Mrs. Jacinth helped her wash up for lunch before leading her towards the dining room.

She was placed on the floor at the entrance of the room as from this point onwards she had to walk on her own.

When she entered the room, she was greeted with a dark cloud that was looming over the entire room.

'What happened here? Did someone die?' She wondered as she walked closer to the table.

She witnessed her father's gloomy face blossom when he saw her walking towards him which made a smile appear on her face as well.

Her mother, as usual, was fangirling over the dress that she was wearing as her eyes wandered around little Yvonne who was in a pure white dress.

'My Vonny looks like a little angel' She commented while praising both her excellent choice of clothes and her daughter's angelic looks.

Howard shot her an uninterested glance and then turned his gaze towards the table as though that was the most interesting thing in the world.

Yvonne did not bother to get offended by his lack of manners and shrugged his actions away.

Once closer to the people already occupying their seats at the table, she finally noticed an anomaly present.

'Hmm? Why is he here?' She wondered while staring at the extra person at the table.

"Hello, cute Vonny!" Taylor Tanner, the younger son of Duke Tanner greeted and waved his hand at her.

His fiery red hair was neatly combed to the side and he wore a bright blue shirt with black suspenders.

As he was already seated at the table, Yvonne couldn't see what he had worn below.

'I'm impressed with his aesthetics.' She complimented when she saw how well he pulled off the clothes he was wearing today.

While she was admiring his clothes, her parents were focusing their entire attention on the boy who had barged into their house today.

The moment he uttered the word 'cute', the St. Claire couple nodded their heads in agreement.

However, when they heard the endearing way in which he had addressed their beloved daughter, both Rutherford and Raylene growled at him.

Taylor chuckled nervously when he felt their burning gaze on his face and then sheepishly scratched his cheeks.

'Mother had asked me to behave myself when I am outside.' He recalled his mother's words and sighed that she wasn't here right now or else the number of people glaring at him would have increased by one more.

"Hello, Young Master Taylor. Good to see you here." She greeted him politely and took her seat which was beside her mother.

Rutherford sat at the Head's position on the table while Raylene sat to his left and Howard to his right.

Now, Taylor sat next to Howard while Yvonne sat next to Raylene. This made the two young children sit on opposite sides of the table.

Rutherford's sharp sight caught the silent glimpses that Taylor kept taking of his precious daughter and this incensed him to no end.

'Ray was right! This Tanner boy has his sights on my Vonna!' He cursed his stars that a competitor for her attention had already appeared.

Unknown to the worrisome thoughts in her father's head, Yvonne was patiently waiting for the food to be served.

"How were your classes?" Raylene inquired while patting her daughter's head.

She looked at Yvonne with a sorry smile because she was still under the impression that she might have received another flogging from Governess Lester.

'Oh, the lack of faith irks me!' Yvonne thought when she realized why she had been given that pitiful glance.

"I'm fine." She whispered and secretly showed her fingers to prove that she wasn't hit today.

She couldn't speak up louder since Raylene had informed her that Rutherford was still unaware of Governess Lester's teaching methods.

'He would throw a fit if he comes to know that his Vonna is being beaten with a cane for every mistake she makes.' Yvonne shook her head and retracted her fingers.

Soon the maids served them lunch and they ate in silence until someone decided to break the quiet atmosphere in the room.

Taylor had been secretly observing the little girl sitting on the other side of the table.

The more he watched her, the more the feelings of spoiling her senseless filled his heart.

'Why can't such a cute little pumpkin be born in my family!' He lamented his misfortune of only having a bully of a big brother instead of an angelic little sister.

He then glanced at his best friend who would rather shove food into his mouth than witness his sister's cuteness and shook his head.

'He doesn't realize his luck for having Vonny in his life!' He scoffed at Howard and then turned back to face Yvonne.

"Von-..." He started but when he met with Earl St. Claire's intense gaze, he agreed that changing his way of addressing her would be the right thing to do at this moment.

Yvonne looked up from her plate after she heard her name and tilted her head when he did not speak any further.

'Gosh, that man is scary!' He remarked and chose his next words carefully.

"Yvonne" Taylor called her name once again and coughed to hide the fear he had felt earlier.

"Would you like to accompany us today?" He proposed and chuckled when he saw her brows furrowed in confusion.

The reason for Taylor Tanner to stop by the St. Claire estate on this fine day was with the purpose of dragging Howard along with him on a shopping spree.

He could have met his friend at the commercial district but that would snatch away his chance of meeting this little cutie sitting before him.

Hence, he had sent a letter beforehand explaining his purpose of visiting the St. Claires.

Though Howard was annoyed at his sudden arrival because he knew what this idiot friend of his had in mind, he went along with it as he too needed to buy certain things before the next academic year began.

Therefore, he did not reject his offer and decided to let his father handle this idiot who ran after everything that appeared cute and cuddly.

When Yvonne heard why Taylor had appeared here today, she gave him an understanding smile after remembering that the Royal Academy would begin their next academic year this week.

"Ahhh…. A 'back to school' shopping spree?" She muttered while nodding her head.

She then gave him an apologetic smile, following which she immediately lowered her head to continue eating her lunch and hence had failed to notice the strange look on their faces.