Chapter 244: Madam, Your Daughter and I Will Take Our Leave
"Looking for me? You, don't come any closer!"
Seeing Lorne's smile, Hazel subconsciously took a step back, her eyes filled with panic.
Looking for me—what is he looking for me for?
Blackmail? But he seems to be getting along so well with Mother, so it doesn't seem like it. Oh right! I promised him I'd do things for him!
She finally remembered that day's agreement. James Scott would keep her secret, and she, in turn, would do some things for him.
Although I promised you, but—but how could you come directly to my house! This is too much!
"You, how could you come to my house!" A mix of anger at her safe zone being invaded and immense shame made the tear-streaked Hazel temporarily suppress her fear, and she questioned him with a trembling voice.
"Cough, cough—"
Before Lorne could answer, her Mother, Liyana's, clearly displeased cough came first.
"Hazel, you are too impolite." Liyana's gaze swept over her daughter's disheveled nightgown, her tone carrying a hint of obvious reproach.
"What?" Hazel didn't react for a moment, her entire attention focused on the uninvited "evil guest."
"Heh." Lorne looked at her bewildered expression and couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
This soft chuckle instantly cleared Hazel's mind. When she saw Lorne's gradually widening smile, she suddenly realized something.
The way she looked right now—disheveled hair, wearing a nightgown, barefoot, and with tear stains on her face. Most importantly, this utterly embarrassing appearance of hers was fully displayed before James Scott!
"Ah!!!"
A sharp shriek burst from her throat.
Shyness, embarrassment, resentment—all sorts of complex emotions flooded her mind like a broken dam, causing her brain to instantly crash. She subconsciously covered her face, abruptly squatted down, wishing she could dig a hole and bury herself in it.
It wouldn't be gentlemanly to keep looking—Lorne promptly reined in his smile and turned his head away discreetly, giving the girl squatting on the ground a little space to maintain her dignity.
Liyana Macht was also slightly stunned by this sudden scene.
"Miss! Clothes! Clothes!" Fortunately, the maid reacted quickly, rushing over with a coat in hand.
Hazel grabbed it like a lifesaver. She looked up, snatched the clothes, and then ran towards the depths of the house without looking back.
"That—Mr. Scott, please excuse us." Liyana said to Lorne somewhat awkwardly, trying to maintain the hostess's composure.
"It's alright, Miss Hazel is as beautiful as ever." Lorne gently shook his head, his tone sincere. The day he caught her red-handed, Hazel had a similar reaction. To some extent, he was already somewhat accustomed to it.
Seeing Lorne's unperturbed demeanor, Liyana Macht's curiosity grew even stronger.
The other party seemed to have seen Hazel in a similar state before, and Hazel's tear-streaked appearance just now, as well as her shy urgency upon seeing him, even forgetting to change her clothes.
Could it be—
A bold idea quietly appeared in Liyana's mind. She subtly glanced away, beginning to re-examine the smiling, well-mannered young man before her.
Her daughter has always been more mature than her peers—
Are they—are they—
"Ah—I'm like an idiot!"
Hazel clutched her clothes, ran back to her room in one breath, then slammed the Door shut, buried her face in the quilt, and let out a suppressed, tearful wail of anguish. How embarrassing, so embarrassing! She had never been so disheveled in her life as she was today, and all of it had been seen by that scoundrel who held her secret!
Just then, the maid's voice came from outside the Door.
"Sister, the guest is still waiting for you. Mother said if it's inconvenient for you—"
"Inconvenient! Tell him to leave quickly!" Before the maid could finish speaking, Hazel interrupted her directly, her voice still tearful.
"I—I understand." The maid seemed startled and responded timidly.
"Wait!"
Just as the maid was about to turn and leave, Hazel suddenly called out to her again.
She bit her lip, took a deep breath, and tried to make her voice sound steady: "You—you tell James Scott to wait a moment. I—" She finally spoke with reluctance: "I, I'll be there soon."
After that incident, Hazel gradually calmed down and regained a bit of rationality.
She knew very well that even if she drove James Scott away today, as long as he didn't achieve his goal, he would definitely come again next time. Judging from his pleasant conversation with Mother just now, he clearly didn't intend to show his true colors yet. If she drove him away now, there was no guarantee he wouldn't use more aggressive methods next time.
