LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 11: A Gift For Him
"You want to help!" he laughed, he laughed hard making her flinch. "Leave Miss Witherland. I have shown enough kindness for a day."
Olivia was reluctant. But she knew she could not force him. Sighing, she placed the ointment on the table and left the room nodding.
Returning to her room, she opened the small wooden box hiding behind her clothes. It was a small box but it was stored like a hidden treasure. Oliiva took a key from the corner and opened it.
There was a small ring, a pearl chain, a few gold and many silver coins inside. She took out all the coins and counted. A look of disappointment flashing in her eyes but she sighed and held them tightly.
"I know that you would reject me, my lord. But I can only take small steps until I earn your trust." The sky had already been red when she had returned to her room. The long night had passed. She took a quick bath and changed her clothes.
When she reached the entrance of the main hall, many maids stared at her questioningly.
"I am going to the market." She informed the butler, "I need a carriage." The man raised a brow but did not comment on it.
"Of course, you can always take the blue one, my lady. I will inform the coachmen." gratified, Olivia left the palace. The butler stared at the leaving carriage with cold eyes. "Go and inform her grace about it."
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"I want to stop here." The carriage was stripped in front of the commoners market instead of the one exclusive for nobles.
She looked at the small money she had and sighed. But when she turned to meet the eyes of the coachmen, her face was full of smiles.
"I will return in two hours, paul. We will meet right here." the man nodded with a smile. It meant that he could do anything for those two hours. She knew that his house was nearby and his wife had a stall in this market.
"If only I had more money. I would have brought better things for you." The first law of making friends was gifting. Olivia had seen from a distance how Oriana had given precious gifts to nobles to make friends and develop connections.
She had seen how Damon was looking at the broken frame last night.
"Come here young girl, I have the best clothes in the market." Olivia shook his head with a polite smile.
She crossed many stalls of groceries, fresh fruits, sweets and desserts. Jewels and clothes where her eyes lingered for a few more seconds as she crossed them.
In the end, she stopped in front of a small stall and sighed.
There were a few vases, frames for the pictures and painting materials. But there were not many choices. Their quality was not as good as things in Damon's room. Even if he was an abandoned son, he was still a noble. While she..
Her eyes scanned each frame option for a long time till the man was irked.
"Girl! If you do not want to buy anything, step aside. There were still many waiting to buy the products." Olivia smiled. There was no one behind her. This stall was abandoned completely.
"I want a rare frame since it is a gift for a noble." she explained and showed her silver coins to the man. "But I only have this much." The man was about to chase her away. But when he noticed twenty silver coins in her hands, he paused.
"Ha! Then you are at the right place, girl. It is your lucky day." he took out a Cassetta frame from the pile.
"This one is made of pure sandalwood. Look at the engraving here and the fine design. It is mostly sold for five gold coins, but since you are my first customer for the day I will sell it to you at twenty silver coins." Olivia stared at the frame. It had two large swans drawn on each side finely with small stones used as their eyes.
The design was attractive enough that she nodded and gave the money without bargaining. Then she brought colors and a canvas. Finishing all the money she had except the last silver coin.
When she returned to the decided place, Paul was still not here. Her stomach growled multiple times as she waited for him. Her eyes lingered on the colors she had brought. They were not for a long time as used in the nobles painting. They were just replicas made for rich commoners' hobbies.
"Aye! You are back earlier." Paul smiled at her as he pulled the reins of the horses. "You are buying a painting?" He was surprised! The lord's birthday had passed already. Why was she buying a gift now?
"I am making a painting of my parents because I miss them." She was relieved that she took an old rag to cover the frame or they would have noticed it later in his room.
The man did not ask further after hearing her reply. It took her an hour to return. It was already late noon when she came back. The lunch had finished long ago.
Knowing that she would not find anything to eat even if she went to the kitchen, she returned to her room and locked the door. Gulping a lot of water, she started working on the painting. She could not ask him to pose for her.
It was a picture of his childhood. She had hardly seen it a few times.
"It would be hard to draw it without reference." Yet when she started, her hands did not stop moving. Except the random grumbling of her stomach, no sound could be heard in her room.
When she finally placed the brush down, she stared at the picture in her hands with a stunned look. The eyes looked so lively, and his features matched perfectly. But it was not his childhood picture. The clothes and the look in his eyes..
"It was last night!"