Chapter 27
Ryder, with his stern face, seemed to ignore everyone else, only addressing Agnes, “Come with me.”
Agnes nodded, gave a quick greeting briefly, and under everyone’s gaze, followed Ryder to the balcony.
The balcony was relatively quiet. A glass door completely isolated the hustle and bustle inside.
Ryder broke the silence, “Where did you sneak off to? I’ve been looking for you.”
She had just…..
Agnes’s face began to heat up, thankfully concealed by the night.
1
Agnes fibbed, “After you left, I heard footsteps in the hall. Thought someone was heading my way, so I took off to the backyard for a bit. Got lost, didn’t expect it to be such a maze.”
Agnes laughed nervously, “The Whitfield’s backyard is seriously massive.”
Ryder squinted, his gaze falling on Agnes’s dress.
Agnes was obviously lying because he knew his mother had planted some wild cherry trees in the backyard a few days ago. There were too many people today, so the backyard entrance was closed today to prevent any damage!
Ryder, although clueless about why Agnes was lying, didn’t expose her, just asking, “Is your hand alright?”
Agnes glanced at her hand, where she had scratched it when climbing over the wall, and laughed it off, “Just a scratch. It’s okay.”
Ryder nodded, then asked, “Preston and Beatrice are here today. You could have come in through the front door. Why did you climb over the wall?”
Agnes felt a bit awkward, “Well….. I had some stuff to deal with.”
It wasn’t that Agnes didn’t want to tell him. She just didn’t know how to say to him.
Ryder said, “If it’s hard to say, just forget about it.”
Just then, someone called Ryder’s name. Seemed like one of his buddies.
Agnes said, “Go ahead, don’t mind me. I’ll be leaving later.”
Ryder nodded, “If you need anything, just call.“.
Agnes nodded, and Ryder turned around and left.
Agnes let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t too familiar with this Icy man. Other than their not–so–pleasant first encounter, they had never crossed paths before.
Agnes didn’t expect him to help her out today.
Agnes was already dressed quite lightly. The night wind blew, and she felt a bit cold but didn’t feel like going inside.
Agnes spotted Jared from a distance, and even though he was quite far away, Jared seemed to naturally radiate light. Among the crowd, she could spot him instantly. That’s what one call standing out from the crowd.
At this moment, he was holding a glass of champagne, surrounded by many famous ladies.
Agnes’s mood was strangely heavy.
“Agnes, didn’t expect you to be so cunning.”
Agnes was going to leave, but Beatrice came storming over.
Agnes said, “Beatrice, I’m your sister. You shouldn’t talk to me like that.”
“Agnes, don’t act all high and mighty. You’re just a burden to the Pritchard family. I’m warning you, I’ll be the Mrs. Whitfield, and you don’t even think about competing with
me.”
Agnes retorted, “Even if I’m not competing with you, that title isn’t necessarily yours. Have you noticed how many people are here tonight. Did Jared even glance at you?” Beatrice was furious. She came tonight all dolled up, but Jared, indeed, hadn’t looked her way. Surrounded by all those noble ladies, she couldn’t get close to Jared, so she could only vent her frustration to Agnes.