As a well-educated young lady, she still possessed basic analytical skills.
Currently, the best option was to go out and meet him; driving him away would only increase variables.
"Damn it—I will never give in!"
Hazel clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and began to quickly change her clothes.
In the living room.
Lorne picked up his coffee and took a small sip. Liyana also picked up her red tea and drank it elegantly.
Because of Hazel's brilliant "performance" just now, the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward. Neither of them spoke first, seemingly waiting for something.
A short while later, Hazel, dressed in a proper home dress, walked over. Her hair was simply combed, but her eyes were still a bit red and swollen.
Her face was tense, and she glared at Lorne with ill intent.
"Hazel, you…" Madam Liyana looked at her daughter's clearly suppressed anger and was about to speak to smooth things over.
"Mother, could you please excuse us?" Hazel interrupted her directly.
"What?" Liyana was a bit surprised, not expecting her daughter's first words to her to be this. She had expected her daughter to first explain her rudeness just now, after all, in their upper-class families, appearances were very important.
"I need to speak with James Scott alone." Hazel ignored her Mother's surprise. She pointed at Lorne, her lips barely moving, almost squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth: "You—come with me."
"Clink."
Lorne gently put down his coffee cup, stood up, and bowed slightly to Hazel.
"My pleasure."
He turned his head to look at Liyana Macht, who was again surprised and covered her mouth, and said politely:
"Madam, please excuse us, your daughter and I will be leaving for a moment."
With that, he stepped forward and came to Hazel's side: "Not in a good mood?"
"With you here, how could I possibly be in a good mood?" Hazel retorted through gritted teeth.
"Where to, your room?"
"Hmph—"
Although their conversation was quiet, every word reached Madam Liyana's ears.
She watched the two of them leave side by side, in perfect sync, and was momentarily lost in thought, frozen in place.
Lorne followed Hazel, through the corridor, to a finely decorated but relatively small reception room.
"I thought you'd take me directly to your room." Lorne surveyed the small reception room, his tone tinged with a deliberate disappointment.
"Hmph! I would never take someone like you to my room!" Hazel slammed the heavy wooden Door shut, her tone unfriendly.
"If I were you, I wouldn't lock the Door." Lorne narrowed his eyes, his tone teasing: "If I really wanted to do something to you, you wouldn't even have anywhere to run."
"You—what do you want to do!" Hazel's body instantly tensed, she immediately crossed her arms over her chest, and retreated a few steps in fright, "I warn you, I have bodyguards at home!"
"Ah," Lorne shrugged, "Those bodyguards are ordinary people, you might not even be able to beat them, let alone me."
He took a step forward, lowering his voice:
"What do you say?"
"You—you! You didn't come today just to—" Hazel trembled all over, her eyes instantly reddened again.
"I—I will not give in! Don't you dare—don't you dare touch me!"
Clearly, she had already taken Lorne for a pervert who enjoyed doing certain things in other people's homes.
"Hey?! Do I really seem that desperate?" Lorne's forehead showed a few black lines. He admitted that the previous atmosphere was too awkward, he just wanted to make a joke to lighten the mood, who knew it would scare the other party like this.
However—seeing her look so scared and angry was quite interesting.
"Miss, you know quite a lot, don't you?" Lorne's lips curved into a teasing smile.
"You!" Hazel took a step forward in anger, a mix of shame and indignation, "What exactly do you want?! Just say it directly!"
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Lorne raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, "I came today, originally to find your father, Councilor Macht."
"Unfortunately, he's not home today."
"Looking for my father?" Hazel immediately became alert, "You really are here to extort me!"
"No, no, no." Lorne extended his index finger and gently waved it in front of him.
"I'm here to invite you to do business with me."
"Business?" Hazel's face was filled with confusion.
"Exactly, business."
Lorne stopped beating around the bush and roughly explained that he had acquired a firearms factory, was in urgent need of new sales channels, and wanted to ask Councilor Macht to help connect him. He also very "sincerely" invited Hazel herself to invest and start a business together.
"You want my father to pull strings for you? That's impossible!" Hazel refused without thinking.
