time now.

Yvonne was baffled as she could not understand where this was coming from.

'Worried for what? I am fine, aren't I?' She glanced at herself and was sure that there was nothing wrong with her.

Noticing the silent protests from the young child, Raylene smiled at her though it was a bitter smile, and then patted her head.

"Mama worries for your health, Vonny." She reiterated her sentence to help her child understand why she had said so.

Yvonne continued to tilt her head as she gazed at her mother with eyes filled with confusion which made Rutherford chuckle.

"My lovely Ray thinks that all you do is study and train." He added to what she had said.

Raylene gave him a quick nod indicating that this was what she had meant when she said that she was worried about Yvonne's health.

"And that is a bad thing, Mama?" She pouted as she placed her doubt before the woman who sat next to her.

In her last life, the earlier part of her childhood days was spent with her loving parents who doted on her immensely.

However, the latter part of her childhood days was spent with her Grandpa Leo who only trained her and taught her everything she needed to succeed him in the future.

Therefore, what Raylene was worried about was what she had grown up with all her life, and hence she found nothing wrong with what she was doing each day.

'I remember days when all I did was train, eat, and sleep with the exception of meeting Vince for a few minutes a day.' She recalled and so found that what she was doing now was much better than her past life.

Here, even though she spent her mornings working hard, she got her fair share of rest and leisure time in the afternoon and evenings where she got to do whatever she wished for.

Raylene pursed her lips when she heard those innocent words which pierced her heart.

'My Vonny would spend time with me earlier but now she has none for me.' The mother lamented over her pitiable state.

Having come to a stern and crucial conclusion, she looked up with a certain fierce aura surrounding her which made Rutherford and Yvonne to wonder what had changed in her within those few seconds.