Chapter 106
“Let’s pick all the dandelions first—then we’ll do the lesson.”
Sometimes, negotiation was the answer. It was a tactic Felice often used with children: set a clear goal, and they could wait until then.
Claude, who had been nuzzling her shoulder with his hair, finally lifted his head. His usually bright eyes had softened so much they almost looked reddish in the light.
Felice smiled gently and repeated herself.
“When we’ve finished picking every last dandelion, then we’ll do the lesson. Deal?”
There was no way he could refuse. Especially after he’d insisted on taking the shovel from her in the first place.
Claude blinked, then finally nodded.
“Once all the flowers are picked, we’ll have the lesson.”
His arm, which had been tightly wrapped around her waist, finally loosened. Then, with a quick motion, he took the shovel from her hand again.
“Then let me do it.”
“No! I have to do it myself, it’s my way of saying thank you.”
“But isn’t the flower tea for the staff at the Racliffe mansion? In that case, I should help, too. After we pick the flowers, you can dry the petals and brew the tea. That’ll be more than enough.”
With a sudden spark in his eyes, Claude turned and gazed across the field, looking every bit as determined as ever.
“Miss Felice, you’d better get ready for your lesson.”
“What?”
“Take off your clothes—wait, ow!”
Startled by his words, Felice completely forgot he was a prince and gave him a sharp punch on the shoulder.
“Just hurry up and pick the flowers!”
Felice shouted, her voice rose and Claude laughed heartily.
“All right, all right.”
He finally buttoned up the middle buttons of his shirt, rolled up his sleeves, and grabbed the shovel.
With a satisfying thud, he dug up a dandelion. Felice’s eyes widened in surprise as he was able to preserve even the roots.
“Claude, have you done much flower-picking before?”
“Not flowers—rocks.”
“Rocks?”
Claude easily dug up the next dandelion.
“I’m a railroad magnate, remember? I’ve picked up plenty of stones for train stations.”
He handed her the second dandelion with a wide grin.
“But seriously, Miss Felice, this is not a joke. You really should get ready for our lesson.”
Felice swallowed nervously at the quickly filling basket.
* * *
[The Man Between Two Ladies—Whom Did Baron Racliffe Choose at the Recent Sponsor Meeting?]
Elise unfolded the latest issue of The True and eyed the provocative headline. It looked like the gossip columns would keep pushing the ‘Claude-and-Elise’ narrative.
She skimmed past the intro, knowing it would just describe the event, and started reading further down.
[…The Baron has always drawn attention from the ladies thanks to his sharp business sense and striking looks, but he’d never been embroiled in any romantic scandal. Not until recently, when rumors swirled about a possible relationship with the powerful Prime Minsiter Robert’s only daughter, Lady Elise…]
“Amusing.”
Elise tossed the paper aside. She didn’t need to read the rest to know exactly what it would say. She was there, after all.
“What an interesting man. He refuses charity balls, but…”
She twirled her finger idly.
“He must have seen this coming. I suppose I should’ve expected it, he’s a man thorough enough to dig up even my most private preferences.”
She took a sip of tea, a quiet laugh escaping.
That night at the gala, she’d been both shocked and oddly thrilled by the Baron’s brazen display. Even knowing someone was watching at the end of the corridor, he’d continued on boldly kissing the woman.
He even feigned innocence afterward. He’d clearly done this sort of thing before.
And as she’d found out after some background checking, the Baron had already interrogated her ex for details.
So, the reason he’d so publicly issued that ‘daring command’ was perfectly clear.
He was using Felice to signal his interest to Elise.
Seeing Felice’s utterly shocked face that night, Elise was sure the poor woman had no idea she was being used as a pawn in Claude’s scheme.
With a faint smile on her lips, Elise murmured.
“Poor Felice. Being used as a tool like that.”
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