Love's Unexpected Awakening Elowen's Choice novel Chapter 496

Elowen's decision to host her birthday celebration on a grand scale quickly spread across Vanelle, and before long, invitations had reached nearly every household with any standing in the city.

The Baker family was, of course, among them.

That morning, Clarisse followed her usual routine and went to attend her grandfather.

The lord's health had been failing for some time, yet the discipline within the household remained unchanged. Formal greetings at dawn and dusk were still expected without exception.

Clarisse spoke gently at his bedside, keeping her tone soft and measured as she exchanged a few quiet words with him. When she noticed fatigue setting in, she excused herself with proper courtesy and withdrew.

As she made her way back along the covered gallery toward her own courtyard, she ran into several of her cousins near the arched passage.

Albert and Liam were at the front, both around the same age, with a few younger boys trailing behind them.

Even before they reached her, the smell gave them away.

Wine, stale and heavy, mixed with cloying perfume that didn't belong in any respectable household.

Clarisse instinctively lifted her handkerchief, her brows drawing together ever so slightly.

It didn't take much imagination to guess where they had spent the night.

She stopped, her posture composed, her tone calm but edged with disapproval. "Grandfather hasn't been well, and he needs quiet, especially while he's taking his medicine. You should show some restraint. If you go in like this and upset him, it won't reflect well on any of you."

Albert, already in a sour mood from his hangover, let out a short, dismissive laugh. "If you're so concerned about him, maybe you should focus on getting yourself married into a proper household. That would do more to ease his mind than lecturing us."

His gaze sharpened, his tone turning pointed. "Instead, you keep to yourself and spend all your time with your attendants. Especially that Geoffrey. He's hardly even whole anymore, is he? What exactly are you doing with him?"

The younger boys immediately lowered their heads, not daring to react.

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