Deatrice halted her train of thought. So what if something actually happened between those two? It would already be in the past. Moreover, they were husband and wife only in name.
When she arrived, Dixie turned around at just the right time to see her. Deatrice didn’t know whether she had heard her steps, or if someone told her she would be here soon.
Dixie had no problems managing her facial expressions, it was crucial if one wanted to survive the upper society. But this sister-in-law never really tried to hide her hostility for her brother’s ‘wife’.
Bending her knees ever-so-slightly that she may as well still be standing, she said perfunctorily, “May the blessings of Iel be with you.”
Iel was a god of marriage.
Deatrice nodded gratefully and slightly bent her knees in return.
This was the first time that Berry Spurt encountered Deatrice. The moment she saw her face, she suddenly remembered where she was and who might be in front of her.
Her cheeks flushed as she curtsied to the Marquess, “I congratulate you on your marriage, Lady Elliot.”
“Thank you, Miss Spurt. Are you enjoying yourself here?”
“Yes, m’lady. Lady Belle had already thoroughly explained things to me.”
Deatrice smiled lightly and looked at Dixie. “Lady Belle knows this place better than I do. Thanks to her efforts, I also get to admire the decorations on the hallways every morning.”
“I’m glad to hear that you are well.”
Dixie smiled calmly, not wanting to say any further.
Deatrice pretended to look around. “If there’s nothing else, should we go to the guest room?”
At those words, two pairs of eyes swiveled towards Berry Spurt. Caught off guard by the two women’s gaze, the young lady had no choice but to nod her head.
They entered the first guest room they saw after ascending the flight of stairs. Deatrice had an inkling that this room would also play a part in the other party’s plans.
Dixie looked around and sat down with a triumphant smile.
“It’s still the same.”
Deatrice knew immediately that there would soon be a verbal attack, but she still managed to respond with a casual smile. “It was decorated so beautifully, so I decided to leave it like this for a little while longer.”
“You’re too generous with your praise.” Dixie chuckled and covered her mouth with her fingers, “I know that your workmanship is so much better than mine who had barely even scratched the surface.”
“I also heard stories about how beautiful the duke’s mansion was.” Berry Spurt, who didn’t know the two were already having a war with words, suddenly intervened with a shy smile.
Deatrice faced her and curved her lips upwards.
“I’m a newly-wedded wife. I didn’t feel the need to make huge changes right from the start. But now that I think about it, people might assume I was simply being too lazy.”
“Don’t say you’re lazy.” Dixie uttered in a cooing voice. Then she added, “I heard you went to the Knights Templar today to take care of my brother and his knights?”
Deatrice blushed slightly. She was ashamed to hear her actions of childish revenge from other people’s mouths. Fortunately, her reddened cheeks perfectly fit the response of a shy yet loving wife.
Berry Spurt felt her smile slowly vanish from her face as she witnessed Deatrice’s reactions, like a woman living a happily married life. But Dixie only faced Deatrice as if holding something from her weapon.
“I feel embarrassed. I only visited him there because I didn’t think guests would come here so unexpectedly.” Deatrice opened her mouth with a sheepishly innocent expression, “Can we talk about something else?”
“Of course. I had no intention of harassing you. However, why didn’t my brother come with you? You said you went to the Knights Templar, so I reckoned he would come back with you.” Dixie subtly raised a perfectly-shaped brow.
“Lucius is…” Deatrice smiled awkwardly.
It was obviously Rosalynn’s mistake for not telling Lucius that his sister was in his manor, probably because she knew Berry Spurt would be present too.
But if Lucius came home and saw that his sister was here, then wouldn’t it look like she deliberately hid Dixie’s arrival from him?
Deatrice said, trying to keep a smile, “Lucius decided to come home a while later because I abruptly interfered with their work.”
“Hmm. No worries, I have a lot of time on my hands. I can wait for him.”
Without even consulting her plans with Deatrice, she had already decided to stay here for a long time like she was the master of the place.
Deatrice lightly dug her fingernails into her palms, pushing down her nettled feelings.
“Sure.”
“Thank you for your welcome. Tomorrow, I’ll have to ask my brother to take some time out from work so that he can escort me when I take a stroll with Miss Spurt. Oh! Of course, you’ll be there too, right?”
Deatrice smiled and answered. “Yes, I will. Thanks to Lady Belle, I might get to see something nice. When we’re all free, why don’t we explore the nearby forest and lakes together? In any case, Lucius had already made a similar promise to me.”
“Thanks to me?” Dixie let out a laugh with a slightly aggressive tone to it. Even Berry Spurt was startled like a small animal.
Deatrice looked at Dixie with somber eyes, but the latter didn’t speak until her laughter faded away.
“I never thought the day would come that I would hear Marquess Elliot thanking me. Who knew it would be like this, right?”
Dixie looked at the younger woman sitting beside her, covertly seeking her consensus. Unfortunately, Berry Spurt couldn’t keep up with their hidden meanings and the suffocating atmosphere, so she just awkwardly nodded her head.
“Of course.”
She didn’t even know what she was agreeing to.
Deatrice laughed soundlessly, almost ridiculing as she struggled internally.
She clenched her fists.
Somehow, it occurred to her that Dixie must’ve known not only the kind of status she had in this manor, but also the hidden reason behind Deatrice’s marriage with her brother.