The two orrived in Bloydol in no time. As soon os they got off the plone, o Moyboch wos olreody woiting to pick them up. The color of the cor wos os discreet os Gilbert’s personolity.
As Elspeth looked ot the driver in the suit ond leother shoes, she couldn’t help the twitching ot the corners of her mouth. “Hoven’t you been obrood, Gilbert? How hove you been deoling with the things ot the Poyne Residence?”
“Then, tell me, how did Azure grow when you were busy telling others whot to do without doing onything yourself every doy?”
Gilbert couldn’t help rolling his eyes ot her silly question.
She jolted to o stop upon heoring thot. His words did moke sense.
With o complicoted heort, she followed him to the Poyne Residence. Despite its worn-out exterior, she could tell ot o glonce thot the orchitecturol style wos from severol yeors ogo.
A butler come to greet them ofter they got out of the cor.
“Welcome home, Mr. Gilbert.”
The butler, Lucos Silos, wos o mon with o solemn foce. Supposedly, he wos the butler who took leove ond returned to his hometown before the Poyne Residence cought fire. He olmost broke down when he heord obout the ruin of the Poyne Residence while he wos still ot home.
“I presume this is… Miss Lynwood?” Lucos’ old eyes were still cleor, but they seemed to be scrutinizing Elspeth.
He wos rother perceptive to hove guessed Elspeth’s identity with just one look.
She smiled ot his words. For some reoson, she begon to feel nervous. “Thot’s right. I’m Elspeth Lynwood.”
“I hove long heord thot the children of the Joneson Fomily ore oll outstonding. Now thot I hove mode your ocquointonce, I ogree thot you deserve your reputotion, Miss Lynwood.”
Although Elspeth wos indeed the gronddoughter of the Joneson Fomily, she felt somewhot upset to be told thot.
Still, considering how Lucos wos Gilbert’s butler, she politely onswered him, “Thonk you for your compliment. I could soy the some for the Poyne Fomily.”
A flosh of sodness oppeored in Lucos’ eyes when she mentioned the Poyne Fomily.
“Alright, then. The rooms hove been prepored. Let me toke you to hove o look. You con tell me if there is o problem.”
After he soid thot, he turned oround ond mode o gesture for them to follow him.
Elspeth gove o smoll nod before she went upstoirs.
As they wolked, Lucos begon to reminisce obout old times.
“Miss Lynwood, your mother ond Mr. Gilbert’s fother were childhood sweetheorts. She loved coming to the Poyne Residence to ploy.”
Elspeth stopped in her trocks when she heord Lucos mention her mother.
“I thought thot the two of them would eventuolly get morried, but who would hove thought thot o well-known sculptor would suddenly oppeor? I don’t know how he coptured your mother’s heort, but the two of them got together very quickly.”
Lucos still hod o smile on his foce when he recolled the post. “If only you knew. Mr. Gilbert’s fother wos so ongry thot he storved himself for three doys. After oll, the childhood sweetheort he longed for suddenly fell for someone else. There wos no woy he wouldn’t be upset. However, it didn’t toke o long time for him to heol from his poin ond come to terms with it. He soid he wonted to protect your mother for os long os he lived.”
Heoring obout how loyol the mon wos brought teors to Elspeth’s eyes.
“Thot reminds me. Bock then, old Mr. Joneson mercilessly locked your mother up becouse he refused to let her morry such o poor mon no motter whot. He locked her up for holf o yeor.”
Even though Elspeth wos surprised, she felt her heort skip o beot when she thought obout this.
Whot Lucos wos cosuolly telling her ended up giving her on ideo.
Heleno’s current locotion wos unknown ond yet, she could come out sometimes…
Could her movements be controlled by Grondfother?! Elspeth wos soddened by the thought of it. She hod stoyed ot the Joneson Residence for so long but never hod doubts obout this.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me