'If only you knew what he asked in exchange.' Yvonne sneered at the thought of what she had to do once she returned to Amarthea.

When she had sent back word to SO that she was willing to meet him only if he agreed to her condition, he had been hesitant at first.

After numerous letters going back and forth through the means of Tutu, they had finally come to a conclusion about the terms of this favor that he was doing for her.

According to what they had decided, Yvonne could use Tutu to send her letters to anyone she wanted but in exchange, she would have to come to the place where SO called her.

It did not matter where he called her, she had to meet him there and this needed to happen once she returned to Amarthea.

As Yvonne was in a bind to get her uncle to help them out with the task at hand, she had accepted his condition and promised to meet him once this trip had come to an end.

However, she could never speak of this matter to her uncle so she remained silent and only nodded her head in reply which he accepted as well.

Marcus was oblivious to the thoughts running through her tiny head and walked ahead.

Just as they were about to turn around the corner, he halted in his steps which caused her to stop as well.

Looking up, she noticed how his brows furrowed as he turned his gaze towards her.

"Do your parents know about the letter you sent to me?" He interrogated the most important question in his mind.

Ever since they had arrived, none of the St. Claire's had even mentioned a word about Yvonne's letter and they also looked surprised when he had revealed that she looked just like his mother when he first saw her.

This had made him wonder whether his niece had sent that etcher over to his estate without the knowledge of her parents.

Yvonne lowered her head this time as she had been busted for the secret efforts she had made to reach out to him.

"They do not." She muttered in a soft voice which managed to melt his head.

Her lowered head made her look repentant for her sneaky deeds and at the same time made him wish to pat her head repeatedly.

Controlling the urge to ruffle up her hair, he cleared his throat and looked away.

"Why not?" He prodded to hear her reasons for doing so.

'To make sure that you reply to Papa's letters.' She remembered why she had sent that letter but that was not why she had kept it a secret from them.

"They do not know about my friend and his etcher." She revealed and slowly raised her head to analyze his reaction.

There was shock and bewilderment then a trace of suspicion that appeared in his eyes.

"Why not?" He repeated like a broken record and saw her pouty face.

"Because he is my secret friend." She answered and hoped that he would not ask any more questions as she could not answer his queries further.

'SO and his true identity are still a mystery to me so how could I tell them about him?' She sulked that she had no other choice but to keep mum about it.

Not to mention that he was the same person who had sent her a jewel and that note with a heart which Rutherford had confiscated from her.

'If Papa finds out SO is in touch with me then all hell will break loose.' She gulped at the thought of that ever happening.

Marcus could gauge that she was not ready to answer his questions nor was she willing to involve her parents in this matter so he decided to drop it for now.

"If you ever think that this friend is not a good person then promise that you will let an elder know about it?" He tried to convince her to speak to them if she felt anything wrong.

Yvonne was a child only in body but her mind was of an adult that understood which situations were in her control and which weren't and that she might need help.

Yet she nodded her head in acceptance of his words.

"I will, Uncle!" She added with conviction as she would be the first to act against SO if he tried to harm her.

Uncle Marcus was overjoyed to not only see her obedient and well-behaved behavior but also to hear her calling him 'Uncle'.

This time he did not control his urge but went ahead and patted her head to his heart's content.

'Bear with it!' Yvonne repeated to herself as she stood still while her uncle wrecked her hairstyle which her maids had worked hard for before they left for the servant quarters.

Once his hand was lifted, the little girl's hair was a tangled mess but she looked cute nonetheless.

'No use of this anymore.' She pouted while pulling off the ribbons that were holding her hair up in ponytails.

Running her fingers through her hair, she sorted the mess and stopped when she felt that she was presentable once again.

Uncle Marcus realized his mistake as he watched her working hard and decided to not do it again unless her hair was loose like it was right now.

The pair then resumed their journey and soon reached the place that he was taking her.

When they reached their destination, the servants held the door open for them.

The Viscount entered first and after him was Yvonne's turn.

"Vonna!"

The little girl turned to the source of the loud voice and found her father looking at her with worry then turning towards the Viscount with blazing eyes.

"Why was Vonna with you?" Rutherford St. Claire inquired as he narrowed his eyes.

Yvonne scanned the room only to find that this was a dining room that her uncle had led her to.

That was not all, as right now, the dining room was filled with their family members and the only ones missing were this pair of uncle and niece who had just arrived.

Therefore, Rutherford, who had been waiting to meet his daughter, was annoyed when he saw that she was walking with this stingy man who happened to be his brother-in-law.

Raylene widened her eyes at her husband who was exhibiting his anger so openly before turning towards her sister-in-law with an apologetic look in her eyes.

Trisha waved her hand to dismiss such thoughts from her mind and shook her head that she did not mind anything.

The old Patriarch had been seated at the head of the table as that seat belonged to him.

Thus, his back had been towards the door and he turned around only after hearing the commotion.

Seeing his cute granddaughter entering while smiling with his son made him sulk as his sneaky son must have played some tricks to get closer to her before he could.

"We have been waiting for so long." Old man Valente chided his son for delaying their lunch.

Marcus bowed in apology and hurried to take his seat next to the head's seat while the little girl approached her parents' side.

While the Old man sat at the head's position, Marcus and his family sat to his right and Rutherford's family sat to his left.

Thus, the little girl's seat was at the end of the table beside her brother and opposite her cousins.

Yvonne glanced at everyone and greeted them with a smile before turning towards her grandpa who appeared to be scowling at his son.

"Grandpa, I kept everyone waiting so please forgive me." She took up the initiative to ease the atmosphere which soured after the men had seen her entering with her uncle.

"Vonny is such a good child." He praised her for her etiquette and her sharp mind which had noticed the air around them.

However this did not stop Rutherford from scoffing at the man responsible for this delay and much to his joy, his father-in-law did the same to his son seated next to him.

The women shook their heads and the boys giggled at the rare sight with excitement.

As lunch began, the Viscount finally managed to placate his father that he had not pulled any sneaky tricks to stick closer to his niece.

Turning towards her, he smiled and pointed at the wall behind her.

"Vonny was wondering what mother looked like so I brought her here." He revealed while keeping the truth of their meeting a secret from everyone.

Yvonne nodded in acceptance as she turned around to glance at what he was pointing at.

Her smiling face turned into one with awe as she gazed at the large family portrait on the wall but her eyes were fixed on the woman, ignoring the others present in it.

Chestnut hair tied into a low bun, wide magenta eyes, and a sweet smile on her pink lips.

The little girl gawked at the face of the woman in the painting which seemed extremely similar to hers.

The same wide eyes, cute button nose, and even the texture of their hair appeared to be similar in that portrait.

'Is that how I would look when I grow older?' She wondered while touching her chubby cheeks as the resemblance was great.

Though there might be certain differences as she grew older, it was undeniable that Yvonne St. Claire resembled her grandmother, Hannah Valente more than any other of her relatives.

In the familiar portrait was a beautiful lady holding a little baby in her arms while her husband stood behind her and a young toddler stood next to her, peeking at the sleeping baby.

'My family.' Raylene thought and glanced at her father and brother, her remaining blood relatives whom she had met after so long.