Chapter 83 - - 83 : Without knowing that love is love
Back in Arvis mansion, was Claudine. She was currently sitting in front of her vanity, her aide brushing up her beautiful locks, and making sure there were no tangles in them. Things were silent between them for a while, until Claudine broke it.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Mary." Claudine began, and met her aide's eyes in the mirror. Immediately, Mary gently put the brush down on the table, before kneeling beside her mistress and took her hands in hers.
"Oh please don't say that my Lady," she said to Claudine, looking up at her with tearful eyes, "It was my fault really, I should've behaved more properly, and have not troubled you so!" Claudine only smiled kindly at her.
"It wasn't anyone's fault but mine," Claudine replied calmly, "And yet I let you take the blame, when it shouldn't have been you who got in trouble." she sighed, and then stood up gracefully.
She went in front of the floor-length mirror, Mary following her dutifully, as she assessed how she looked. She was preparing to greet the Crown Prince and his wife. She must look elegant in doing so, even if she was just one of the hostesses in the estate.
"Truly, I won't forget what you did for me back there," Claudine told her when she turned back around, "Thank you so much Mary, I mean it." Mary's eyes welled up with tears at how kind and beautiful her mistress was to her.
Mary had been one of House Brandt's servants who'd been with them for many years. Though in all her years of servitude, this was really the first personal gratitude she received from her ward. It broke her heart to see her mistress so helpless back there.
Her Lady, Claudine Brandt, should have the right to hold her head up high, as she belonged among the proud noble family of a Count. Which was why she couldn't hold back her thoughts on the matter...
"It's all because of Leyla, isn't it?" she asked her mistress, who blinked at her before shaking her head in finality.
"Don't bother thinking about it Mary." she dissuaded, because really, it wasn't like it should matter much to her. Satisfied with her appearance, Claudine and her aide exited her chambers to walk around the mansion, inspecting some last minute preparations.
It would be a while before the royal couple would actually arrive, but Claudine couldn't stay cooped up in her guest room as she waited for them. So she decided to go strolling along the still-renovating greenhouse, careful not to dirty her clothes among the dirt and debris.