The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1801

"Clear out," Sean wanted to give Romeo and his sister a better dining experience.

The restaurant manager immediately sprang into action, comping the meals of the other diners, handing out discount vouchers for their next visit, and politely ushering them out. After ensuring the customers had left, he approached Sean, "Everything is taken care of."

Now, the entire restaurant was left with only two guests - Sean and Steward.

"Could you make the space by the floor-to-ceiling windows a bit bigger? Remove some tables and chairs, set up the prime spot, call in a couple of violinists, light some scented candles, and dim the lights a bit more."

The manager thought Sean was setting up a romantic date and hastened to prepare everything himself.

Sitting more than thirty yards away, Sean instructed the manager to make some adjustments on his end too, to keep him out of sight so that no one would notice him there. The manager was puzzled - was Sean planning to catch someone in the act?

"Can you hurry it up?"

"Right away," the manager quickly used floral trellises and portable glass dividers to create a tiered space, allowing Sean to observe the other side without being easily spotted.

Soon, when Arabella walked in, hand in hand with Romeo, she was surprised to find the whole restaurant cleared just for them, even specially arranged, with the scent of flowers in the air, creating a relaxing ambiance.

Almost immediately, she spotted Sean in the corner, with Steward sitting opposite him. Were the two of them planning to spy from there?

"It wasn't me who asked for a clear-out," Romeo confessed, glancing towards the corner where the two men sat.

The manager grew nervous - had they been discovered? He had concealed their presence so well; could Mr. McMillian still see Sean? It seemed impossible.