"No, I just hope to connect with the military. And besides," Lorne said the most damaging words in the calmest tone, "Your father is only a member of the Lower House, even if he really wanted to pull strings, his rank probably isn't high enough."
"You—" Hazel was so choked she couldn't speak, she could only turn her head away in a huff, "Anyway, I'm not investing in your firearms factory!"
"Why not? Or are your future plans simply to inherit the family business and then live off your inheritance?" Lorne switched to a provocative tone, his eyes carrying a hint of "regret," "Or, to quickly find a suitable noble or wealthy merchant, marry them, and become a noblewoman with no ambition?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Hazel was proud. Although she herself wasn't sure about her future plans, Lorne's words sounded as if he was calling her an ambitious-less trophy wife, which instantly ignited her temper.
"Isn't that how women from families like yours plan their lives? Relying on the family, and then on their husbands—"
"—" Hazel bit her lip, unable to retort. Although it was a bit of a generalization, it was indeed a certain truth.
"Sister, I'm doing this for your own good."
"For my good?"
"I'm here today to invite you, and your father, to cooperate with me. You see, I am at a disadvantage—"
Lorne paused, the smile on his face becoming meaningful: "Actually, I could just come with those photos and force your father to cooperate with me."
"Even if he doesn't consider his own political career, he would have to consider the reputation of his precious daughter, wouldn't he? So, he would most likely choose to cooperate with me. In that case, I would have absolute dominance."
Seeing Hazel's face instantly turn pale, Lorne knew he had intimidated her.
"Miss, I'm giving you a lot of face." He spread his hands, looking like he was at a disadvantage.
"Not only have I given you an investment opportunity, allowing you more choices for your future, but I've also lowered myself this much."
"Think about it, once I threaten your father with photos, causing him trouble, then his connections will definitely be hindered, which is not in my best interest."
"So, my choice to cooperate with you now is equivalent to placing an insurance policy in your hands."
"If you invest, you can legitimately oversee this project and make all sorts of preparations."
"You see, your interests, and my interests, are both taken into account."
Hazel fell into a long silence, not saying a word.
Although there was an element of sophistry in what Lorne said, she had to admit that it did make some sense. At the same time, she felt a wave of lingering fear. She was afraid that if she didn't agree to help, the other party would really use those photos to coerce her father, in which case their family would only fall into a more passive situation.
"That—the investment, how much money?" She asked, head bowed, in a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"Not too much, one or two thousand pounds will do." Lorne replied with a smile.
"I—" Hazel fell silent.
"Is something wrong?"
"I—I don't have that much money." Hazel looked up, her voice as weak as a deflated balloon.
Hiss, it seems those in politics are not as rich as those in business after all.
"Alright, Miss, for the sake of our 'friendship,' I'll give you a discount."
Subsequently, the two briefly discussed details such as investment proportions, potential profit-sharing, and how to approach Councilor Macht.
"I'll say this first, I can't guarantee my father will definitely help." Hazel still emphasized this with reluctance at the end.
"It's alright, you tried." Lorne replied with a light chuckle.
He walked to the Door, unlocked it, and before leaving, he suddenly turned around and winked at Hazel, reminding her:
"Hazel."
"Hmm?" Hazel subconsciously looked up.
"We met at Mass in the church, remember?"
"Hey! Who allowed you to call me by my name without permission?!"
After Hazel reacted, her furious voice immediately came from behind him.
"Madam."
Lorne hadn't gone far from the reception room when he saw Liyana Macht at the corner of the corridor.
Seeing Lorne suddenly emerge, the other party also seemed a bit embarrassed, her eyes darting away.
Clearly, she had been unable to resist her curiosity and had tried to eavesdrop. But unfortunately, her family's soundproofing was too good; she hadn't heard any useful information.
She only saw this young man, now with a joyful expression, emerging from the reception room.
Seeing this, Lorne merely bowed slightly, expressing his intention to take his leave to the other party.
Madam Liyana nodded with composure, but just as Lorne was about to turn and leave, she suddenly called out to him.
"Mr. Scott—" Her tone was hesitant.
"Are—are you and Hazel really—just ordinary friends?"
"Of course, Madam."
"Otherwise, what kind of relationship do you think we could have?"