Lord Benjamin Blackwell

Walters was standing in front of his employer, recounting the whole afternoon's scenario, not leaving out a single thing. At the end of his story, his employer was already smiling ear to ear. He seemed pleased with the outcome and stood up to pour himself and Walters a drink each.

"Lord Melvin and Duke Kensington tried to dissuade her?" He confirmed with Walters.

"Yes, they wanted her to see other places." Walters said.

"Did you mention my name?" Lord Benjamin asked while taking a sip of his drink.

"No, My Lord." Walters assured his Master.

"Good. Since she's coming in tomorrow, I want the contract to be ready by tonight. I will tend to it personally tomorrow." Lord Benjamin instructed his trusted agent.

"My Lord? You will meet Lady Melissa yourself?" A surprised look crossed Walters' face when he heard this. His Master had never bothered to deal with these trivial matters and would always assigned him to close such deals. Furthermore, this was just a simple lease agreement which he had handled countless times.

"Yes. Make sure everything is ready. I will be there tomorrow morning." There was a finality in his Master's tone. Walters promptly nodded and left the study.

In fact, Lord Benjamin Blackwell was so excited, he was already planning what he should wear tomorrow when he meet her. He had met countless women, bed so many of them, but none had been able to make him feel such excitement and anticipation.

He was in a good mood these past few days. He had successfully sent her gifts, there's the upcoming garden party at the palace and he had also heard that the marriage between Lady Melissa and Duke Kensington had been postponed. Now she was even coming in to meet him personally tomorrow. Everything seemed to be going in the right direction. With that thought, Lord Benjamin's smile grew wider.

The next morning, Lady Melissa woke up and got ready to meet with the estate manager. She was eager to get the contract signed and obtained keys to the place. Her father had instructed Sir Andrew to escort her and ensure her safety. Judging from Lord Melvin's sour face yesterday after she had stubbornly settled on the building choice, Melissa felt she ought to avoid seeing him today. Therefore, she instructed Lily to serve her breakfast in her room and asked Sir Andrew to wait for her at the main gate with the carriage ready. She had planned to dash out without her brother's interference.

At 10 in the morning, Melissa arrived at the estate office and she saw Walters was already waiting for her outside.

"My Lady, you're here. Let's go inside." Walters greeted her politely.

Melissa nodded to Walters and turned to Sir Andrew. "Let's go Sir Andrew."

Sir Andrew immediately walked behind his Mistress, staying close to her. Last night, Duke Malcom had called him and specifically instructed him to stay by Lady Melissa's side when they go to the estate office. He tend to do so!

The estate office looked ordinary, like any other offices in the future. There were table and chairs with employees busy doing their work. Walters guided them to an office and paused at the door before he turned to Lady Melissa.

"My Lady, with utmost respect, my Master doesn't like irrelevant people to be in his office. I must politely request for your escort to stay outside the room." Walters bowed slightly and addressed the issue politely.

Melissa pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement. Furthermore, there's a chair right outside the room, so Sir Andrew would still be near to protect her if anything happens.

"But My Lady, His Grace said.." Sir Andrew tried to object.

"It's alright, Sir Andrew. You'll be right outside the door. Nothing will happen, don't worry." Melissa quickly reassured him.

"Let's go Walters." With that, Walters knocked on the door and a voice sounded from inside.

When Melissa stepped inside the room, it was a sight that took her breath away. There were vases of red roses placed everywhere in the room. By the windowsill, on the coffee table, on the main table, and by the fireplace. Although she personally liked white roses, but to have such an abundant of beautiful flowers at one place was still a beautiful sight to behold.

Behind the main desk sat a very handsome man with the most intense pair of hazel eyes Melissa had ever seen. That man was smiling and immediately stood up to greet her when she stepped inside. His tall stature was similar to Duke Kensington, however he appeared more relax compared to the Duke. He strode over to where she was standing and extended his hand.

"It's my pleasure to meet you, Lady Melissa. I'm Benjamin Blackwell." Lord Benjamin took Melissa's hand and gave it a light kiss. 'She smells like roses.'

He guided her to the chair in front of the table and gestured her to take a seat, while he went back to his seat.

"Walters told me that you like the place?" Lord Benjamin started the conversation while staring at her adorable face.

"Yes, I like it very much. It's a well-designed building." Melissa smiled.

"Thank you for your compliment My Lady. I designed it myself." Lord Benjamin said proudly.

"You must be a talented man, Mr Blackwell." Melissa complimented the young man.

Walters who had been standing nearby flinched when he heard how the Lady addressed his Master. 'Did she not know who he is?'

Walters stole a glance at his Master but that man did not show any sign of displeasure at all. In fact, his eyes seemed to shine brightly when the lady mentioned his name.

"Please, just call me Benjamin. Calling me that makes me sound so old, I'm only 27, you know." He cheekily said.

"Alright. Benjamin, is the contract ready for signing?" Melissa smiled at this friendly man.

"Yes, it's ready. Walters." Lord Benjamin instructed Walters to hand the contract over to Melissa.

Melissa took the document and read it carefully. 'The contract in this era was not much different, just more flowery words and long winded.'

Lord Benjamin's eyes looked fondly at the beautiful girl seated in front of him. As she was reading the document, her long eyelashes fluttered and she appeared adoringly serious. He had the urge to lean over and pinch her nose while she's at it. His eyes traced downward to her lips and unexpectedly, Melissa subconsciously bit her lower lip at that moment. The image was so seductive that it made Lord Benjamin swallowed his saliva and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"I think the terms are acceptable, Benjamin." Melissa suddenly looked up and said to Lord Benjamin.

Lord Benjamin quickly recomposed himself and pretended to look for something on his desk.

"That's great! So, shall we sign it?" He handed a pen over to Melissa and she signed the document before handing it over to Lord Benjamin to sign it too. Once the process was completed, Melissa was given a copy of the contract and the keys to the building.

"My Lady, will you be doing any renovation to the interior?" Lord Benjamin asked her, seizing the opportunity to converse with her as much as he could.

"Yes, but don't worry, it will be minor fixtures. I hope you don't mind." Melissa was worried as from her past experiences in renting houses, landlords could be so particular and especially disliked when the tenants did renovations without approval.

"Not to worry, you can do whatever you wish to. Walters told me that you wish to open an art gallery?" Lord Benjamin probed further.

"Yes, it'll be my first gallery." Melissa explained excitedly.

"Interesting! I shall be your first customer when you're in business, My Lady." Lord Benjamin promised her.

"Thank you, Benjamin." Melissa liked talking to this man. He was so pleasant to talk to.

"My Lady, I wonder if we can be friends? But if you're not comfortable, I apologize for overstepping." Lord Benjamin tactfully asked.

Melissa chuckled and said, "Sure, it's always good to have more friends than enemies. Please call me Melissa then."

At the mention of that, something erupted in Lord Benjamin's heart, causing him to grin so bright that Walters almost fell due to shock. 'Is this Lady his Master's new target? Tsk, she's protected by so many men, it's not going to be easy.'

Walters still remembered the intimidating auras of the three men who accompanied her yesterday, especially that fierce-looking Duke Kensington. He sympathized with his Master's hard days ahead.