The kids were thrilled at the prospect of being reunited again.
Charlotte could not stop herself from smiling. Though she refused to admit it, her heart was fluttering in anticipation of the day.
I must miss Jamie a lot.
Diana, who was passing by with a tray of snacks in hand, happened to witness everything. A myriad of emotions flashed across her eyes.
She then entered Sherlyn’s room and recounted the situation she had witnessed in a tactful manner.
One maid spluttered indignantly, “I thought Ms. Lindberg has completely separated from that husband of hers! Looks like she’s deeply in love with him.”
“How could she? She’s about to marry Sir Louis soon! I can’t believe she’s still in touch with her ex-husband!” another maid chimed in sharply.
“Yes. What does she take Sir Louis to be?”
“Lady Sherlyn, should I talk to Ms. Lindberg?” Diana suggested in a soft voice. “If her ex-husband insists on seeing the kids, we can send them to him. There’s no need for Ms. Lindberg to see him herself.”
“Charlotte’s stubborn and hot-headed. She won’t allow anything to interfere with her business. Besides, we can’t afford to offend her ex-husband,” Sherlyn said, her brows scrunched up unhappily. “We have no choice but to let them meet up. If he comes over here, we even have to treat him with the utmost respect!”
“Well…” Diana seemed concerned. “Louis has been uneasy for the past few days. He must be worried about their meetup.”
“Yes. When I went to his study to serve him coffee, he was sitting behind the desk in a daze,” a maid added.
“My son’s too honest.” Sherlyn sighed in exasperation. “If I stay out of it, he wouldn’t even know he’s being cheated on.”
After a pause, she continued, “Zachary isn’t a pushover. I need to take action before he arrives.”
The maids did not understand what she was getting at.
On the other hand, Diana instantly realized what she had in mind. “Aunt Sherlyn, you mean…”
“I was talking to the kids yesterday about inviting the magician troupe to perform in the manor.” Sherlyn’s lips curled into a smirk. “Inform the magician troupe to come over tomorrow afternoon!”
“Yes!” Diana left to make the arrangements. When she passed the doorway, she bumped into Louis, who was here for Sherlyn. Almost immediately, she gave him a curtsy and greeted, “Louis!”
“Mm,” Louis replied absent-mindedly and stepped into his mother’s room with his head hung low.
He had been avoiding Diana ever since she practically threw herself at him when he had a cold back then, afraid to spend time with her alone.
Noticing how distant he was treating her, Diana averted her gaze to mask the sorrow that flitted across her face. However, she quickly composed herself and focused on the task at hand.
Louis knocked on the door and announced, “Mother, I would like to bring Charlotte to a vacation at the beach for two days.”
“Why the beach all of a sudden?” Sherlyn studied her son carefully, noting his uneasiness. “Are you afraid Charlotte will get back together with Zachary when he arrives to reunite with the kids?”
Louis’ expression grew upset at his mother’s sharp question, but he quickly explained, “No. Charlotte isn’t that sort of person.”
“Nothing is definite when it concerns love.” The duchess snorted. “Besides, Zachary has an advantage over you—”
“Mom, stop it!”
Her words intensified the insecurity that had been growing in his heart ever since the news of Zachary’s soon arrival reached his ears. After all, his relationship with Charlotte did not progress even after spending over a month together in the manor.
On that day, he tried to sound Charlotte out by mentioning the wedding ceremony, but she promptly changed the topic before leaving to spend time with her kids.
He was worried that the wedding would not be held as scheduled if this were to go on.
Hence, he came up with a plan to spend two days at the beach with Charlotte. Perhaps their relationship would proceed to the next level if they got to spend some quality time together.
