Sweet apples that are worth the effort

"Good morning, Madame de Valois." Claudio greeted Lily with a sugar smile.

Lily stopped briefly, dazzled by the radiant smile of the man who had apparently been waiting for her at the table.

"Good morning." She replied to his greeting before putting Adrien in his child's chair. The still drowsy boy grieved over the lost warmth. Adrien had to grimace.

"Morning, Adrien." Claudio nodded to the little master of the house. His gaze turned back onto the child, who looked at him shyly. His eyes were wide open.

„Hello." He said bashfully, with his eyes on the ground. His cheeks were reddened, somehow round and fluffy, like a hamster. But his little hands were trembling as he raised his gaze looking directly into Claudio's eyes. Only for the blink of an eye he could bear the sharp gaze of the man. Before raising his chubby arms in the air and crying out for Lily.

The little boy looked like a de Valois, with his pitch-black hair and light eyes, the face that would bring an army of women to their knees in just a few years. But his behavior was definitely not that of a small bossy lord. Claudio didn't know if this was good or bad. But it was cute.

He was sipping his coffee while watching the child burying his head within the girl's arms. The plan could really work, the child seemed to resemble Alexandre a lot. It was obvious that the grandfather's genes were very dominant. Since two generations the de Bourbon men carried the typical characteristics of the de Valois. Alexandre and his half-brother Fabien were the spitting image of their father Octave de Valois with their striking masculine features, raven black hair, silver eyes and imposing stature.

Adrien also seemed to come after his father and grandfather. Only the eyes of the little nipper had a different color. Azure blue, like the clear sky in the middle of summer. But this made the story even more convincing. After all, the girl had blue eyes, too. True, she had the color of the deep ocean, but what difference did it make? People would tend to say the boy has his mother's eyes.

Since his real parents had kept the toddler quite well hidden from his true relatives, almost nobody knew what Adrien de Bourbon looked like. To the public, the child had disappeared from the face of the earth. Which gave Alexandre the opportunity to operate out of the dark.

Lily, you don't mind if I call you that." The girl handed the child a glass of milk. She paused. She looked straight at him, eyes bright, like the glittering night sky. She nodded, her lips curling into a soft smile. The girl seemed to radiate from within.

He could understand why Alec threw the redhead off his lap when he had a flower like that waiting at home.

A fine smile on his lips. "Look, I quite like Lady Lionelle. I'd be very grateful if you could help me get closer."

Her lips twitching as she watched him with narrowed eyes. "Monsieur, I don't want to step on your toes, but I'm not sure if Nelli wants to get to know you better." Her chin tilted up in defiance.

„I'm a patient man."

„And that means...?" Her voice was hesitant, but her gaze was firm.

„Women are like apples on the trees, the best ones are hanging at the top of the tree, men do not want to pick the good ones, because they're afraid they might fall down and getting hurt, so they take the rotten apples, which are hanging close to the ground, they're not so sweet but easy to pick, so the apples which are hanging at the top are starting to think that there's something wrong with them, but the truth is they're wonderful, they just have to wait for the man, who is brave enough to climb to the top of the tree!"

She rolled her eyes, at his cheesy answer. She knew he wasn't the man he claimed to be. And she wouldn't send Nelli to the lions' den. She wasn't stupid. Trusting men in this world was dangerous for a woman. Since women depended on their husbands. Even in their freedom of choice, they were limited. Every step a woman took, she needed to ask for permission. In upper class, a woman was forbidden to work. They were not allowed to have their own income. Everything belonged to the husband. It was practically impossible to be independent. Only with marriage could they ensure their future. But most marriages were determined by the family. Women of the upper class were no more than pawns for their fathers and brothers. Love marriages were a rarity.

Lily wanted her friend to marry out of love. She wanted Nelli to finally find her happiness. Too many times she had suffered. And Claudio stank of Casanova. She wouldn't let him near Lionelle, but he didn't have to know that.

She smiled like Mother Teresa, benignly down on the sinner. And started to cut up the breakfast waffle on her plate. Every movement was graceful and delicate. "I want to know more about her." He confessed. "Tell me about her." She tilted her head. Her expression was clear and bright. "Nelli is very strong and sincere, but also funny and lovely. But at the same time, she is very suspicious of men. "Nelli is very fun-loving. But very suspicious of men. In the past there have been a few incidents with some gentlemen. She is 22 years old. The youngest daughter of the Count de Carvoisin and the nestling of the family. Therefore, it is not easy to deal with her older brothers." A gentle smile played around her lips. Like she remembered something dear to her. She started babbling about her friend, always with a beaming face. Of course, he'd know all this from Pagallo's background check. But sometimes she revealed little things that didn't appear in the report, but could be essential if he wanted to win her heart.