Chapter 435 - Like Uncle, Like Niece

Yvonne recalled the line which she had used to intrigue her uncle.

She had inquired about which person she resembled the most but there was no way that the man could have an answer for that as he was just as clueless as she was.

After all, her uncle had never seen her before so how could he have an appropriate answer to her inquiry.

This had caused the man who had read that letter late in the night to not be able to get any sleep after that.

His thoughts had been plagued by how his niece might appear because he too desired to know whether she resembled his deceased mother or not.

When Raylene had first left home with Rutherford after their marriage, Marcus had cut all ties with his only sister.

Her letters continued to arrive but he ignored them all and never bothered to write her any replies.

Thus, after a few months of silence from him, all means of communication between the siblings had been cut off.

However, his father would still receive letters though they were too few and far between.

The old man would inform him of the important news about his sister but the Viscount was so tied up with his anger at her resilient insistence of marrying Rutherford, the Earl's son, that he did not bother to acknowledge them.

Thus, even when he heard the news of the birth of his nephew, he had pretended that this joyous occasion meant nothing to him.

Upon facing a constant disheartening lack of responses from his son, the old man had stopped informing him about anything that concerned his daughter.

However, many years passed and letters addressed to him stopped arriving which made him frustrated but he could not reveal his true thoughts to anyone.

This was because the Viscount's anger had already cooled by that time.

Therefore, when he overheard his wife and father secretly discussing the birth of Raylene's second child who turned out to be a girl, he was immensely happy.

Marcus had two sons but his heart yearned for a daughter yet after many years, there was no other child born in their household.

Thus, when he heard about the birth of a girl in his sister's household, he wished to meet her and hold the little doll in his hand.

He was waiting for the moment when his father would inform him of this so that he might throw away all pretense and ask Raylene to return to her maiden home.

Sadly, Old man Valente did not come to him with this news as he did not wish to see Marcus' indifferent reaction to this happy news.

Thus, even when he wanted to meet his nephew and niece, it was already too late for him as no one wished to make the first move.

In his anger and pride, he too decided to act like he heard nothing at all.

Later that night when Trisha informed him about the birth of the little girl, he pretended that he did not care once again which disheartened her as she did not wish to upset her husband by speaking of this matter.

After that incident, it had been five years and no one had initiated the conversation of Raylene and her family.

Though he wished to meet his baby sister and her children, he held onto his pride and did not make the first move.

It hurt his heart to stay away from her for so long but he refused to be the first to bow down.

However, as years passed, he was embarrassed and ashamed of his actions which further hindered him from making the first move.

Therefore, when Yvonne's letter reached him that night, all he could think of was that fate was giving him another chance to reconnect with his sister.

He had kept her away from himself and his family for far too long and now all he wished to do was to meet her and speak with her about his past mistakes.

His anger was with the Earl for snatching his sister away and other reasons but he had made her pay the price of his conflict with that man.

His niece reaching out to him was a godsend and he decided that it was best to use this as a method to bring them back to their fief.

That is exactly what he did by placing the condition that he was willing to help but the St. Claire's family would have to visit them.

Now that he had succeeded in bringing them over, all he had to do was ask his sister for forgiveness for keeping her away for so long when all he wanted to do was meet her every time he thought of her.

Marcus clenched his fists in determination as this was his agenda of the trip that he had forced his sister and her family to make.

Thinking of what had caused it all, he glanced at his adorable niece who had been staring at him all along.

'What exactly was he thinking about?' Yvonne wondered after observing the multitude of emotions that flitted across his face.

Just as she had used this incident of reunion with her uncle to her advantage, her uncle had used her letter to his advantage.

The two had the same scheming minds but they had not yet recognized this fact as they had just met.

"Do you wish to see how your grandmother looked?" He inquired and chuckled when the little girl nodded in eager enthusiasm.

The question which she had posed to her uncle in the letter was something she truly wished to know about.

This was because she did not resemble her parents in terms of facial features at all.

The only similarities she had with her mother and father was that she had received a combination of their hair and eye color.

Her eyes were amethyst and hair, violet, which was a combination of Rutherford's midnight blue and Raylene's copper-red colors.

Other than that, she did not resemble them too much.

Howard could be considered a replica of Rutherford but the same could not be said about her and Raylene.

'Sure there are a few similar features but not as much as Howard and Papa's.' She sighed as she was confused about this aspect.

She even thought back to the portrait of her paternal grandparents she had seen when she first entered this world when they were in the Summer estate about a year ago.

'Papa's mother had slanted grey eyes.' She recalled vividly as that lady was the embodiment of the title 'Cold beauty'.

However, Yvonne now had refreshing features, unlike her old life where she was also considered to be a cold beauty.

When she had approached her nanny about this, Mrs. Jacinth had muttered that maybe she resembled Raylene's mother which had intrigued her.

Now that she had a chance to see whether she truly resembled her Grandma Hannah, Yvonne was eager and ready to go.

The pair of Uncle and niece exited the parlor where they had their short and mostly silent conversation and walked in the path that he was leading her.

As they walked, Marcus realized that there was much that he was still curious about and decided to use their commute as a chance to clear all the doubts in his head.

"Vonny?" He called out and the girl raised her head, waiting for him to continue.

"The etcher? Whose was it?" Marcus went straight to the point as their destination wasn't too far away.

Yvonne's feet halted for just a second before she carried on as though the inquiry had not affected her.

"A friend's." She answered and smiled helplessly.

'That man would be happy beyond compare if he heard this.' She scoffed and was right as SO would have leaped in joy at this news.

He would rejoice as she had finally stopped insisting that he was just an acquaintance who pestered her with his letters.

Uncle Marcus noticed how she had not averted her gaze which implied that she was speaking the truth.

"He lent you his etcher without any worries?" He moved on to his next doubt.

Etchers had a sacred bond with their etched and to listen to someone else was a hard task for the beasts.

The little girl's nod surprised him as this meant that the master of that eagle must trust her enough to let her use his etcher to fulfill that task.

'My niece has such good friends.' He nodded in approval of this friend that she had made.