Chapter 877

Dane?

Seeing that the older men had finally exhausted their interrogations, he smoothly announced he was taking Claire to grab something to eat.

Once the couple was out of earshot, Harold Hamilton finally connected the dots. “Why is Dane the one showing Claire around? Are those two close?”

Baldrick preened with thinly veiled smugness. “Not particularly, but Claire’s grandmother and I go way back. We’re very dear friends.”

“Oh?” The rest of the patriarchs stared at Baldrick with teasing curiosity.

Harold didn’t hold back. “You actually have a female friend?”

Wasn’t Baldrick the man who constantly preached about absolute loyalty to his wife? The guy who wouldn’t even fish with a woman around?

Where did this ‘longtime dear friend’ suddenly come from?

Was this some sort of old flame?

“Don’t talk nonsense. I met Claire’s grandmother back when Tessie and I were sent down to the countryside. The two of them were the best of friends.”

“Ah…” The chorus of voices grew even more knowing and drawn out.

Several of the grandfathers in the circle were widowers who had remarried. Around a man like Baldrick, who paraded his unwavering devotion to his late wife like a badge of honor, they often felt a bit judged.

Now that they finally had an opening to tease him, absolutely no one was going to let it slide, regardless of the truth.

Seeing their unconvinced expressions, Baldrick simply clamped his mouth shut. These old fools were just jealous of the beautiful bond he had shared with Tessie! He wasn’t going to waste his breath explaining it to them.

“Are your two families planning to honor that old engagement between Melissa and Ablett?”

After the laughter died down, Harold finally zeroed in on the million-dollar question. Padgett and Baldrick exchanged a swift look. They hadn’t gone public with the new arrangement yet.

But their silence was all the confirmation the group needed.

Harold rubbed his nose. “Don’t tell me I actually hit the nail on the head?”

“Ahem, well, it mostly depends on what the kids want,” Padgett said, keeping things intentionally vague.

Baldrick was much more direct. “I absolutely adore Claire. You all know my Dane he’s usually gold to. everyone, but around Claire, bes an absolute sweetheart.”

“A sweetheart?” The other patriarchs burst into laughter.

“If your Dane is a sweetheart, then my grandson is the saint of the century.”

“Exactly. Everyone knows Dane is a walking glacier. I heard he completely ignored several girls who chased after him until they cried.”

“Speaking of which, didn’t your granddaughter have a thing for Dane, Zachary?”

Harold shot a teasing look at Zachary Zeller.

Zachary was one of the men with a second wife.

His family was a messy mix of children from his first and second marriages.

They despised each other, and the infighting was ruthless.

The girl who was obsessed with Dane wasn’t even his biological granddaughter. She was the daughter of the son his second wife had brought into the marriage.

Though she shared no blood with Zachary, she legally held the title of his granddaughter.

Because of Zachary’s status, she paraded around town claiming to be the Zeller heiress, throwing her weight around far more than the actual biological daughters of the family.

She had gone after Dane assuming her borrowed status made her a

perfect match for him fully

expecting him to fall at her feet the

second she showed interest.

Unfortunately for her, Dane hadn’t given her desperate flirting the time of day.

And so, Miss Zeller had burst into tears.

Her pathetic little entourage of followers had been furious, trash-talking Dane behind his back.

They claimed he lacked basic chivalry and that even if he didn’t like her, he should have let her down gently.

They scoffed that he was just a decent-looking guy with a rich family and a bit of talent, completely undeserving of his own arrogance.

That was the origin of the ‘making girls cry’ rumor.

At the mention of his step-son’s daughter, Zachary visibly deflated.

The girl always played the sweet, obedient granddaughter around him. How was he

supposed to know she was delusional enough to go after Dane?