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Florence was deeply moved by Ernest’s caring manner towards her, but she was still looking Gemma up and down unnoticeably. She could discern that Gemma’s face had whitened in a flash, but she had managed to suppress her bitter emotions and just proceeded to wear a smile on her face like how Harold and the others had been reacting. It was as if they were… only friends. The dinner had ended in a lively and bustling mood, but it seemed like the lads had wanted more of their lovey-dovey interaction as they were still lingering in Ernest’s place after dinner with the excuse of wanting some after-dinner desserts. Their requests were ignored by Ernest as he promptly carried Florence back to the room to change a fresh dressing for her wounds. Florence proceeded to lie down on the bed after her dressing was changed as she was still recuperating from her injuries, hence it would not be appropriate for her to exert herself too much. However, she soon noticed that Ernest had taken a seat on the sofa as well as if he was going to stay in the room with her, and he had even picked up a book as usual and started reading. Was he going to disregard Harold and the others whom were still hanging downstairs by themselves? Florence’s temple throbbed as his way of seeing to the guests like he did not give a damn about them at all had worried her profusely. After deliberating about it for a while, she finally uttered, “You should head downstairs and keep them company, Mr. Hawkins. ” “There’s no need to. They will leave on their own after a while. ” Ernest remained unmoved and was adamant about his decision to stay with her. She tried to persuade him to change his mind, “They are our guests after all, so we should still treat them courteously when they have paid us a visit. It won’t look nice if we just let them be on their own. ” His brows were raised slightly upon hearing her words, and he stared straight at her with his gleaming eyes as he asked, “They’re our guests?” He continued in a husky and implicative tone, “Are you concerned about our family’s hospitality?” Florence’s heart instantly skipped a beat when he had mentioned the word ‘our family’. The two words were like a huge stone that had been hurled into a tranquil pool of lake in her heart, causing her heart to ripple with turbulent waves and throw her into a state of nerves at once. Her eyes flickered around the room as she did not dare to meet his gaze while her cheeks were blushing, “I’m just, reminding you out of courtesy. ” Her reminder had not come from the standpoint of the host of this place at all, and she was only urging him out of worry. However, Ernest’s gaze had darkened as he uttered in a husky voice which had hints of delight in it, “I’ll go down and keep them company so that they won’t feel left out and think that our family is discourteous towards them. ” Florence was rendered speechless, “. ” Her face crimsoned upon hearing the word ‘our family’ coming out from his mouth again. How could he state that so offhandedly like she was in fact someone whom was important to him? She fell into a flutter as nervousness had crept up onto her, and she promptly lied down on the bed and played dead under the blanket. He stared at her intently for a while and walked over to the bed shortly after to tuck her in as he said gently, “I’ll be right back

Can I go up to see how she’s doing and have a chat with her?” Ernest did not immediately agree to her proposal, and his lips were pursed as he gave it a thought. He had originally planned to send them away at once and return to Florence’s side to accompany her, but he was now concerned that she would criticize him for not being a good host and not doing the honors well enough which would disgrace their family’s reputation… If Gemma were to go up and keep her company, at least she would not feel bored by herself. This idea seemed like it was the best of both worlds

. Ernest finally nodded and concurred with her, “Sure, but don’t stay up there for too long. She still needs a lot of rest. ”“Alright. ” Gemma had always worn the most elegant and charming smile on her face when she was faced with Ernest despite her heart was already scarred and riddled with extreme hatred and animosity. Harold’s mouth twitched as he said, “Ah, I’ve finally realized that the only way to be able to stay longer at the Hawkins’ is to first curry favor with Florence. We should just talk to Florence from now on whenever we pay a visit instead of chatting with Ernest to avoid being driven out so soon. ”Ernest sat down on the sofa in a graceful manner and uttered in an impassive tone, “If you have the courage to go up and talk to her, go ahead then and see what will happen. ”A menacing aura had suddenly materialized in the living room, and Harold could instantly feel that a giant shining sword was suspended on the top of his head, waiting to cut him into pieces if he were to cross the line. He immediately shrunk his neck out of horror as Ernest’s crazed and obsessive protectiveness towards his wife had blown his mind. “Click”The door was pushed open along with the sound of the click made by the door handle, and the sudden sound had startled Florence whom was still in bed. Although Ernest did say that he would be right back, but she had not expected him to return so soon. Did he just chuck them out as soon as he had gone downstairs?Florence raised her eyes and looked towards the door while still feeling helpless about his inhospitable disposition, but the appearance of Gemma’s tall figure at the door had caught her by surprise instead. Why had she come up here?Even though it was only a handful of times that Florence had met up with her, she was always unnerved by every single one of their encounters as they were all unpleasant experiences to her, and it had even caused her stomach to knot with apprehension every time. However, she still wore a smile on her face and greeted Gemma out of courtesy, “Why have you come up here, Ms. Marlon?”“I just want to check in on you. How’re you feeling?”Gemma put on an ingenuous look while wearing a broad smile on her face as if she were Florence’s close friend. “I feel much better now, so you don’t have to worry too much. ”Florence smiled back at her politely and proceeded to throw back the covers and get out of bed. She walked towards the bar counter in the room and asked, “What do you want to drink?”Gemma’s gaze was immediately directed to Florence’s leg across the floor, and except for her slightly slow steps when she was walking, she could discern that there was nothing serious about her condition at all. Why did Ernest have to carry her downstairs then if she was just doing fine?Gemma’s countenance took on a ghastly expression as she asked, “Your leg is fine?”