They sat down on the sofa together. Violet placed her hand on Clare's left thigh as a show of affection. Obviously, Clare squirmed a little under the heat of Violet's palm but at the same time, she tried to stay in character and smiled. The Duchess gestured at the two large boxes before them. One of the suited merchants put on a pair of white glows and lifted the lids open.
It was the first time Clare had seen so many bright sparkling things in one place, a myriad of finely cut jewelry lining in rows, almost dazzling her to bl
Clare was on her phone talking to her mother. She told Jennifer what happened. Her dark brows furrow even more as she thought about the Duchess."Do you think I'm wrong?" Clare asked her mother. "I just don't like people flaunting their wealth over stupid superficial things.""Honey, in this sit
Violet and Florence arrived in London in their private helicopter. The winds swiped across the helipad as they landed on one of the skyscrapers, which also belonged to the Wintour family.The bodyguards swiftly spread out to receive the Duchess. It had been a short ride, but Violet was impatient. She strode on, making the guards rush in every direction. They entered the building, heading toward the elevator. The doors were held open, waiting for them.
Twice that day, Clare felt restless in her yellow room and even the library. She'd been holing up in only those parts of the house. She was too shy to go anywhere even Shirley reassured her again and again that it washerhome now.But today was one of those days that Clare just couldn't stay inside anymore. It was also due to the fact that the Duchess was not around in the castle. Although they hadn't seen each other again since the ring choosing incident, Clare wasn't lookin
They had stopped at the hotel after the polo. About an hour later, they got fetched in Lord Federick's car. The occasion marked the first time that they'd go out together. Florence was inwardly smirking at how uncomfortable it must've been for Violet. It seemed like Eleanor's return carried a loud message with her:"I figured I haven't tried hard enough with our relationship, so I'm going to pop back into your life when you least expect it and start over."Little did she knew that
A feather could've knocked Eleanor over right then and there. She finally understood what Florence had said to her at the polo field. Indeed, things had changed since the time she left England. But Eleanor did not expect that Violet Wintour, of all people, would succumb to a life of marriage with someone else. Once in a while, she came across headlines about the Duchess. Violet was notorious with her flings yet none of them indicated a committed love interest. It might sound so vain of her to feel this way, but while living her pretentious life, Eleanor had always nurtured a tiny hope that she would come back to find Violet still thinking about her, and that no one could replace what they had together. But apparently, she had gravely underestimated everythin
Clare followed the maids to the northern garden. Next to a small pond surrounded by the blooming rhododendron and azalea bushes, a white table and chairs were set up under a shady olive tree. Yellow-winged butterflies whizzed about in merriment where Violet sat, sipping her morning tea.The Duchess wasn't in her usual business attire. She had on a plain oversized white blouse with a few buttons undone and the sleeves were rolled up to her elbows neatly. Her flowing golden hair was set in a high ponytail, which stunningly revealed her chiseled features even more. Clare was slightly taken aback
It took at least three days for Shirley to finalize the dinner menu and wine list for Violet's banquet. It wasn't any different from any other event in the past. Averbury Castle had always had important people coming over when the twelfth Duke was alive. But this time it was quite a special case. Violet didn't tell the secretary specifically that it had to be a statement, yet judging from the guest list, Shirley knew what the dinner ought to be and what to be mindful of, for instance, seating arrangement. She did not expect to see a certain name that had been forbidden to be spoken of coming back to the castle.
The smell of chlorine clogged her senses. Everything around Clare was a blur of limbs and bubbles. But she managed to kick her feet to push herself back to the surface. The water stung her eyes, and she let out a cough. Clare swam to the edge of the pool and hoisted herself up. She wiped the water off her face. This was such a ridiculous thing to happen when all she wanted was some peace and quiet. Violet had to come and make everything difficult for her.But it was then that she realized that she was alone, and Violet was nowhere in sight. Clare's thoughs stopped. She then looked back