Chapter 425 - A Letter From The Valente Fief

A couple of days passed after Yvonne had asked her friend, SO to do her a favor which involved his etcher, Tutu.

Today was a Sunday and the family had decided to enjoy their breakfast in the back garden so Butler Limo had made all the arrangements for them.

Howard sat next to his sister while the husband and wife sat on the other side of the table, enjoying this family time together.

'Will I get a response?' Yvonne wondered while taking a bite from the toast that was placed before her.

She had made a move a few days ago and had not yet received any answer to indicate either her success or failure so she remained lost in thought.

The parents were aware of her dilemma but at the same time, there was nothing that they could do.

"Vonna, we have sent a letter to your uncle and need to wait till he replies." Rutherford explained what he had done to help her out.

In response, Raylene had a bitter smile on her face as her elder brother even now was still holding onto his grudges.

Yvonne looked up when she heard this and gave him a blank nod.

She was not worried about the letter that he had sent to the Valente fief yesterday evening but was more concerned about what she had done before that.

'Will this uncle of mine continue to remain cold-hearted?' She sighed as there was no response from his side as of now.

While the table fell into silence, the sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard coming in their direction.

Rutherford turned his stern gaze towards the source of the sound and found that it was his faithful Butler who was hurrying in their direction.

Butler Limo had already sensed the Master's unhappy eyes but his excitement was too great to stop himself.

"Master, a letter from the Valente fief has just arrived!" He exclaimed the happy news that he had heard from the guards.

To prove his words, he even raised his hand and displayed the letter that had reached their estate just earlier.

These words succeeded in washing away Rutherford's reprimanding words and replaced them with surprise.

Raylene and Howard too had their eyes wide opened in shock at what they had heard.

However, it was the little girl whose lips curved into a victorious grin as it appeared that her plan had worked out in her favor.

She watched as Butler Limo handed the letter to her father and took a step away.

The family remained silent as Rutherford tore off the envelope and began reading the letter out loud for everyone to hear.

{To, 

Earl St. Claire}

'So formal.' Yvonne remarked the moment her father's voice was heard.

{I have received your letter and in reply, I am pleased to inform you that I am willing to share the information you had inquired about.}

Yvonne's eyes glimmered in excitement as this meant that she could obtain information about that family of soap makers through her uncle's support.

As Rutherford had halted after uttering that sentence, everyone assumed that this was the end of the letter.

However, the letter did not end there but there was something else mentioned in it that had caused the Earl to become speechless.

{However, that information will only be handed over to you if you and your entire family head over to our fief for the Summer.}

The shock visible both on Raylene and Howard's face was comical for the little girl who was watching from the sidelines.

'My plan truly worked!' She rejoiced in silence as none of them were aware of what she had done to make Viscount Valente change his mind.

{From,

Viscount Valente.}

The letter then came to an end on the same formal note and no one would have guessed that the two families were related to each other just by reading this letter.

"Ruthy, did my big brother just…" Raylene was the first to snap out of her daze as she looked at her husband with her eyes brimming with tears.

When her husband was drafting the letter to her brother who resided in the Valente fief, she was sitting right next to him.

In that letter, Rutherford had mentioned how his wife, Raylene, missed her brother dearly and had also mentioned the existence of the two children.

Though old man Valente, Raylene's father was aware of the children's existence, the couple did not know if Viscount Valente was aware of this fact.

Therefore, he had used this opportunity to reveal this information to mellow the man's heart a little.

Once he had informed the Viscount about the existence of his niece and nephew, he went straight to the purpose of writing this letter out of the blues.

He even went on to explain that he had respected the Viscount's decision throughout these years and had not tried to contact him.

However, only now had he written to him as his help was needed.

He even stated that he may seem selfish for his actions but this was what he needed to do for his family.

Raylene was proud of her husband who had written that letter where not once did he mention Yvonne as the reason for doing so.

He took the entire blame on himself and did not let anybody's finger be pointed at his wife and children.

Though skeptical, Raylene never could have guessed that her brother had not ignored the letter but had also asked them to visit him in Valente.

A place where she had been forbidden to enter since her marriage to Rutherford.

"Ray, you get to meet your brother and father soon." The overjoyed husband smiled at his wife while stating the obvious.

The children watched as their father hugged their mother who had begun sobbing at the thought of her reunion with her estranged family.

Howard smiled at his sister, glad that their uncle had given a positive reply or her little heart might have been shattered.

Sadly, the little boy was far from the truth as his sweet little sister had a major part to play in the decision that the Viscount had relayed through the letter.

However, the entire family was ignorant of this fact and they were excited to hear this good news.

"How did big brother change his mind so easily?" Raylene muttered her suspicion once she had regained her composure.

As everyone's eyes were fixed on the Countess, no one had observed how the little girl had stiffened up after hearing her mother's doubts.

'When did she become so sharp?' Yvonne gulped while lifting her eyes to watch her mother.

Rutherford too frowned for a second as this was truly not the reply they had been expecting.

'I was prepared to hear no reply from him in the first place…' He grimaced at his brother-in-law's anger which had not cooled down for years.

But this time, contrary to their assumptions, he had not only answered the letter but he had also given them an invitation to enter the Valente fief.

"Maybe he misses you just as much as you missed him all these years." He rubbed his chin while stating his conjecture regarding this matter.

Noticing that her father was helping her out without his knowledge, Yvonne nodded her head in eager acceptance of his words which made them chuckle.

"You may be right…" Raylene whispered and pushing away the suspicions in her heart, she let out a wide smile as she could meet her family once again.

'Thank goodness they let the matter go!' The little girl let out a secret sigh as her involvement in this matter could not be revealed so quickly.

Especially as it was most likely her letter that she had sent through Tutu that had managed to convince the Viscount to lend his hand in the problem that they were facing right now.

While Rutherford's letter had reached the Valente fief yesterday evening, Yvonne's letter had reached the Viscount two days ago.

Her purpose of sending this letter before Rutherford's could even reach Valente was to help shake the Viscount's stubborn resolve to remain cold to his sister's family.

The two days had acted as a buffer period for Viscount Valente and had given him time to mull over certain thoughts in his mind.

Therefore, when Rutherford's official letter reached him, he was more than willing and agreed to lend his assistance in the issue that they were dealing with and had also indirectly forced them to visit his fief.