"I don't believe I've seen this young lady before."
Kendrick assessed Claire.
She had clear, striking features and a luminous complexion.
It made sense why Dane was drawn to her.
"That's exactly why I brought her to meet you," Dane replied effortlessly.
Kendrick understood the underlying message perfectly.
Dane wasn't interested in his granddaughter.
Autumn was a wonderful girl, but she was overly academic and incredibly dull.
If Kendrick didn't step in to secure a good marriage for her, she would get eaten alive by the world.
Dane was a man of solid character, free from messy scandals. Even if he didn't harbor deep feelings for Autumn, he would treat her with respect.
Autumn was a sweet girl who desperately needed protection.
Her parents played favorites.
If Kendrick didn't advocate for her, her parents would undoubtedly sell her off for a business deal.
It was a shame that the young man he valued so highly was just as susceptible to a pretty face as anyone else.
This girl was undeniably more gorgeous than Autumn.
But in this day and age, good looks couldn't put food on the table.
Since Dane hadn't introduced her family name, Kendrick assumed she came from an ordinary background.
Dane was still too young. He didn't understand that when it came to marriage, finding someone of equal social standing was crucial.
Still, it wasn't his place to lecture.
"She looks quite young," Kendrick noted.
Claire caught onto Dane's underlying strategy and played along perfectly.
Flashing a sweet smile, she said, "Hello, Kendrick."
"I'm just a college freshman, so I'm definitely a few years younger than Dane." Just a freshman?
And she addressed Dane by his first name so casually, proving Dane held a deep affection for her.
Kendrick shot Dane a loaded glance.
"Well, Dane is quite a bit older than you."
"That's okay. I don't mind that he's older." Claire's delivery was the picture of pure, innocent sincerity.
It wasn't a matter of whether she minded!
This girl was really something...
It seemed Dane was thoroughly captivated by this young woman.
"Kendrick, & didn't just bring her here for introductions. Finn mentioned your rheumatis flared up aga couple of days ago?"
Finn was Kendrick's grandson and Autumn's cousin.
Dane and Finn were close friends.
Kendrick had always treated Dane well, viewing him as a surrogate grandson.
Dane genuinely cared about the older man's well-being.
When he pulled Claire away earlier, he had briefly explained Kendrick's medical condition.
He hadn't explicitly mentioned using her as a shield against Kendrick's matchmaking attempts, but Claire was smart enough to connect the dots instantly
"It did flare up. Speaking of which, my condition is quite similar to Baldrick's."
"I heard your grandfather is doing much better lately. I was just about to ask which
miracle doctor he managed to track down."
He was half-joking about the 'miracle doctor' part.
"You're looking right at her," Dane said, a rare hint of humor in his voice.
"Her?" Kendrick was caught completely off guard.
Dane was trying to tell him this young girl was the miracle worker who cured Baldrick's severe rheumatism?
"Don't let her age fool you. She's a student of Hale."
Not many people knew Hale's name, but Kendrick, who had sought medical treatments for years, was well aware of him.
He knew Hale's ancestors were imperial physicians who possessed a legendary prescription for rheumatism.
"She's Hale's student?"
That was genuinely astonishing.
"How did you manage to find him?"
Kendrick had been trying to track Hale down for ages with zero success.
The Green Family's connections were truly a force to be reckoned with.
"It was purely by chance," Dane
explained, recounting how he had traveled to Apex to buy an agarwood pillow for his grandfather's re insomnia.
"That truly is a stroke of fate," Kendrick marveled.