Chapter 39: Trapped In The Kitchen (1)

"Breakfast is about to be served." Fredrick announced audibly as he rang the little golden bell in his grip, using it as an instrument to summon the servants who uniformly stepped out of the kitchen with different varieties of food on a tray.

Isabella, who was feeling hungry for not having to eat anything since she was on diet for the past two days, instantly perked up at the lines of food being brought to their table by the servants. She could already feel the taste of each and everyone of the dishes as their warm aroma invaded her nostril.

Madeline came down from the stairs and made her way to the dining room after mustering up enough courage to face everyone. To her relief, Cassian was already present in the dining room, and he was busy conversing with his sister when she walked in. Standing like a lost puppy, Madeline had no idea where to sit, or how she was supposed to sit with them. Their dining room was elegantly massive with a long rectangular table in the middle.

There were more than twelve elegant chairs surrounding the table as though they were expecting more guests, and at the head of the table, the Duke himself was sitting there with a hard expression on his aging, yet handsome face. One could easily tell that the Duke was a fine man at a young age, and a fearsome one as well.

Madeline gulped when she noticed how grim his expression was, and she hoped that she’d be able to have her breakfast without getting into too much trouble with anyone.

"Maddie." Her head jerked to the direction of the voice that called her name. Cassian had stood up from his seat and was walking to the entrance of the dining room where she had glued herself. To Madeline’s surprise, his hand snaked around her slim waist, forcing her attention to his face, and he gestured for her to move forward.

Clearing her throat and putting aside the feeling of his warm touch around her waist, he led her to his seat and pulled the chair out for her in a gentleman style. Inna greeted her good morning once she sat down to have her breakfast, and she nodded her head once, indicating to Madeline that she had nothing to worry about.

Feeling at ease a bit, Madeline had the intention of greeting everyone, but the oppressive silence in the room wasn’t giving her that chance.

Cassian sat at the table facing Madeline and Fredrick rang his little bell after seeing everyone had settled. The servants moved quickly to dish out their breakfast and Madeline uttered a silent thank you to the servant who had dutifully served her her meal.

"Lord, I am famished." Isabella broke the silence once she got served her meal of toasted bread with egg and bacon. Abbot poured himself a glass of juice and all the while, he kept sending glares at Cassian’s direction, while the young lad winked playfully at him in return, darkening Abbot’s mood.

"Can we all have a peaceful family breakfast today without the glares and silent threats?" Juliana uttered, already aware of what was going on since Cassian had decided to join them for breakfast today. His presence always brought along something disastrous but she didn’t dare mention his name, knowing Elaine would certainly strike her back for it.

"Oh yes!" Isabella agreed straight away. "It has to be peaceful since we have someone new joining us for breakfast today. Am I right Cassian?"

"The food will get cold." He immediately averted his gaze down to his food and began eating, not willing to spare the interested Isabella the chance of her having to talk with him. Inna beckoned Madeline to eat as well, and everyone quietly had their breakfast.

Elaine’s heart calmed when no further discussion was made. She didn’t want anyone pointing fingers at her son today and really hoped Cassian won’t try to do something out of line either. Surprisingly, Richard had chosen to take her to one of the events that was being held by a close relative, and this would give her the opportunity to clear her son’s name to the rest of the family members.

Goodness knows what sort of story Juliana must have cooked up for them.

"What is your name?" Isabella suddenly raised a question, turning her attention to the beautiful Madeline who stopped eating when she noticed an unfamiliar gaze was fixed on her. Instead of responding, she looked at Cassian, as though asking him if she should respond or not, and he spoke for her instead.

"You’ve been away for two days but I think you left one of our family’s etiquettes at your parents place. No talking in the dining room." He shut Isabella up with a quick reminder, and the lady dejectedly faced her meal with a hurtful expression. There was absolutely nothing that would make Cassian trust her intention despite her innocent visage.

"My lovely wife was only asking a harmless question, why so negative?" Abbot calmly attacked the young lad without looking at him, but Cassian shook his head.

"You misunderstand me, dear older brother."

"All of a sudden you refer to us as brother’s?" Jeremy scoffed in disdain.

"Not you, just him." Cassian retorted with a cynical smile that made Jeremy feel tempted on using his fork to scratch that face of his. Then he’ll see if his wife will still be interested in him as she is now.

"You all are displeasing Father at the moment." Inna joined in with her own reminder. "Have your breakfast in peace and you can continue this war when we’re done."

