Chapter 41: Visiting The Marquees (1)
The ride to the house of the Marquees was expectantly peaceful. Cassian and Orson indulged themselves in a quiet conversation concerning their duty while Madeline used the peaceful mont she had found to look out the window. She gazed at the fine houses that were lined up as the carriage rode past everyone of them, silently admiring the beauty of the upper east quarters, and the big difference it had when compared to the rest of the quarters.
It was certainly a place for the wealthy.
The sky above was cloudless and blue, and it hadn’t rained for the past few days now since she started living here. That could only an that they should expect a heavy rainfall once the rain clouds decide to unite and descend on them. To Madeline’s delight, there were no bumps on the way, and the road was exceptionally smooth for the horses to gallop through.
Returning her gaze to the passerby, Madeline noticed how the people strolling by, most especially the ladies courtly bow their heads politely after sighting both the young Lords from the windows of the carriage, and Orson did most of the waving while Cassian was engrossed on the file Orson had handed him.
Continuing to admire the beauty of the upper East quarters, Madeline accidentally caught sight of a shadowy figure standing in the vennel. Her eyes widened slightly, but she wasn’t able to get a proper image since the carriage continued to ride through, and Madeline self consciously brought her head out of the window, looking adamant to see who was standing in such a dark place.
"Hey, don’t do that." Cassian’s reprimanding voice snapped her out of her daze, and he pulled her back in. "You need to make sure there are no incoming carriages before sticking your head out in that manner. What if sothing terrible happens?"
"But I...." She understood Cassian’s point, but her gaze was still fixed on the window. That person behind the shadow? Why does she get a feeling they are being followed by soone??
"Maddie, is sothing wrong?" Cassian questioned with his brows slanted downwards. Looking at both n who were patiently waiting for her response, Madeline finally shook her head before smiling.
"It’s nothing. I thought I saw soone but it must have been my imagination. Carry on." She quickly reassured them that it was nothing serious. After confirming everything was alright with her, Cassian and Orson continued from where they stopped.
As for Madeline, she suddenly felt uneasy in her heart as the feeling of soone following them refused to flee from her mind.
Reaching the house of the Marquees, the large gate was opened for the carriage to pass through into the facade of the building. Madeline dropped down from the carriage first, followed by Cassian and Orson. They arrived just in ti to see Mr Jones stepping down from his own personal carriage like he was also returning from sowhere, and the butler of the house hurried to assist him with his briefcase.
"Welco ho, Sire." The butler greeted after taking hold of his briefcase. Mr Jones nodded his head in response before climbing the stairs that led to the main door of his Manor. "Have you sent the servants to bring the things I asked from the blacksmith? Last ti, you told
he said they would be ready for pickup this afternoon."
"Yes, Sire" The butler responded. "They are in your study room in case you wish to have a look at them. I will get soone to prepare your favorite..." The butler stopped mid-sentence after catching sight of the young Lords with an unfamiliar lady.
"Sire, the young Lord Orson and Lord Cassian are here." The butler announced with a beaming smile, and Mr Jones, who was about to step into his Manor for so quick rest, stopped in his tracks after spotting his son and Cassian heading his way.
"Oh." His tired deanor regained a bit of its liveliness when they ca to stand before him along the stairs. "Lord Cas, what a surprise!" He exclaid earnestly. Normally the young lad would inform them of his visit before showing up to the house, and this would serve as a way for Mr Jones to prepare for his arrival in order to welco him properly.
"I was in a good mood today, and so I decided to pay the Marquees a visit. Or am I no longer welco to your abode now that I’m a married man?" He quizzed with a coly smile, and Mr Jones shook his head, making him aware that that wasn’t the case since he understood exactly where Cassian was indirectly heading to with his subtle question.
"And she must be the new Mrs Cassian, am I right?" Mr Jones quickly dodged the question that was thrown at him by the young lad, shifting his inquiring eyes to Madeline who was finally given so attention since she was brought here. She bowed her head with a smile as a sign of greeting, and Cassian nodded in response to the Marquees words.
"Yes, she is. Orson made
well inford of your return from the countryside, and I wanted you to et my wife personally since I couldn’t invite you to the wedding."
