Bab 10: Beginning of Rumors 2
~This is a fictional world, setting is Early 19-20th century and fantasy no real events or places are mentioned in this book ~
The Serenity Gallery
Evangeline's carriage arrived at her mother's gallery, now hers through inheritance. As she was about to step down from the carriage, Richard extended his hand for her to take. Evangeline held his hand and descended, followed by Magdalene.
Evangeline looked up at the sky and around the gallery premises. There were people waiting for her outside the building. They greeted her and, upon seeing Richard with her, began whispering among themselves. Evangeline paid no mind.
"Who's that man with Lady Evangeline?" an old man whispered from the crowd.
The gallery guards assisted the official guards in taking the covered paintings inside, while Magdalene accompanied them.
"Can I give you a tour of my gallery? Some works are mine, and some were bought by my mother," Evangeline asked Richard as she caressed his arm, not minding the onlookers. "Since we're alone, we can get to know each other, don't you think?" she added with a soft smirk, looking at the bodyguard while caressing his arm.
"Yes, my lady... I'd be honored," Richard replied, meeting her gaze.
"Call me Evangeline, not 'my lady,'" she said, grabbing his hand and walking through the gallery hallway. Everyone saw what happened as Richard lowered his head and sighed, following her.
A visitor covered her face with a fan and whispered to her companion, "Look at the way she held his hand. She's having an affair with another man how shameful."
Another visitor added, "Perhaps she has been tainting her matrimonial bed with another man."
Hearing the gossip, Evangeline squeezed Richard's hand tightly, causing him to groan in pain. She ignored his reaction, concealing her anger, and took a deep breath as she continued walking with Richard towards the exhibition center in the building.
Meanwhile, Magdalene went to the gallery office and knocked on the door. A voice invited her in. It was a man in his 60s sitting in the office—the gallery manager, Mr. Ralph Venison.
"Good morning, Mr. Venison," Magdalene said, bowing her head. Ralph gestured with his gloved hand for her to raise her head and adjusted his glasses.
"No need for formalities. I believe Mrs. Evangeline is doing well," he said, coughing slightly while reading a newspaper.
"Yes, she brought some new artwork she created," Magdalene replied.
"Excellent," he said with a touch of excitement, then cleared his throat. "Ahem... I heard her marriage was a contract marriage. Her Grace, Mrs. Azielle, must have had her reasons," he said, looking at Magdalene with concern.
"Yes, many reasons to protect her granddaughter. I'll also do my best to protect her," Magdalene chuckled.
"Good child... Oh, by the way, my daughter is coming back from her trip in the next two weeks. She'll assist me in handling the gallery," he said, pouring some tea into his cup and sipping it gently while continuing to read the newspaper.
"His daughter, Eliza Venison," Magdalene thought to herself, clenching her hands as she stared at him. "I must warn my lady and Dominic."
She smiled and said to Ralph, tapping his table with her fingers, "You must've missed her a lot."
Ralph took another sip of tea. "Yes, I do. I'm glad she's coming to Verdaselles to spend time with family. Now, let's check the paintings." He emptied the teacup in one gulp, cleaned his mouth with a napkin, and stood up, gesturing for Magdalene to lead the way.
"After you," he said. Magdalene removed her hand from the table, bowed her head, and left the office. Ralph sighed and, staring at his daughter's picture on the wall, said to himself, "Eliza, Dominic is married. You should move on. I hope you avoid disrupting his marriage. You've hurt the gentleman enough; now he's in a good place as a matrilocal husband. Coming back to the country because of him is the wrong thing to do." He clenched his fists.
After the tour, Evangeline held her gloves in her hands and chuckled at Richard. "Do you like them?" she asked, smiling.
"Yes, I do. They're lovely. You've done a lot of hard work," Richard complimented her, causing her to blush and shyly cover her face.
"Oh, please. Eighty percent of the paintings here were bought by my mother. I love painting; it's like therapy," she replied, bowing her head as they walked through the exhibition and encountered Mr. Ralph, who was directing the gallery workers alongside Magdalene on where to place the paintings with the two official guards.
"Ah, Mrs. Evangeline, it's a pleasure to meet you," Ralph greeted her with a bow.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too. I'm really sorry for the delay; my grandmother was hasty with my wedding plans," Evangeline replied.
"Ah, no problem. I understand," he nodded and noticed the man beside her. "May I ask, who is this gentleman?" he inquired out of curiosity.
"This is Richard, my personal bodyguard, Mr. Ralph," she replied with a chuckle.
"Bodyguard? But your family has enough heavily-armed guards to protect you," he said with concern as he handed her some papers to sign.
"I have my reasons for hiring him. That's confidential; I'm afraid I can't disclose that reason to you." She collected the papers, signed them, and returned them to him. "I'm in a hurry to attend to some things at home. Have a good day; we'll talk later," she said, bowing her head to Ralph and leaving with Richard before he could say a word.
"My lady, I haven't asked about your husband's " Before he could finish his sentence, she had already left the center. "Welfare..." he completed the sentence with a sigh. Magdalene tapped his shoulder, gaining his attention.
"Her husband is doing well. Thank you for your concern. I'll depart now. Have a good day, sir," Magdalene said, leaving with the guards following behind her.
Mr. Ralph nodded and returned to his office, looking over the signed papers.
The Verdaselles Palace
A few hours later, Dominic walked into his office and saw Caleb sitting on the sofa, waiting for him.
"Caleb? What is it?" he asked as Caleb stood up.
"It's Eliza; she sent another letter," Caleb replied. Dominic took the letter from Caleb, opened it, and hit his fist against the wall in anger.
"She's coming in the next two weeks," he said, his anger turning into a sinister chuckle.
"What?!" Caleb replied in shock.
"She wants us to be back together, not caring that I'm a married man and the governor of this country," Dominic said, adjusting his ponytail.
"She's crazy... we have to do something," Caleb suggested as Dominic noticed him carrying a newspaper. One side of the newspaper had Evangeline's name. He grabbed it and read the headline along with Evangeline's picture with the bodyguard.
"Lady Evangeline accompanied by another man—Secret Affair?" Dominic recalled the time Richard was walking toward his wife's bedroom.
Caleb noticed his reaction to reading the newspaper. "Evangeline went to the gallery to send some paintings with her bodyguard," Caleb explained, bowing his head.
"Oh?... Is that so?" Dominic placed the newspaper on the office table. "Continue investigating that son of a bitch," he commanded Caleb, who nodded and left.
Dominic opened a drawer, took out a box, and opened it to reveal a pistol inside. "I hope you don't get her pregnant; otherwise, I'll feed your dead body to the wolves in the mountains." He spoke in a cold and dominating tone
~CHAPTER END~
NB: The Venison family has been in charge of handling the Serenity Gallery for ages. Unfortunately, Dominic's ex, Eliza, is from that family. The Venison family is known for their talent in business accounting and management, which earned Adrielle's trust, and they have been instrumental in the gallery's success.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone