"What do you like, Alec?" Mary pointed at the various toys on display as they stood in front of a toy shop. They were waiting for Cassian to come as they walked around the shop.
"Good evening, my lady." A staff member came to them and smiled.
"What kind of toy are you looking for?" She asked with a professional smile when Mary stared back at the door.
"Hmm, we are still looking at toys. We will tell you once we decide." The woman wanted to continue, but Mary had already walked further holding Alec's hands. So, the woman can only nod and wait but her eyes seem suspicious as she looks at Mary again in confusion.
"Do you like soft toys like dolls or swords? Or maybe some bronze statues?" The toys looked so stiff that she could not imagine playing with them. The wooden swords and wooden toys were still fine but the doll made of satin cloth looked strange and there was not even a teddy bear!
But there were still bronze soldiers and silver pieces that looked more like room decorations than toys.
"I do not know," he confessed. He wasn't sure if he should take those things since they were too expensive. He was just looking around before telling her he did not need anything from that when his eyes fell on a small dancing piece.
"Oh, that is a very compelling piece. In order to work, it uses a magic stone. Let me show you." The staff picked up the piece and pulled the key. The small dancing girl started whirling and soft music was playing when Alec's eyes softened.
For some reason, he felt the tone was familiar.
"We will take this, thank you." said Mary as she looked at the expressions of Alec who really liked the toy.
"Ha! Do you even have that much money to buy it?" Mary turned when she heard a shrill and arrogant voice and saw another woman walking in with a child.
I'm sure we'll have that piece, Tia. Thank you." She took out a small bag full of gold coins and placed it on the table.
"and packed everything my daughter wanted." A young girl around eight years sneered at Alec before taking the musical box from the staff and raising her head high in the air.
"Hey! We asked for it before anyone else. That piece belongs to Alec.'' Mary glared at the woman with a cold look before chiding the staff who looked awkward.
"That's right, lady Sibley. She had asked for the box before you came in." The rich woman named Sibley scoffed as she assessed Mary. Although she was dressed nicely, Sibley was sure Mary was not noble.
"Are you refusing a viscountess to help a no name girl? Did she even have the money to pay for the box? I did not see her purse with her." She pointed at the empty hands of Mary with a sneer when the staff looked in an awkward manner. She had noticed it too, which was why she was keeping a close eye on Mary.
+"Why? What happened? Did you not want the musical box? If you want it, should you not pay for it or do you think it is a place that does charity?" Lady Sibley looked at the woman staring at the door again and again and sneered. Just because you have a good piece of cloth does not mean you can have anything.
"If she is not talking, I can take it, right?" With a sweet smile on her face, Sibley returned the musical box to her daughter and turned towards the other toys with a snort when Mary frowned.
She did not understand why the man was not there when he was walking just behind them.
"Hey, when did I say I would not pay for this?" Mary hurriedly blocked the arrogant woman's path.
"His father was following us. He will come and pay for the box. I am taking it."
Lady Sibley raised a brow at Mary's address. The man was nothing for her, even though he was her son's child.
"Ha! I did not know such a filthy woman was roaming here and even dared to show it off." her face scrunched up as if she had smelled something foul.
"Tia! Are you going to handle your shop like that? And here I thought that it was one of the good shops in the vicinity." The woman was left embarrassed by Lady Sibley who kept calling her with a wrong name but she was so ashamed that she did not dare to correct the noble woman and it was all because of this woman.
The owner looked coldly at Mary.
"Miss, if you are not going to buy anything, then i will request you to leave and do not create a scene." If she were married, she would correct them to call her lady, both the owner and Sibley waited but Mary did not do it.
She was only frowning because she was asked to go.
"Ha! Did I not say that I will pay for it? I would appreciate it if you would give me a little time even if you have doubts about me? I will look around and see where he went." she asked in a soft voice when they both looked irked.
"Even if you have money, I did not want to sell it to someone like you. I will request you to leave the shop at once or I will call the guards." the woman said in an impatient voice when Sibley smirked as she looked at Mary with an arrogant look.
Alec felt the tense situation and could not help but fidget. She held Mary's dress and pulled it lightly.
"Ummm, i did not want the toy anymore. Shall we leave please?" he should have stopped Mary from the start. And now she was facing problems because of her.
"Look, even the child is wiser than you. He knew that he did not belong here."