"None of us was invited to be a lot specific." Orson corrected under his breath, still holding a grudge with the fact that he couldn’t be there to witness the wedding. He was still going to bring that issue up once they’re done settling Roland’s murder case. For now, he’ll have to swallow up his anger and try not to pounce on Cassian first since both of them clearly had issues to resolve with one another.
"Shall we take the conversation inside and treat everyone to so biscuits?" The butler suggested, opening the main door and ushering everyone into the manor.
Going in, Madeline and the rest strolled through the foyer with the butler leading the way. After ushering them into the spacious living room where everyone could have their seat, Mr Jones quickly excused himself for a few minutes, going up the stairs with his butler trailing behind him.
"Is Catherine at ho?" Mr Jones asked his butler who nodded in response as they went up the stairs. "Yes, the Marchioness already advised her not to cause a scene when the young Lord arrives, I don’t think there is anything for us to worry about since she has cald after the news."
Mr Jones mind eased after hearing his daughter was no longer boiling with rage. Hopefully, it would remain that way when she cos down to greet their guests. It was one of Cas’s habits to show up without informing them about it, else he would have advised his daughter as well to maintain her behavior in front of him and wife.
Taking their seat on the comfy couch, a servant showed up to serve them so biscuits before exiting the living room. Orson sighed when he saw how calm and relaxed Cassian was, and he wondered how soone can act so guilt-free after breaking his sister’s heart into pieces with his marriage.
"Orson, Cas!" The feminine accented voice of a lady drew their attention right away. Glancing up the stairs, a youthful good-looking lady was coming down from the stairs while holding onto the rims. Her blue eyes glowed at the sight of her brother and Cassian in her living room.
"What a pleasant surprise!" The Marchioness followed her daughter from behind. Cas and Maddie rose to their feet to greet the Marchioness who beckoned them to take their seats.
"I’m happy to see you too Aunt, and Catherine." Cas flashed a subtle smile before holding Madeline’s hand and making her take a step forward.
"As my second family, I wanted you to et my new wife, Madeline." He introduced before looking at Madeline. "Maddie, et the lovely Marchioness and her daughter, Catherine. When I have nothing to do at my place, I co here mostly to while away ti."
"It’s an honor to et you." Madeline politely curtsied, earning a smile from the Marchioness who warmly acknowledged her greeting. "Welco my dear, please feel at ho."
"Congratulations on your wedding." Catherine happily congratulated them, to Orson’s surprise. She equally gave Madeline a hug that surprised the Marchioness herself. "It is not easy to gain the attention of soone like Cas, you must tell
how you did it." She said with interest, but Madeline only felt uncomfortable by her sudden friendliness.
"O...kay then. While you three converse, Cas and I will be in my study room. We have a lot of things to deal with and will appreciate no disturbances." Orson inford his family. He placed his arm around Cas’s shoulder and took the young lad away.
"Don’t worry, she’ll be kept company by us." Catherine assured both of them before they exited the room.
"Why are you standing? Please, have your seat." The beautiful Marchioness offered, and Madeline quietly took her seat on one of the couches facing them, while daughter and mother sat together on one of the wide couches.
"Do you need anything? Shall I get you refreshnts?"
Madeline shook her head. "Thank you for your hospitality, but no."
"You don’t need to be formal with us. It would be an honor to know you. Tell us, where do you co from? What is your na?" Catherine was the one to throw questions this ti around, but her deanor remained calm and friendly.
Although nervous, Madeline did her best to keep herself composed before saying. "I’m Madeline Albert, daughter of the late Baron who lived in the upper west quarters."
"Daughter of a Baron?" That didn’t fail to throw Catherine and her mother off guard since they didn’t expect soone like the Lord Cassian himself to settle for a lady so less, but then they hid their thoughts with a smile.
"Upper west quarters you say?" The Marchioness was the one to ask this ti, and Catherine revealed a knowing smile. "Cassian’s mother must really adore you since she also lived in the upper west quarters. Am I right?"
"I’m sorry?" Madeline’s eyes widened at the news.
"This feels like history repeating itself," The Marchioness added significantly. "The Duke got married to a woman from a middle ho, and now his son is doing the sa thing."
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