The night ended with Harringfort going back to his hotel room angry and confused. On the contrary, Lily and Zhou Jingren spent the rest of the night mingling with the people around them.
After a few minutes of standing, Lily decided to sit down and accepted a glass of water from Secretary Go. She watched as Zhou Jingren continued his conversation with the Grand Duke and Pierre as well as the other ministers of the country. Slowly, a beautiful smile bloomed on Lily’s face.
“When I first saw you, I instantly thought of Fred.”
Lily turned her head towards the older woman who sat next to her. They were currently in a small round banquet table. Since most of the guests were mingling and talking, not many noticed the old woman who transfered next to Lily.
The older woman smiled, her aged eyes squinted, making her wrinkles more prominent. “I am Loura Delles. Everyone calls me Madam Lou.”
“You knew my grandfather?”
“More than anyone in this country today.” A gentle smile was plastered in her face. “He was removed from the history books because his father was too angry and felt that he abandoned the country. So… not many people in this generation know of him.”
Lily pursed her lips.
“You got your cheekbones from him.” Madam Lou continued. “And you are very beautiful too.”
“Thank you. I will take that as a compliment.”
“Oh!” A flash of surprise glinted in the older woman’s eyes. “I was expecting you to be bashful but…” she laughed. “You are exactly like Lilian.”
“You knew my grandmother as well?” Of course, this surprised Lily. According to the Grand Duke and Duchess story, Lilian didn’t stay too long in this place.
“Of course I do! I was there that day.” Madam Lou leaned closer towards Lily’s ears. “I was there when she insulted the previous Grand Duke.” A light chuckle left her lips. “You should have seen his face turned red as he clutched his chest in anger.” She covered her mouth as she elegantly left out another soft laugh, her actions were fast and premise, swift without losing its class.
This woman should be a noble or at least… someone from a really rich family who could afford an etiquette class decades ago. Judging from the woman’s features, Lily could say that she should be more than sixty years old. She should be about the age of Lilian. Of course, she didn’t bother asking the older woman’s age.
Who would ask a lady of her age? She thought inwardly, her eyes didn’t miss the absence of a wedding band in the woman’s hands. A widow, perhaps? In the end, Lily turned her head away. It seems that her ability in ‘gathering information’ had doubled.
This should be because of her pregnancy, she thought.
“Did you grow up with my grandfather?”
“My!” the older woman smiled, surprised at Lily’s question. “How smart. Was it because… I look really old?”
Lily only turned her head towards her. No words came out of her mouth. How was she supposed to answer that question? “You look like you could be my mother.” She smiled. “Are you in your fifties?”
As expected, her words made the woman laugh. Madam Lou shook her head, her perfect bun still undisturbed by the action. “You are one witty woman. I like you.” She leaned towards Lily again. “I really like watching and talking to beautiful and young people. Would you like to have some tea with me tomorrow?”
“Sadly, I am not going to be available tomorrow.” Lily lied. “How about… I let my secretary call you in advance, if I can find some time? Surely, the Duke had some way to contact you, right?”
“Yes… Yes he does.” Madam Lou smiled as she looked at the Grand Duke. “I watched that kid grow up. From a little infant to what he is now. He still calls me grandmother.” She lowered her voice. “Do I really look like a grandmother? I could be his mother but not a grandmother! I told him not to call me grandmother over and over. He always said he wanted his sons and daughters to call me grandma too. In the end, everyone in his family is calling me grandmother now.”
The older woman sounded jovial but Lily didn’t miss the melancholy in her voice. Madam Lou continued. “I am not even married. And they are already calling me grandmother.” She laughed. “But you know what’s the best part of being the grandmother of a royal family?”
Lily raised an eyebrow in response.
“It’s the fact that they are all good looking people!” another laughter escaped the older woman’s lips. “I would not let someone not good looking call me grandmother!”
Lily gave an awkward laugh. This woman should be in her seventies yet, her voice was still lively, her actions comical and her eyes were bright. However, this only reminded her of her own grandmother.
Lilian might have saved Lily before. She might have taught Lily everything that she knew now. But… they had never really bonded over something aside from business. Well… there was that horse. But aside from the horse, her grandmother didn’t really talk much about her other hobbies.
A pang of sadness hit her— something that she immediately blamed on her hormones. In all honesty, one of Lily’s greatest regrets was the fact that she felt as if she really didn’t know her grandmother outside of Facci Group.
Lilian was never an emotional person. She was cold and calculating. And … lonely. Yes, her grandmother might not say it but Lily knew how lonely she was.
“Do you miss Lilian?” the woman next to her asked. “She was one feisty woman. It is hard to love someone like her. Her personality had always been strong, someone weak would immediately cower in fear. She was the woman that many of us wanted to be. Someone that could easily overpower a person’s will just by looking at them. But… Fred… well he was happy with her.” This time, Lily didn’t miss the sadness in the older woman’s eyes. “And I am happy for him! I am truly happy for both of them!”
