Patton maintained his professional smile, his words impeccable. "Miss Karen, you're being too harsh. Every visitor is a guest, and Miss Isabella has always been an honored guest of the Blackwood family. Why would I ask her to leave? It's just... as you saw in the study just now, the old master is indeed not feeling well and needs his rest. I'm merely concerned that you two will waste your time waiting here."
"Besides, a distinguished guest is arriving soon, and the old master... truly cannot spare a moment."
The flawless excuse made Isabella's heart sink.
She wasn't a fool.
She knew perfectly well that Karen had been allowed into the study at first.
That meant Old Mr. Blackwood had been available then.
But he had time to see Karen, yet no time to see her.
She had waited here for an hour...
And still, Old Mr. Blackwood had no intention of seeing her.
Could it be...
Was even Old Mr. Blackwood bothered by her status now?
Although the news of Serena's return hadn't been made public, and her welcome banquet hadn't been held yet, a top-tier family like the Blackwoods would have surely received the news by now.
So, the reason Old Mr. Blackwood was so cold to her, not even willing to grant her a meeting, was because of that.
Was he holding the fact that she wasn't the true heiress of the Lancaster family against her?
At that thought, Isabella's heart plunged.
The panic and resentment swirling inside her almost shattered her composure.
But she didn't dare resent Old Mr. Blackwood.
She could only channel all her fury and frustration onto Serena.
As she spoke, Karen began to guide Isabella, intending to force her way into the old master's room.
Patton's gaze sharpened, and he immediately raised a hand to stop them. "Miss Karen..."
"Patton, Isabella will be marrying into the Blackwood family eventually. We'll be family, so we can dispense with all these formalities!" Karen said, pushing Patton's hand away.
Patton sidestepped her and blocked her path. "Miss Karen, please don't make this difficult for me."
Karen's temper flared. She lifted her chin, her face cold. "I am making it difficult. What are you going to do about it? You're just a butler for the Blackwood family. Are you actually going to lay a hand on me?!"
Just then, a commotion came from the main entrance of the Blackwood residence.
The sound of hurried footsteps approached.
A servant came running over. "Patton! Patton! Mr. Nicholas's car has arrived!"

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