When Henson received news that Peter had returned to the country over the phone on Sunday morning, he arranged to meet up with him.
He wanted to boast to him that he managed to secure a girlfriend, so he made sure to string Wendy along before he left the house.
While following him into the car, she asked annoyedly, “Where are you taking me this time?”
“To go drinking,” he answered succinctly.
“I’m sure you’re very aware that I’ve quit drinking, right?” she replied anxiously.
“Well, if you don’t want to, I will,” he said.
“What’s up with you drinking in the middle of the day? Did something bad happen?” she asked with a frown.
“Peter’s back, and I told him that I already have a woman. He said he didn’t believe me so I made you come with me so that he can eat his words,” he snickered.
She didn’t know what to say to that at first. “You sure that this kind of thing gives you bragging rights? Men like you can easily snatch up any woman from the streets so long as they want to,” she argued.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken. I’d argue that it’s men like us who’ll usually get tunnel vision when we meet our fated half,” he explained.
“‘Tunnel vision’, huh? We’ll see,” she thought to herself and smiled.
Upon arriving at the clubhouse, Henson led her into a private room
to see that Peter had already arrived. “Where are the other two?” Henson asked with an eyebrow raised.
“Moishe’s in France while Mason’s in Shanghai right now,” Peter answered
and his gaze slowly fell upon Wendy.
However, Wendy was also doing the same to him at the moment.
When their gazes met at the halfway point, she gave him a polite nod.
The man sitting in front of her had very prominent facial features, but he was still very handsome. He had a muscular build under his darker than average skin. She didn’t manage to gauge his height based on the fact that he was seated though.
But when Henson went over to sit beside him, the two of them looked to be of equal height, so she deduced that Peter was probably just as tall as Henson was.
Once Henson noticed that she was still eyeing Peter up and down, he spoke up, “What might you be looking at right now, darling?”
‘Darling’?
This caused Wendy to shiver in disgust as she turned to face Henson with a flabbergasted look on her face.
He burst out laughing at her expression soon after. “Aren’t you afraid that all that staring might make Mr. Soldier here blush?” he joked.
She merely walked over and took a seat beside him in response. “I was just curious, alright? This is my first time meeting a soldier, after all. But since he didn’t put on his uniform today, naturally that got me thinking,” she said sheepishly then
flashed Peter a grin. “Good day, sir. Wendy’s the name,” she greeted.
Peter then looked over to Henson and gave him a smirk. “What an interesting young woman he managed to get for himself,” he thought.
But ‘sir’ though? Where’d this come from?
“Nice to meet you, Miss Evans. If it’s not any trouble, you can just call me Peter like how you usually address Henson,” Peter said.
‘Peter’? That just sounded… odd to her.
She then turned to Henson with a puzzled expression on her face. “Should I not have called him ‘sir’ just now?” she asked quietly.
“Peter’s a Battalion Commander, so if you don’t feel comfortable calling him by his first name, you can either call him Sir Burke or Commander Burker,” he replied as he tried his best to contain his laughter.
“What a title…” she thought.
“Anyways, I’ve heard a lot about you, Commander Burke,” she said cordially.
“Well, it does appear that I’m a pretty prolific figure in San Diego,” Peter replied calmly.
“She was just being nice, you know,” Henson said with an eyebrow raised.
“Miss Evan’s so much more different than you greedy capitalists to me,” Peter replied.
“Says the righteous one with the uniform,” Henson scoffed.
Her eyes started smiling as she heard the two of them banter with one another.
It was so rare for her to see Henson have so much fun with someone else. Even in front of Mason was he still stone-faced as ever. But she could see that he was starting to let loose with Moishe from the last time they met.
Apparently, the four masters were on pretty good terms with one another, which made them stand true to their name.
She felt that it was an honour for her to be able to witness such a nice portrait of their family.
After Henson had finished talking, he casually placed an arm over her shoulder. “Despite being such an upright person, you’re still single! On the other hand, I already have someone to love. We are not the same,” he boasted.
