Chapter 368

Octavia let her words hang in the air, but everyone knew exactly what she meant.

“As far as I know, even though Pandora lives out in the countryside, her life isn’t hard at all. I really don’t think she’d treat a kid badly,” Jennifer said, jumping in before Claire could respond. She shot a look at Octavia, then at Cindy-the girl who had swapped places with Claire.

Honestly, Cindy did look a bit on the skinny side, but Claire wasn’t particularly chubby either. Nobody who actually knew Pandora from the James family would believe she’d neglect a child. Maybe people would have believed Octavia before today, but after finding out Pandora owned such an amazing estate as a wedding gift, nobody was buying that whole “Cindy suffered in the countryside❞ story.

Octavia was obviously annoyed that Jennifer, an outsider, had jumped in, but Latham took her arm gently.

“Jennifer, don’t get us wrong. We never said Pandora mistreated Cindy,” he said calmly. “Let’s go inside. Since Claire and Dane want a private meal, we should leave them to it p>

Latham dropped the matter right there. He noticed Claire shoot Dane a look and guessed Dane probably didn’t want to eat with the rest of them. The last thing Latham wanted was to tick Dane off, so he didn’t mention it again.

Frederic felt a small pang of regret. If his son hadn’t called off the engagement with Claire so fast, marrying her could have been just as good a way to partner up with the James family. Cindy, on the other hand, seemed nervous standing across from Claire. She had no idea what kind of person Pandora really was, just that she actually owned a place like this as a wedding gift. Was Pandora some wealthy heiress from back in the day? The way this estate survived all those years and was still in perfect shape was pretty incredible.

“Claire, what do you guys want to eat? I’ll go cook,” Jennifer said once the others had gone.

Claire gave her a warm smile. “Whatever you make, I’ll love it,” she replied.

Jennifer chuckled, delighted. “You always know how to make me happy,” she said, already thinking of what special dishes she could make.

Meanwhile, Mabel ignored Valerie, who looked completely deflated, and kept asking Claire if they could look around inside.

“Mabel, there’s really not much to see indoors,” Claire said, a little apologetic. “You can walk around the courtyard, though. But I can’t let you into the rooms p>

Claire technically had the keys to all the rooms, but she figured this house carried a lot of memories for Pandora. She doubted Pandora would want strangers poking around inside. But just hearing she could check out the courtyard made Mabel light up with excitement.

“Don’t worry, I’ll only look around the yard. I won’t go into any rooms,” Mabel promised, practically bouncing on her toes.

Claire nodded. “Alright, I’ll show you around p>

Eaton and Valerie followed close behind while Dane walked next to Claire. This

time, with more people there, Claire and Dane could hardly be as relaxed as before.

As soon as they stepped into the yard, Mabelet out a squeal. “Oh wow, this courtyard is beautiful!

Every plant and tree is just

gorgeous. This is exactly the kind of

mansio

I’ve always dreamed

about p>

sŵnovels

“It really feels like stepping into another era. Anyone who lived here must have been pure old-school elegance,” she added, pausing to smell the winter sweet flowers growing in the corner.

There were a few in the outer courtyard too, but it was obvious the inner courtyard was alive with blossom, probably because it was so private and undisturbed.

Mabel wanted to take some pictures, but she hesitated, glancing at Claire for permission. She put her hands together, pleading, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Claire, is it okay if I take a few photos promise, I I won’t tell anyone where they were taken p>