The lady became furious when she heard this response. She was going to ask Anastasia to share how she captured the prince's heart. Of course, she knew this was the emperor's decision, but knowing was one thing, and acting ignorant was another.
The lady just wanted to make Anastasia uncomfortable, and she knew that many ladies present would be happy to make Anastasia uncomfortable, if possible, make her embarrass herself, but Anastasia did not play by the rule and brought the emperor forward.
The crown prince was so handsome and gentle that any woman associated with him would act shy and blush when he was mentioned, but Anastasia kept a straight face and acted as though the marriage was a big responsibility given to her by the emperor.
Not knowing how to proceed with her plan, the lady forced a smile and looked the other way.
The other ladies, waiting to see what happened, also turned the other way but did not continue to chat about the flowers. It was obvious that they were still trying to digest the news.
"Miss Magdalene, you are also a teacher; no need to be so humble; you join us, " Agatha said when she saw that Magdalene was ready to leave. To others, her words were honoring Magdalene, but Miss Maria knew she was mocking her for choosing to become a teacher rather than starting her own family.
Back then, Miss Maria was engaged to be married to Agatha's current husband.
Agatha is the daughter of Maria's family Steward. He had served the family since he was young and was like a part of their bother, and since the two were the same age, they grew up together. Maria's mother always wanted to have more daughters, so Agatha was treated very nicely. What Maria never expected was that Agatha would hook up with her fiance secretly and become pregnant.
This was a disgraceful act, but Agatha had no shame. She dared to come to her and ask her blessing to become a mistress to her husband. Stating that since they were like sisters, they could work well sharing a husband.
Miss Maria had been disgusted and refused, she did not expect such a betrayal from a friend.
Back then, she had never wanted to marry the man in the first place. If Agatha had told her that she liked him, she would have happily given her blessing. But she went behind her back and wanted to welcome a child before the main wife, this was unacceptable. It was a known fact that a young man could not welcome a mistress into his house until he was married and had at least one child with his legal wife.
A pregnant mistress was a disrespect to his wife, she could not accept it. Her father was also angry, but he felt that his family was the most comparable with his. So he decided to continue the marriage discussion after getting some benefits, but Maria would not have it.
In her opinion, she would become the topic of discussion after marriage and would be unable to raise her head in public. Moreover, it was evidence that Agatha had managed to capture the heart of her husband-to-be. What was the use of becoming his forgotten wife?
Her father did not care about these little details, even though people would gossip it was only for a while. He hated that she was holding on to that tiny mistake, so he threatened to send her to the monastery if she would not obey him. The next morning, she sent herself to the gate of the monastery. She would rather be a nun than marry with such disrespect.
Her action ruined the young man's reputation. No family of equal status were willing to marry out their daughter to him.
Since he could not get a wife from same circle Agatha become his wife. So Agatha benefited the most from Maria's actions.
A year later before she swore an oath to become a nun, her father came to the monastery to take her back home. He wanted to arrange another marriage but she refused.
Agatha had no idea that the decision to be unmarried and a teacher was made by marks. All this years, she had always thought that Maria had fallen from the sky to become a common teacher because of her pride.
After all, only women from small or poor families were willing to become a teacher, as it could help promote their social standing.
"Please sit, Miss Magdalene, " Miss Marua said. The smile on her lips remained polite and it did not seem she had been offended by that comment. "Nanny Lala you can also sit, if you lady does not mind, " Miss Maria said. Of course she knew that Elisabeth who loved to compute with her sister would allowed her.
"No, I don't dare share a table, " Lala rejected. Although, she was worried that after she left, Elisabeth would make some mistakes, she still knew her place as a nanny.
"If Miss Maria permits, you can sit down, " Elisabeth said. Although she knew that Nanny Lala should not share a table, she hated that Anastasia had Miss Magdalene by her side.
"You should sit, any way, your status is enough to sit here. Your lady allows it. Moreover, you have once been a mistress to lord Fortune, " Maria covered her mouth as though she just realize the mistake in those words. "sorry, you almost became his official mistress after you climb onto his bed, " Maria said. The smile in her eyes did not fade.
Lala felt like she had been stripped naked in public. She did not remember offending miss Maria, so she did not know why she would choose to embarrass her.
When Agatha heard those words, her gaze turned red with embarrassment. Most of the ladies' presence knew how she had gotten married to her husband. As a proper lady, it was disgraceful to climb into a man's bed before getting married.
Although she pretended not to care for many years, it was still a dark spot in her life.
"How can you let her seat with you with such a reputation? " a young lady asked. Although everyone seemed to be minding their business but, after knowing that Anastasia was the crown prince wife-to-be
They paid a lot of attention.
Many of these ladies were looking for something to pick on about Anastasia. Indeed, if her(Anastasia) teacher did not know proper etiquette, it would mean that Anastasia was not qualified to marry the crown prince. So, the lady jumped into the conversation even if her behavior was rude.