If Leland didn’t return home for a day, he would call and have the servants hand the phone to Winifred, just to hear her voice.
Most of the time, Winifred was indifferent to him, but if he kept talking, she would eventually get annoyed and say, “Are you done yet?”
It didn’t matter what she said; as long as he could hear her voice, even if she was scolding him, it was enough.
When he got home, Leland would habitually ask the butler what Winifred had done that day and how much she had eaten for lunch.
The butler would tell him everything.
Leland had arranged for twenty or thirty servants at Autumn Joy Estate. It wasn’t just because the place was large and needed many people to maintain it; it was also to keep an eye on Winifred. To put it bluntly, he was monitoring her.
Not only did he arrange for people, but there were cameras every ten meters along every path in the house. It was impossible for Winifred to leave without being noticed.
He didn’t really need to watch her so closely. Even if she did manage to leave, she had a tracker on her. He could find her even if she left the country. But he felt more secure with more people and cameras in place.
Winifred was like a butterfly caught in a spider’s web; no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t escape.
When Leland learned that Winifred was outside looking at flowers, he followed her. After a few steps, he saw her standing under a camellia tree. Despite the heat, she was wrapped up in long sleeves and pants.
Not far from the camellia tree was a rose garden. She couldn’t get close because she was allergic to pollen, so she watched from a distance.
Leland approached her from behind and hugged her. Winifred had grown accustomed to such intimate gestures and endured them silently each time.
“Aren’t you hot wearing so much?”
Of course she was hot. Winifred’s body was delicate; she couldn’t stand heat or cold and often fell ill. In this weather, wrapping herself up made her unbearably hot. But she’d rather suffer than expose the marks on her body for the servants to see.
Even though they had already seen and knew about them.
Covering herself allowed her a bit of self-deception.
“Tomorrow I’ll take you to the club.”
Being held by him made Winifred even hotter and uncomfortable. She felt irritated. “I don’t want to go.”
Leland’s voice was gentle. “That’s fine too. We can stay in bed all day tomorrow. But then you’ll have to wait another two weeks before you can go out again.”
He emphasized “in bed,” clearly reminding Winifred of something.
Winifred looked at the roses, which seemed like pools of blood. She took a deep breath and lowered her lashes. “Fine, I’ll go. But tell me, who else will be there tomorrow?”
“Just some usual business associates. I’ve reserved a private room. Don’t worry; it’s not some chaotic place. I know you don’t like those.”
Winifred disliked places like bars; they were too noisy with heavy smells of smoke and alcohol.
A lady of her stature, raised like a princess, should live in a luxurious castle-reading books, practicing calligraphy, painting, learning music, and occasionally looking at flowers-a simple yet dull life.
Winifred’s thoughts shifted; this time she genuinely wanted to go out with Leland. She’d been confined here too long and meeting his associates might help her understand him better.
She couldn’t just sit here waiting for fate.
Having made up her mind, Winifred’s expression softened considerably.
The next morning after breakfast, the people Leland had called arrived at Autumn Joy Estate.
There were about ten people-some carrying clothes, others holding makeup boxes or shoes.
These were stylists Leland had called to dress up Winifred. Though reluctant, she was ushered into the dressing room by this swarm of people despite her resistance.
Fortunately, the place was spacious enough that even with all these people and their belongings, it didn’t feel crowded.
She sat in the chair with her eyes closed as makeup artists worked on her face. They dressed her in a light green slip dress with a cardigan over it. The makeup artist skillfully covered any marks on her exposed neck so they were completely invisible.
A necklace perfectly adorned her collarbone. It had been a long time since Winifred wore such a dress; feeling the cool air on her legs made her uncomfortable.
She instinctively lowered her head or used her hand to cover the bite marks on her collarbone, even though they were concealed with concealer.
Leland checked the time and went upstairs when it seemed about right. At the door, he saw Winifred turn around; his eyes flashed with amazement.
Meeting Leland’s gaze made Winifred feel like an adorned pet being shown off for appearances’ sake.
“Let’s go; the car is ready.”
Today Leland wore his usual black shirt with buttons fastened all the way up, accentuating his broad shoulders and narrow waist-a cool demeanor.
With a wave of his hand, everyone understood instantly and began packing up their things quickly before leaving the room. He walked over to Winifred and held her close, whispering in her ear, “Wear this tonight too.”
Winifred’s expression didn’t change but she felt uneasy inside.
Leland took Winifred to a hotel club where they had already been expected. As soon as they got out of the car, sharp-eyed staff members hurried over to greet them and lead them inside.
In the private room were about twenty people including servers. Winifred glanced around without counting precisely.
She didn’t recognize most of them but could tell from their demeanor and attire that these were important people-those who could associate with Leland weren’t ordinary folks; they were top-tier individuals from Peachshire Town.
The further inside they went, the more attention focused on Winifred until she instinctively lowered her head slightly.
As soon as Leland arrived someone started teasingly saying: “I didn’t believe Lawrence when he said you’d come today-and with company no less.”