Elisabeth did not like to be kept hanging. If they were anywhere else, she would have demanded an answer, but they were in class, and the teacher would walk in any moment.
Elisabeth did not want her kind image affected by her outburst, so she took a deep breath to calm herself. "What is the point of waiting? You can share the good news with your sister, " She commented.
Although she sounded interested in hearing the good news, Elizabeth hoped it was a bad match. After all, Anastasia did not have good knowledge of what was happening around the noble circle.
Anastasia frowned when she heard this request. She did not consider her marriage to the crown prince as good news. It was primarily thanks to her dream two nights ago and the fact that she felt unworthy.
Seeing Anastasia frown, Elisabeth felt more at ease. To her, she was confident that the marriage was not such a good match. Perhaps it was some old lord.
Elisabeth used her handkerchief to press against lips to cover her mouth at this thought. It seemed she was trying to clean something, but her real reason was to stop herself from giggling.
It was evident to her that Anastasia did not get engaged to a good match, but laughing would ruin her image.
Her nanny told her that she must guide her image all the time. "Sister, you can not keep such good news to yourself. You have to share with me so we can celebrate together, " Elisabeth said and finally walked to her seat. She felt it was stupid of her to almost fall into Anastasia's trap.
Many servants had seen her(Anastasia ) looking downcast the previous day. How could it be from excitement? It was evident enough to prove that the marriage was not good.
"There is no hurry, " Anastasia said. She could guess what was happening in Elisabeth's head, but she was not in a hurry to correct it.
Elisabeth's reaction made Anastasia wonder if the duchess was also ignorant. 'could it be that her goodwill this morning was just another drama for the duke to watch? Anastasia frowned as she thought in that direction.
Pressing her lips together, she decided to push the thought out of her mind. After all, no matter how much she thought about it, she could not fingure out the Duchess's thoughts.
Elisabeth's smile spread over her face when she saw Anastasia pouting her lips. She would ensure everyone knows about Anastasia's engagement at the party.
At that moment, a maid stepped into the classroom, "Lady Anastasia, the Duke wants you to go over the receiving hall, " The maid said. Her voice sounded polite.
Anastasia was surprised when she saw the maid enter, she had assumed she had come to deliver a message to Elisabeth. She did not expect to be the one.
"Are there guests in the receiving hall?" Elisabeth frowns. She had a bad feeling about Anastasia getting her father's attention.
"yes, " The maid replied.
"Then I should go and greet them, " Elisabeth got up and followed after the maid and Anastasia.
...
Receiving Hall.
When Anastasia got to the receiving hall, the Duke and Duchess were seated on one side of the hall.
Three strangers were seated on the other side. Anastasia could tell from their outfit that the three work in the palace from their outfit.
"Father, your Grace, " Anastasia greeted her parent first before she acknowledged the presence of the three strangers in the room.
The Duchess nodded warmly, but she was secretly tweaking her handkerchief in annoyance. 'when did this stupid girl learn to be proper, " she wondered as she had expected Anastasia to make a mistake and leave a bad impression on the representative present.
Elisabeth was only a few steps away, "Father, Mother, " she had a graceful smile that froze when she noticed the people from the palace sitting on the other side.
Elisabeth had followed Anastasia to the receiving hall because she guessed that the guests were from Anastasia's proposed husband. She was curious to know who Anastasia would be married to, but she could not understand why there was a eunuch instead.
If it were some low-ranking Eunuch, Elisabeth would not have been alarmed, but this Eunuch served under the emperor.
His presence in their home was like receiving the emperor. After all, only the emperor could command him. More so, the two women in his company also had high positions in the palace. The woman next to the Eunuch was a lady-in-waiting to the empress. Although not sure of the last woman's position in the palace, Elisabeth knew that if she could sit with the lady-in-waiting, then her position was not inferior to the eunuch or the lady-in-waiting.
"Why would Father send for only Anastasia when we had such important guests? " Elisabeth had a bad feeling.
"This is my daughter Anastasia, " Duke Thomason introduced. He had not sent for Elisabeth as he was worried about her reaction when she found out that her sister would marry the crown prince.
He knew well enough that the sisters did not get along. So the Duke was worried that she would say something uncalled for and embarrass the entire family.
The Eunuch and the lady in waiting cast their gaze on Anastasia. Since she did not attend any royal functions, it was the first time they would be meeting her.
"Duke Thomason is blessed with a beautiful daughter, " The lady-in-waiting commented after a few moments of looking at Anastasia: the Enunch and the other lady hmm, in agreement.
The Empress was not satisfied with the emperor's decision to have her only son marry the daughter of a mistress. So, she had sent her to look into what was unique about the girl.
"Thank you, " The duke received the compliment with a smile.
"Duke Thomason, I am sure you know why we are here today, " The Eunuch said. He had no time to beat around the bush.
Elisabeth frowned when she saw that the Eunuch did not allow her father to introduce her.
It was customary for the duke to introduce Anastasia first. After all, she was the oldest, but the Eunuch behavior of not allowing herself to be introduced humiliated her.
"According to custom, we are here to propose marriage between your daughter Anastasia and His Royal Highness Prince Edward, " the eunuch continued, not knowing what Elisabeth was thinking.
Elisabeth trembled all over at the Eunuch's words. Although she heard everything he had said, Elisabeth felt that she had suddenly become stupid as she could not understand their meaning.
Elisabeth was not the only one who was shocked by this news. All the servants present were also shocked. If not because of their years of training, they might have dropped the things in their hands. Even the Duchess, who was already aware of the news, bowed her fist secretly.
"This marriage should be between the Duke Thomason family and the royal family, " the Duchess wanted to correct the Enunuch. Still, she did not dare as she knew the man before her represented the emperor.
Duchess Anita cursed her husband in her head. When the people from the royal family arrived, the duchess thought that she would use their visit to spread the news that the royal family wanted to marry a daughter from the duke's household. Then, allow people to speculate and believe that Elisabeth was the chosen bride. This way, she could steal the marriage for her daughter without having a stain on her reputation.
Who would have thought that her husband would take the initiative to send for Anastasia?
Although she knew this action would affect her plans, she thought she could use the excuse that Anastasia was not presentable to push her daughter forward.
Duchess Anita was delighted when her daughter followed Anastasia to the receiving hall as this would allow her to suppress Anastasia and shine.
What she did not expect was for the eunuch to ignore her daughter and propose marriage on behalf of the emperor to Anastasia.
If the Eunuch had said the emperor wanted to unite the two families, it would have created a whole loop for Duchess Anita to explore, but his statement made it clear that Anastasia was the chosen bride, making the situation difficult for her(The Duchess )
Anastasia felt a sense of bewilderment. Even if the Duke had told her of this marriage, she expected the duchess to snatch it for her daughter before the royal family officially made a proposal.
"Could father really be doing this to make up for all the wrong, " she wondered.