The servants hxed up a hearty candlelight dinner and had served up the feast in advance.
As Arthur chewed gracefully, he latched his gaze on the young woman sitting across from her as though to make sure she ate everything on her plate.
Famished, Sophia couldn’t care less anymore and ate away.
Martha had already informed Arthur to join her for dinner earlier in the afternoon. It would be his wedding day the next day, so she wanted to have a serious word with him. But who’d have thought her beloved grandson rejected her? The news got her down in the dumps. Moreover, Arthur had gotten distant from her, making her reflect that she had been too strict on him normally.
“Is he having dinner with Emily?” Martha asked a servant.
For fear of upsetting Martha, the servants kept Sophia’s presence unknown to Martha all this while. But now, seeing how upset Martha was, she couldn’t help lowering her head and reported, “Young
Master Weiss is having dinner with another lady, Old Madam Weiss.”
“What?” The news shocked Martha for a moment. “He’s having dinner with another woman? Which family is she from?”
What is Arthur trying to do? Tomorrow’s his wedding; does he plan on humiliating himself before the wedding?!
“She’s a guest,” the servant answered.
“What guest? Is it a friend? What’s her name?” Martha asked directly.
“It’s a guest from afar named Sophia She has also now been moved to the room next to Young Master’s. I guess she’s an important guest to Young Master,” said the servant.
The revelation shook Martha for a solid few seconds, and she slammed the spoon in her hand. “What?! She’s here? How did she get here? Have the butler come over.”
Sophia had come to attend the wedding. It was only then Martha realized she
hadn’t taken notice of the guest list when she had been so busy getting the other wedding details ready.
The butler arrived in two shakes, and Martha questioned him gravely. “Go and check if there’s a guest named Sophia Goodwin on the list.”
“There is, ma’am. She came with Mr. and Mrs. Presgrave as Mrs. Presgrave’s assistant.”
Martha sighed in response. What is she doing here? Is she still trying to salvage something when Arthur’s about to get married? Well, she’s persistent, no doubt about that. It’s evident she truly loves Arthur, but it’s hard to let them be together when their social status and family background are so drastically different.
“Bring her here later. I want to have a word with her,” Martha ordered a servant.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Have her come alone. Don’t inform Arthur,” Martha added.
If Arthur still has feelings for Sophia, why would he agree to this marriage so easily?
By the end of the dinner, Arthur left after receiving a call. Sophia, on the other hand, didn’t return to her room but instead sat in the garden and spaced out while staring at the starry sky.
The sky here was so clear that she could see a speckle of the galaxy. It was a sight to behold.
How Sophia wished time could just stop here forever. She wouldn’t be greedy and ask for much, only that she could have a meal with him and see him once a day. That would suffice for her.
But very quickly, she pulled a wry smile. She was already getting greedy, wasn’t she?!
What luck did she have to stay by his side forever?! She, too, lately sensed something very different about Arthur. She remembered their first encounter; how he was so angry that he could murder her the next second.
She could also sense the fluctuation in his emotions as days went by. His aloofness and nobility were intense, and the haughtiness exuded from deep within him was irresistible as well.
But the current him-as aloof as he still was-was emotionless like he cared about nothing at all. Just what in the world had gotten into him?
While reeling, a servant approached her and said, “Miss Goodwin, please follow me.”
“Is someone looking for me?”
“You’ll know when you get there. Please.” The servant gestured a ‘please’.
At that, Sophia got up and followed after her, traversing a grand hallway. The manor was so massive that one could get lost in it. Thus, it could take some time for a person to get from one place to another.
