Chapter 47: Grace’s birthday (5)
Although the party for my birthday was definitely the last thing I expected from the outset, I must admit that it was quite enjoyable.
In the end, these people really tried to make me happy, even though I didn’t even ask them to.
However, in the end, it was really the first time in my life that anyone had organized such an event for me.
When the stream of congratulations finally subsided, it was time to hand out the gifts. And the first, as expected, was Ruby.
"Auntie, my gift isn’t very special, but I hope you like it," the girl said shyly before handing it to me.
"What are you talking about?" I smiled. "Any gift from my Ruby will be the best!"
Rubyella visibly cheered up after my words and then handed me her gift with more confidence in her voice.
"So... this bracelet, I made it myself! I really tried very hard!"
Oh.
When I saw the little decoration that Ruby had made especially for my birthday, the smile on my face only grew wider.
Of course, since the bracelet was made by a child, it was quite simple.
I had no idea where Ruby got the colorful beads for it. Maybe she took them from some other jewelry, or maybe she asked Edison to buy them especially. But in any case, the bracelet was really very cute.
"Thank you. I’ll be happy to wear it!"
With that, I immediately put the bracelet on my wrist, confirming my words.
And even though the bracelet didn’t match the rest of my outfit at all, I didn’t care. After all, my favorite niece had made it especially for me!
When Ruby saw me wearing her bracelet, her cheeks instantly flushed.
It was so cute that I couldn’t help but kiss her on the cheek.
"Thank you, Ruby. It’s a truly wonderful gift."
After such a wonderful gift from my niece, I doubted that any of the other gifts could outshine it.
And yet, the other gifts still caught my attention, and some even surprised me, as most of them turned out to be quite unexpected.
"Ma’am, ahem..." Edison cleared his throat before handing me his gift. "I thought long and hard about what I could give you that would be worthy of you. In the end, I could only come up with one idea..."
At that moment, the butler unexpectedly took a box tied with a festive ribbon from behind his back. I couldn’t even guess what might be inside.
"Is this...?"
"Please open it."
After these words, I hesitated, then untied the knot on the box. And what I saw there really amazed me.
The butler’s gift turned out to be a tea set that looked quite expensive — I could even say with certainty that it cost a fortune.
The teapot, cups, and teaspoons were made of real silver and encrusted with precious stones.
And, to be honest, I couldn’t understand where the butler could have gotten the money for such a gift.
No, it wasn’t that I was an unscrupulous employer and paid my servant little, but it wasn’t enough for him to be able to afford such expensive luxury items!
The silent question in my eyes was too obvious, and before I could ask anything, the butler explained:
"Madam, this was the master’s favorite tea set, which he always used. I found it and restored it to its former condition — especially for you!"
Ah, so it was my father’s tea set.
Well, then everything made sense.
What’s more, it seemed that Edison had really put a lot of effort into it, because the set looked excellent and shone as if it had just been bought in a store. Nevertheless, I still couldn’t help but ask one question.
"Ahem, so you mean you just found it by accident...?"
I couldn’t believe that such a precious tea set, which Harris Weinstein cherished so much, could have been gathering dust in a warehouse all this time.
Especially considering how reverently Edison treated the memory of his former master and cherished every item he left behind.
So, of course, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
In the end, the butler had to confess, blushing slightly:
"Actually, I didn’t find it by accident..." he said awkwardly. "The thing is, I’ve been keeping the set all this time."
"What?"
"I know I should have given it to you earlier, but I was afraid. I was worried that you might sell it, like many other things, and then a precious piece of memory of my master would be lost..."
As the old man made his excuses, I narrowed my eyes.
Although it seemed that the butler had deliberately hidden my family’s heirlooms, I couldn’t completely blame him for it.
After all, the real Grace would probably have done exactly as he said.
It was Grace Weinstein’s inability to manage finances that had once brought the estate to such a sorry state, burdened by enormous debts.
Nevertheless, although I had managed to rectify the situation over the past three years, the butler probably continued to have misgivings and kept some of the family valuables with him just in case.
The fact that he had now finally decided to give them to me showed that Edison trusted me completely.
Perhaps I could have been a little angry with him for deliberately hiding them, but on my birthday, I didn’t want to do that. Instead, I accepted the tea set with a smile and thanked him.
"Thank you. I will enjoy using it."
After my words, the butler’s face lit up almost as much as Ruby’s.
And yet, even if my father’s tea set was indeed a valuable heirloom, the bracelet made by my niece still held the top spot in my heart.
After the butler, it was Enoch and Angela’s turn to give gifts.
The heroine’s adoptive father approached me awkwardly, and I expected to receive anything from him, but suddenly he handed me a bouquet of flowers.
The flowers were beautiful, with delicate lilac buds.
"Happy birthday, Lady Weinstein!"
"Happy birthday, Auntie!"
When the two of them shyly congratulated me at the same time, I smiled and accepted the bouquet from his hands.
Flowers are a suitable gift for any occasion. In this respect, Enoch proved to be very practical.
"Lady Weinstein, I don’t know if this gift is too modest for you... But when I was thinking about what to give you, nothing came to mind. You already have everything, and I doubted that a simple man like me could offer you anything. So instead of buying a gift, I decided to be sincere and make it myself!"
"What?"
"I planted these flowers myself and grew them for several months so that they would bloom beautifully and please your eye. Angela also helped me a lot in caring for them! She even watered them every day!"
When the man said this with such enthusiasm, I was visibly embarrassed and looked away.
I had no idea that Enoch and Angela had grown these flowers especially for me, instead of just buying them in a store. It was indeed a very sweet gesture.
"Thank you. I will definitely put them in the most prominent place in my office."
After I said that, Enoch and Angela blushed noticeably, and I just smiled slightly.
Finally, it was the last person’s turn to give a gift.
Roger Dickens was visibly nervous, and I wondered if his gift would surprise me as much as the previous ones. Unexpectedly, it did.
After a short pause, Roger suddenly took a small, neat box out of his inside pocket.
"Happy birthday, lady..." he muttered awkwardly.
"Yes, thank you, Sir Roger. What is it?"
At first glance, it looked like there was a piece of jewelry in the box. And I was almost right.
"Please take a look."
After his words, I opened the box and, in the end, couldn’t help but gasp in surprise.
Instead of the expected jewelry, there was a real gemstone in the velvet box!
Moreover, at first glance, I immediately realized that it was...
"A sapphire," Roger said aloud, voicing my thoughts.
To be honest, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
Not only because I didn’t understand why Roger decided to give me a stone instead of jewelry, but also because... sapphires were incredibly rare in this empire.
From what I had heard, even many aristocrats could not afford jewelry with sapphires. Only the imperial family or a powerful family such as the Duchy of Dickens could afford it.
And this was not just a tiny stone in a piece of jewelry, but a whole stone!
And a rather large one at that.
I tried to estimate how much money Roger would have had to spend on this stone, and realized that I couldn’t even imagine it.
In other words, I looked at him in complete shock.
Roger Dickens... What exactly was this guy trying to achieve when he suddenly decided to give me something like this?!