Chapter 874
Chapter 874: Faulty Logic
“If things had worked out differently then you would have been a Leopold and not a Valente.” The old man muttered while putting on a sulking face.
Yvonne’s lips inadvertently turned down to form a frown when that biologically inaccurate statement had been made by her grandfather who had directed it towards her mother.
‘That... Makes no sense...’ She retorted in her mind, grimacing at his faulty logic.
If Grandma Hannah had married the old man from the Leopold family then there would be no Raylene and Marcus Valente.
Raylene was a byproduct that had been formed when the genes of her parents Augustine and Hannah were combined.
If even one of those two were swapped with someone else then the result would never be the same.
Therefore, if Grandma Hannah had accepted Jonah Leopold to be her husband then a whole new person, who currently did not exist, would have been born.
.....
That nonexistent person might seem similar to Raylene in a few aspects as they shared the same mother but they would not be the same person.
Thanks to her knowledge of science, Yvonne knew that her Grandfather’s words were unlikely to ever come true even if things had turned out differently.
However, not wanting to give them a lecture on how genetics worked, the little girl remained silent and watched what was taking place before her.
When the adults heard about the matters of the past generations, they were quite surprised.
While Raylene was still trying to digest the information she had gained, Rutherford already had a look of understanding that appeared on his face.
His mind went back to the Tanner tea party that they had attended a few months ago where the old man from the Leopold family had acted oddly.
While looking at Yvonne’s wide smile, he had uttered a few words which had caught the slightly paranoid father’s attention.
‘Did he see Mother-in-law through Vonna?’ The Earl wondered as he thought of that incident.
Old Man Leopold had clearly muttered the words, ‘Just like Hannah’ while staring at Yvonne which had confused him back then.
However, listening to what his father-in-law had just revealed, everything now made sense to him.
After all, he had seen the portrait of Raylene’s mother when they had visited the Valente fief previously and it was without a doubt that Yvonne resembled her maternal grandmother more than anyone else.
Though Rutherford had realized that she had inherited his mother’s beautifully slanted eyes, most of her other features were quite similar to his mother-in-law.
Therefore, he now understood why Lord Leopold had muttered those words but he frowned nonetheless when he recalled what his father-in-law had mentioned.
‘I should ask Vonna to keep her distance if she ever meets him in the future.’ The excessively worried father had already made up his mind on what to do next.
Old Man Leopold had not been able to keep his eyes away from Hannah even after they had gotten married to their respective spouses.
This made Rutherford want to be cautious as his child bore a striking resemblance to the woman who had a place in that old man’s heart.
If Lord Leopold had known that the Earl was vigilant towards him and wanted to keep his daughter away from his sight then he surely would have vomited blood due to the blow he’d receive.
He surely had feelings for Hannah longer than what was appropriate but he would never project those feelings on a child who had not even reached puberty.
He, a former Marquess and a brilliant businessman, had at least that amount of propriety and morals within him.
For this reason, Rutherford’s vigilance towards him wasn’t needed but the paranoid father had already made up his mind by then to be dissuaded.
The Earl had always been overly cautious when it came to anything concerning his only daughter and hence nothing could not change his mind.
On the other hand, Yvonne had also realized why Old Man Leopold had muttered Grandma Hannah’s name at the tea party.
Thanks to her sharp hearing, she had caught what he had muttered and had also planned to ask her Uncle Marcus about it later on.
However, so many things had taken place which had led her to forget about this little incident.
Therefore, she had failed to figure out the truth behind it back then and now realized that even if she had asked her uncle, he would have been clueless as these incidents had taken place before his birth.
Now that she had learned what the old man had meant by muttering her grandma’s name, she brushed it off as him reminiscing about his past and did not think too much about it as her father had done.
Meanwhile, Howard and Roman had taken up the roles of silent bystanders as they watched this show from the sidelines, not finding any reason to chime in.
Raylene finally understood why her father seemed to dislike the Lord of the Leopold family.
However, she had never expected that she would uncover such secretive information about the matters of the past generation.
Listening to her parents’ love story made her feel awkward as her father had never mentioned these matters when she was younger and her mother had passed away before they had gotten a chance to bond with each other.
Therefore, everything she had heard today was new information that she had no knowledge of previously.
At the same time, this information that had been kept a secret for so many years needed to remain that way, and thus she glanced at her husband, nephew, and finally her two children.
Her gaze also swept past the servants who were standing around and were within earshot of their table which implied that they too would have heard what her father had revealed earlier.
Each one of those who were granted that stern gaze by the Countess understood just what she wished to relay through her eyes.
The servants were the first to bow as a sign of acceptance towards their Madame’s command while her family members nodded obediently.
Rumors about such matters could take an ugly turn and Raylene did not wish for the women involved in this incident of the past to become the object of scorn for others to discuss and enjoy.
Both the Viscountess and the Marchioness who had been mentioned earlier had passed away so it would not be appropriate for their past to be dug up and tossed around as gossip for the noblewomen.
She had glanced at the servants for longer as the main source of gossip about noblemen was often spilled from those who worked for them.
Knowing this too well, she had warned them through her eyes as revealing this information outside would not be a good thing for them.
Understanding what they were supposed to do, everyone decided to keep their mouths shut about this matter.
When Old man Valente saw the fierce glance his daughter had used, he could not help but smile while admiring this sight.
‘You would have been proud of your daughter, my Hannah.’ He spoke to his beloved wife who must be watching them from above.
In the meantime, the servants, following the Countess’ next instructions, brought forward the food that had been prepared and placed it on their table.
With their earlier conversation coming to an end, a deep silence overshadowed those present and they lowered their heads to enjoy this meal.
No one spoke until their plates were empty and the table was also cleared.
While the servants brought out tea for them next, the old man recalled something and thus shifted his attention towards the man seated next to his daughter.
“The Earl still hasn’t revealed his reason for meeting that man.” He placed his thoughts before the other man with a gentle smile but his eyes, which were cold, proved that he wasn’t happy with this incident in the least bit.
Rutherford had just taken a sip out of his cup so he choked when the liquid went up to his windpipe.
Raylene was quick to pat his back which helped cease the incessant coughs and he shot her a grateful smile before moving his eyes towards the older man.
“We had met to discuss a new proposal the Leopold family had sent a while ago.” He revealed once he had regained his composure.