Peter rolled his eyes at him and took a swig.
“K. O.!” she snickered to herself on the inside.
She butted his tummy with her elbow afterwards to remind him not to get so cocky. After all…
“Sure, you might be a ladies man and I admit that I’m jealous of that too, but I feel the need to remind Miss Evans that this man here attracts all kinds of girls into his yard. He’s such a playboy,” Peter snickered.
Upon seeing Peter’s smug face, she turned back to Henson. “K. O.!” she snickered to herself once again.
“Hey, that was a personal attack on your part! Stop playing dirty,” Henson huffed as he glared at him.
“I was just telling you the truth. How’s that a personal attack?” Peter probed.
“When have I attracted girls into my yard?” Henson shot back.
“You know, those bees you attracted, which you also sent my way,” Peter answered flatly.
Henson then crossed his arms in annoyance. “What bees? You better explain yourself,” he said sternly.
If he didn’t, Wendy would definitely start letting her thoughts loose and start nitpicking at him again.
Peter started acting like an evil henchman for a while as he glared Henson back.
“Heh, this brat seemed to have picked up a real one this time round,” he thought.
“When I returned home last night, I decided to pay my grandfather a visit first. He told me that he did an oopsie by setting you up with the Young Miss from the Nicholson’s just to return the favour he owed you last time. Who could’ve expected the mother and daughter duo to actually visit him yesterday?
“Anyways, ever since Master Nicholson had passed, General Burke had started distancing himself from the Nicholson’s. And now there’s the issue of the mother and daughter duo paying him a visit. What do you reckon they went to him for?” Peter probed.
Henson’s expression turned icy cold in a flash. “The Nicholson’s really are a shameless bunch,” he scoffed.
“Exactly. My grandfather didn’t meet up with them due to his physical condition, but if they really had a few braincells lying around, they’d know that he doesn’t plan to meddle in their family’s affairs anymore. On that matter… I’ve heard much about how much the Young Missus adores you, and how she went around telling people about your engagement to her. Grandfather indeed blew a fuse when he heard that and he says he regrets not bringing up the matter with you,” Peter said
then raised an eyebrow. “Grandfather might be the one who pulled a few strings behind your back, but since the Young Missus first had eyes for you, doesn’t that count as attracting girls to your yard?” he snickered.
“Even if I wanted to attract pests to my garden, I’ll make sure to exterminate every last one of the Nicholson’s before they can even step foot there,” Henson said as he glared at him sideways.
She felt slightly embarrassed after she heard that as she sat in a corner.
Peter sensed this and didn’t go into it any further.
He then picked up the wine bottle to pour her a glass.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Burke, but I’m afraid I can’t drink,” she hurriedly stopped him.
This caused him to turn to Henson.
“She really can’t, once she gets drunk I won’t be able to stop myself,” Henson replied with a shrug.
“Heh, who knew there’d be someone in this world who could keep you on a leash,” Peter chuckled.
“There is. I’m not even afraid of people who want my life, just of people who care about the state of my liver,” Henson joked.
Her face instantly turned red and she rolled his eyes at him. “The man really said everything that was on this mind,” she thought glumly.
Peter could pick up on things fast and he immediately understood why Henson had called him out today. One was to show off his girlfriend to him, and the other was to provoke him.
He couldn’t believe that he’d still dare put an obstacle in front of him even when they’re out for a drink, despite his rare return trips back to the country. What an unscrupulous capitalist.
The two men then resumed chatting and drinking, while
she continued sipping on her fruit juice happily as a non-drinker.
Initially, she could still tune in to their conversation, but after a while, she realised that she didn’t understand a word of what they were saying, so, left to her own devices, she started letting her thoughts run wild.
One question was particularly prominent though.
Commander Burke had remarked that the mother-daughter duo from the Nicholson’s had arranged to visit General Burke just now, so did that mean that
they went to him for help?
And what would happen if he actually agreed to it?
The thought of Julia and Henson tying the knot together was enough to make her sick.