Oliver nodded in agreement to Inna’s words, already getting tired of his brothers trying to make a big deal out of everything that comes with Cassian, and silence reigned once again. Elaine exchanged glances with Richard who looked disturbed himself, but she didn’t find it necessary to be concerned about him since he abandoned her with her children for the sly Juliana.

Soon, everyone finished having their meal. The Duke and his wives exited the dining room when they were done, and Isabella was back to being the chattering Queen she always was. "New lady, I heard about what happened at your uncle’s place, do accept my condolences and I shall pray for his soul to rest in peace." She smiled at Madeline who only stared blankly at her.

Who is this woman?

"Thank you." She responded this time around, and was about rising to her feet when Isabella spoke again. "It must have been frightening having to witness something so horrible like a murder scene. It’s more difficult since no one knows who the killer might be, aren’t you afraid that this person might come for you next?"

"What?" Madeline was instantly thrown off guard.

"Isabelle, that’s enough." Abbot was the one to silence his wife this time around, knowing if Cassian did it, his wife might end up crying from the hurtful words he might spit out. "You shouldn’t ask such disturbing questions. Let it be."

"But she isn’t wrong." Jeremy interjected with a half shrug, watching the servants quickly get rid of the plates and taking them back to the kitchen.

"Whichever one it is, I think everyone should keep their silly thoughts to themselves, and say nothing else concerning what happened." Inna stated bluntly.

"The youngest decides to speak in what concerns the matured."

"Don’t take it to heart that I developed more sense than you at my young stage." She retorted without a tiny trace of respect in her voice, and Madeline was amused by how Cassian and his sister always knew the right words to say during verbal arguments. This is pure talent.

Averting her gaze elsewhere, Madeline accidentally locked eyes with Jeremy. She instantly recalled what he had proposed to her at the top of the stairs, and she looked away while holding in her disgust. So far she doesn’t like Jeremy one bit.

"I shall retire to my room now, if you’ll excuse me." Madeline announced softly before bowing her head and exiting the dining room. Cassian looked at his sister who gestured with her brows for him to meet her upstairs in her room, indicating they have a lot to talk about before taking her leave in the dining room as well.

Cassian followed behind her.

Meanwhile, Madeline had stepped into the kitchen to refill the jug in her room with some water. The servants who were present in the kitchen, were more than ready to help her fill the jug, but Madeline turned down their request with an appreciative smile, assuring them it wasn’t a big deal, and everyone focused on their duty.

Already filling her jug with some water, an unwelcome presence made her stop halfway. Jeremy stood at the entrance of the kitchen, watching her. The servants had already exited the kitchen the moment he walked in, leaving only the two of them alone. Madeline eyed him before continuing with what brought her down in the first place.

"You’ve refused my offer of leaving Cassian, the least you can do is try and talk to me." Jeremy asserted coolly, but Madeline didn’t bother to respond to him, feeling it’d be better to let him talk to himself until he gets tired and then leaves her alone.

Clicking his tongue at her stubborn attitude, Jeremy found that irritatingly amusing since no one has ignored him like this. He was a handsome man, and he knew how every young lady would stop in their tracks just to get a glimpse of him, and then, this girl wouldn’t even spare him a single glance.

"You don’t know what I can do for you." He began, moving into the kitchen and unhurriedly heading for where Madeline stood as she finished filling her jug and covering it with the lid. She was one attractive woman and her backside alone already proved that.

"If Cassian isn’t picked as Duke, he won’t be able to take care of a pretty woman like yourself. There’s still time to abandon the bastard and come to me." He was standing behind Madeline this time, whispering his words into her ear while inhaling the sweet intoxicated scent of her hair at the same time. Are all women from the upper west quarters this bewitching?

Madeline, who didn’t expect such unruly action from someone like him, tried to move away, but to her shock, his hands immediately wrapped around her waist, stopping her from breaking their proximity and connecting her back to his body.

She’s so soft!

"What insolence! How dare you act out of decency!..!!.." Madeline said in vexation. She tried to force herself free from his grip, but his hold around her waist tightened instead, forcing a gasp out of her.

"Don’t be foolish, you have grabbed my attention since the first day I saw you. Wasn’t that your plan? It’s not fair for a common bastard like Cas to have you for a wife when I’m here. I’ll take good care of you, way better than he could. All you have to do is accept my proposal."

"Let go of me!!" Madeline continued to struggle. She looked around but there was no one present to help her. She was literally trapped! Good Lord!

Immediately thinking of a second strategy, her eyes landed on the fork that was resting on the counter.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read