Chapter 889: Greeting the Hosts

It was close to the event’s commencement when the St. Claire family was ready to begin their journey to the Tanner estate.

Therefore, the Countess rushed them into the carriage they would be taking to the estate that was a short distance away from where they stayed.

Once inside, she scanned her children and husband before nodding in appreciation of their current appearance.

The Earl was dressed in a sharp grey and black suit which complemented his tall and muscular body while Howard was asked to wear a dark blue formal attire that accentuated his eyes.

Raylene admired how gentlemen-like they appeared before turning her gaze towards her daughter, smiling widely when she laid eyes upon her beautiful child.

A lilac dress with silver-laced sleeves was what had been brought to Yvonne’s room this morning and looking at her wearing this lightweight ankle-length dress, the Countess was pleased with the way it flattered her daughter’s amethyst eyes.

Her violet hair was pinned at a few places to keep those long tresses out of her face but the rest was mostly left loose to sway with the wind.

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Delicate jewelry that matched the child’s attire was also prepared which she was wearing right now.

The final addition was the comfortable shoes that the Earl had gotten made for the child, in various shapes and colors to suit her different attires.

Pleased with her daughter’s current appearance, Raylene smiled before looking out of the window to see how far they had come.

When Yvonne sensed her mother’s scrutinizing gaze finally moving away from her body, she could only shake her head helplessly.

‘Isn’t she too nervous for someone else’s tea party?’ The child grumbled inwardly but did not have the time to continue when she noticed their carriage slowing down.

Upon glancing out of the window, her gaze fell on the familiar structure she had visited numerous times in the past which indicated that they had now reached their destination.

Once their carriage came to a halt, a servant from the Tanner family reached out to hold the door open for them before bowing to greet them.

Earl St. Claire was the first to alight from the carriage after which he assisted his Countess while the heir of the family was next and reached out his hand to help his little sister.

With the two men of their family assisting them, the family of four was soon making their way to the venue of today’s tea party.

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When Yvonne stepped foot in the training field behind the mansion which happened to be the same place as the last tea party she attended in the Tanner estate, she scanned her vicinity to identify who else had arrived before them.

Since the servant had not yet announced their arrival to the guests already present, no one had noticed the family who was entering the venue.

Thanks to this, Yvonne was able to make out quite a large number of familiar faces in the crowd.

There were still a few minutes left before the tea party could begin but by the looks of it, almost everyone had already arrived.

At a distance, she could see her tutor, Marquess Samed standing with Baron MacIntyre and Marquess Kiron.

The three men seemed to be discussing something seriously and thus had not turned in her direction.

She also found Earl Mikren and beside him was an old man she had never seen before.

Her attempt to search her memory for any information about this person was in vain as she had no clue about his identity.

She had not seen this older nobleman in any of the parties she had attended previously and hence could only wait until this new face was introduced to her later on.

Thus the little girl resumed her observation of those present in this venue but stopped when the servant finally announced the arrival of the St. Claire family which attracted everyone’s attention.

Duchess Tanner and Taylor were the first to react, making Yvonne smile widely when she caught sight of them hastening in their direction.

The little girl was focusing on these two figures and thus had failed to notice the complex expressions that appeared on many others’ faces when this announcement was made.

However, she did not have time to look around as the hostess of today’s party had already arrived at where they stood.

“Greetings, Duchess.” Raylene was the first to move forward to meet her friend while Rutherford followed soon after and greeted her courteously as well.

The children were next and Yvonne curtsied elegantly which made Duchess Tanner smile at this sight.

However, before she could even utter a single word to praise the child, her overenthusiastic son had acted already.

“Vonny looks like a doll!” Taylor exclaimed in admiration while scanning his little sister’s appearance from top to bottom.

He had always been a lover of pretty faces and seeing that his sworn sister was only growing prettier each day, how could Taylor control his tongue?

Therefore, he blurted out the first thought that came to his mind upon noticing Yvonne’s appearance.

Duchess Beatrice Tanner blushed in embarrassment at her son’s outright declaration and glared at him but her foolish son was too busy staring at the other girl to even pay attention to his mother’s bubbling anger.

There were too many people present here today and she did not want Yvonne to face any negativity due to her son’s absurd actions.

Therefore, she wished to drag him away before he did something more ridiculous but had no way of doing so after realizing that too many eyes were already fixed on them.

However, she was not the only one who had such thoughts as even Howard and Rutherford were glaring daggers at Taylor who was oblivious to the amount of anger he was accumulating right now.

Sadly, his attention was on the little girl and hence he had no way of knowing what the others around him were thinking.

“Brother Taylor is also very handsome!” Yvonne chuckled before replying to his compliment with another.

Having been interacting with him for many years now, she was already used to the way this sworn brother of hers behaved.

Therefore, she did not mind his praises as it was a rather mild one this time as compared to the high praises he had proclaimed in the past.

When the Duchess saw that the child wasn’t offended by her son’s behavior, she sighed before smiling once again.

Taylor had always been vocal about his positive opinions towards Yvonne which had raised too many eyebrows in the past.

This time as well, the Duchess did not want anyone to point a finger at the little girl due to her son’s excessive nature.

However, those worries about her reputation being harmed were wiped away when the little girl addressed Taylor as her brother.

Many were already aware of the fact that these two youngsters treated each other as siblings but many others doubted those words.

Now that Yvonne had once again freely addressed Taylor as her brother, it should be enough to silence any unwanted thoughts that could have popped up earlier.

This made her sigh in relief and just then, someone walked up to her before coming to a halt right next to her.

Duchess Tanner raised her head in the newcomer’s direction and smiled when she realized that it was her handsome firstborn who had just arrived.

“Greetings Earl and Countess.” Topher bowed his head towards the couple who nodded at him.

The party had been organized for him so the heir of the Tanner family had been busy ever since the guests had begun arriving.

He had gone around to greet those who had been invited today and thus was delayed earlier as he was conversing with other guests.

However, he was on his way to greet the St. Claire family who had just entered when he heard what his younger brother had uttered so carelessly.

‘Looks like my training isn’t working well.’ He narrowed his eyes at the fool who only knew how to blabber but reverted to a neutral expression when he arrived next to his mother’s position.

Once he greeted the latest family to arrive, he glimpsed at his brother from the corner of his eye before looking away.

Fortunately, even this single glance was sufficient to send his warning across to his little brother who straightened up in the very next second.

Satisfied with this response, he turned his attention towards the St. Claire siblings who were also looking right at him.

‘Isn’t he too good at masking his true self?’ Yvonne remarked with a smirk which did not last long as there were many spectators around them.

Only recently had she discovered that Topher Tanner wasn’t the sensible, kind, and sincere young master that everyone thought him to be.

He was perfectly capable of being sarcastic, rude, and terrifying, the hidden sides of him that not many were acquainted with.

Judging from the way Taylor had just flinched, Yvonne was sure that the little brother was quite familiar with these sides that were concealed from others.

After all, even she had not seen the true Topher Tanner entirely which made her wonder what else he was hiding behind that amicable smile.

The young man had already sensed the unmistakable intrigue laced in her eyes but chose not to pay any attention to it.

Instead, he fixed his gaze on the young master of the St. Claire family before stating what was on his mind.

“Why don’t you join the others?” He suggested while glancing at the group of children who could be seen at a distance from where they were right now.

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