Back at the Cross Manor, Cecilia first saw off her painting tutor, a woman with a build similar to her own, which almost caused Annie to mistake the tutor for Cecilia.
"Mrs. Cross, for a moment I thought it was you leaving the house," Annie said as she respectfully placed a cup of hot coffee on the table.
"Ms. Jones was with me the whole time, teaching me to paint. I just went out to see her off," Cecilia replied casually.
"Sir was asking earlier if you were home. He's been paying a lot of attention to you lately."
Seeing Annie's genuine smile, Cecilia couldn't help but think of the man wearing the lion mask at the auction. Her expression became slightly unnatural.
'It seems Theodore has already started to suspect that I was the one who competed with him for the painting at the auctio
