Chapter 98: The Braze’n’Bold (1)
With a soft gasp, Madeline rose to her full height at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Turning around swiftly, she looked startled to see Abbot standing in front of her with a soured expression displaying on his face, and in the garden of all places.
"A....Abbot?"
"You’re not wearing shoes." He clicked his tongue in displeasure, his gaze on her bare feet that had been coated with Earth’s gift. "Why am I not surprised? You’re a typical example of the children who came from the mud."
"That is certainly no way to speak to me." Stunned by his ill-mannered advances towards her, Madeline refused to tie her tongue and watch him refer to her as an abandoned child, and then she smiled widely with her eyes instinctively closing, to Abbot’s surprise.
"This is our first time getting into a conversation, can you not reveal your inconsiderate character just yet and pretend to be nice? You need to learn this if you wish to be Duke. That must explain why the Duke himself keeps withholding it." Opening her eyes, she warmly met his flagrant stare.
"No one will like you and they will throw stones at you if you keep this attitude up. Just because you were born with a silver spoon at the top of your head doesn’t make you any better than us, we might not be up to your standards but we are equally humans, aren’t we?"
Stealing a glance at the ground, Madeline noticed the words Lily had written were erased along with her presence, which was strange as her eyebrows creased subconsciously.
Abbot’s contemptuous scoff made her return her gaze to the man she had asked a simple question. When he opened his mouth to give an answer, Madeline deliberately turned away to avoid getting the answer. She went on her knees and used both her hands to pack the dirt from the ground, then she got to her feet and faced Abbot with a smile.
"No parent likes it when their children play with mud or dirt, but the reality of it is that most children love it. This allows children to connect and interact with the natural world around them." She said enthusiastically. "Parents can be over-sensitive in these matters, and I do know that you grew up in a healthy, clean environment, free from all the germs..... isn’t that why you people are more prone to allergies and asthma?"
"What?! How...!!.."
"But I am correct." She interrupted him once more while looking at the dirt she had in her grasp. "Earlier exposure to these kinds of things can build immunity and prevent allergies, but of course I don’t expect you to know this since you’re so sparkling clean, proves not everyone here is as educated as they say." She mumbled, rolling her eyes at him.
"Are you referring to me as uneducated??" Abbot’s voice revealed he was as angry as he was startled. He had always seen Cassian’s wife act naive and quiet in front of the family, but he was basically stunned to see her speak with such unwarranted audacity, and that infuriated him as much as it shocked him to the core, so much so that he found it difficult to retaliate with a woman of her class.