Chapter 362
If Claire wanted to stay here, it would be simple enough. Just hire someone to give the place a good clean and buy some everyday supplies, maybe a few basics for daily life. There was even a bedroom with this gorgeous old canopy bed, made from golden nanmu wood. Even Claire was impressed.
Everywhere she looked, the house revealed another little wonder. And it wasn’t just the scenery, either. The furniture in every room must have cost a fortune. When Claire opened a drawer in the master bedroom, she found pearls tossed inside as if they were nothing special. Seawater pearls like these could go for over ten thousand dollars each. Here, though, it seemed like they were just toys that a kid got bored of.
The whole place felt like a treasure hunt waiting to happen. Claire couldn’t help but think she’d probably find more hidden gems if she kept looking.
Dane seemed to know even more about this kind of thing than Claire did. He picked up one of the pearls and said, “A pearl like this once showed up at an international auction. Some rich guy from Solenia paid a hundred and twenty grand for it, as a wedding gift for his daughter p>
Claire glanced his way. “Wait… was that rich guy your great-grandfather p>
Pandora’s father was the real deal—a big-time merchant in his day. People thought he was just some country tycoon, but his money traveled well, both here and overseas. At this point, The James Family kept such a low profile that most people had forgotten about them. Even new branches of the family, like Latham’s, seemed to appear out of nowhere, yet they’d become one of the four major families in Apex. The James Family had serious wealth and made some huge contributions back then. Maybe after surviving wartime chaos, they decided it was safer to keep a low profile.
“Probably so,” Dane replied. Claire had picked up hints from listening to Baldrick and Pandora talk. As the only daughter of The James Family, Pandora had gotten wedding presents fit for royalty. Her father really did prepare everything for her like she was a princess.
“See? My grandmother’s toys are all treasures.” Dane smiled, turning the pearl over in his hand. Whether it was a pearl or a brooch, if word got out, socialites would go wild fighting to get their hands on them.
Elsewhere in the house, the manager saw Claire open the iron gate and hurried off to report to the boss.
When Jennifer heard Claire had
arrived, she was all smiles. “I’m just finishing up on my end. Set the table, I’ll join everyone for dinner soon.” She paused Why don’t you show the kids to a private room? It’s cold out there p>
The manager looked slightly embarrassed. “It’s not that I didn’t want to. Claire took Dane into the inner courtyard herself. She had the key. Did you give it to her p>
If not, he’d need to get them out immediately. Everything in the inner courtyard was worth a fortune, so regular folks were never allowed back there. Even the cleaners Had to be people The White Family trusted completely, if anything was broken, no ordinary person could afford to pay for it.
When Jennifer heard Claire had gone into the inner courtyard, she relaxed. “It’s fine. That’s her family’s place. She can go wherever she likes p>
Her words said more than they seemed to. The manager immediately understood.
He’d suspected as much, so he wasn’t exactly shocked.
“She hasn’t said anything about moving back into Hearth & Kettle, has she?” dennifer asked. Something had happened there not long ago, but she hadn’t mentioned it to Pandora yet she figured Pandora wouldn’t be too happy if she did.
“No, she didn’t,” the manager replied, shaking his head.
“Maybe Claire just wanted to look around p>
Jennifer nodded. “Just keep an eye on things, but don’t bother them. I’ll whip up a few more dishes for everyone p>
Meanwhile, a couple of other guests noticed the open iron gate and hurried over, hoping to slip into the inner courtyard themselves.