It would take a great deal of time and patience for the Englishman to warm up to Taylor, but Adelaide was more than confident that the roguishly handsome man would manage in due time. While clearly the French woman and her loyal companion were not related in the slightest, they shared many qualities that allowed for them connect on a level like they truly were siblings separated at birth. They were both almost equal in that stubbornness and determination to shape the world how they so desired, but the difference in this characteristic was drawn when it came to just who it was that won the larger number of their more heated debates on what should or shouldn't be done. The dark-haired woman was â€" much to her dismay â€" much like her wretched father in this aspect, able to sway Townsend on a majority if those instances where they didn't quite see eye to eye. She could be defiant, argumentative... and, as she was quickly discovering about herself ever since having flown over the ocean and moving to Sacrosanct only to happen upon the man that so captivated her the woman, she would even dare to go to the extent of being considered rebellious. Perhaps there was a part of the dark-haired woman that felt some degree to guilt knowing that she'd snuck out of the house without dear William's knowing, unquestionably certain that had he known what it was that she was up to or if he had heard her stirring, he would have quickly ended her little midnight rendezvous that she'd arranged in secret with Taylor. And yet, she'd managed to escape for the night all the same, and what a night it had ended up being...

Just the sound of those smooth baritones from the entryway of the house made it near impossible for the French woman to keep that soft smile from her lips as she revisited that night beneath the stars with the city lights sprawled out beneath them as they stood there on top of that little hill, a place that she hoped to return to with Taylor before too much longer. She would hold him to that offering of teaching her how to drive that roaring Harley, the very idea having her ever more eager to slip away from those ever-watchful icy blue eyes of the Englishman that she knew truly only had her well-being and safety in mind. Still, the whole reason she had fought tooth and nail against her mother and father to give her that freedom she had been near desperate for was so that she could live. It would take him just as long â€" if not longer â€" for Townsend to loosen that fierce diligence he held over her as it would for him to see the good in Taylor that Adelaide could as clear as day. She wasn't a child anymore. She wasn't that "delicate flower" that she'd been as a little girl that could have easily brought harm upon herself with the recklessness that her wild and untamed spirit craved to taste and never let go of. No, she was a strong and independent woman that had already begun to make her mark on the world as business at Beachside Bar and Bistro continued to flow with almost the same intensity as the day that those doors had opened to the world for the very first time. And so, it was time that she show Townsend that she was just as capable of anything as her father, only even better than that dreadful nobleman.

Adelaide hardly misses how the Englishman rolls his eyes at Taylor's greeting, and she is almost surprised that he offers to make Taylor breakfast. Was he feeling well, or was the old-fashioned man finally coming to terms with the idea that Taylor would always be around? At least, that was what Adelaide was hopeful for. It was hard to think that the man would vanish from her life after all that they'd shared between one another, all the feelings and the wounds that they'd made seen to the other with that sudden yet strong trust that had ignited between them from that very first night they'd met. It was hard to think that all those words, those promises, they would shatter like glass on tile when he wouldn't show up at her front door with that light in those hunter green eyes of his that she could swim through for the rest of her days. She trusted him, though, and every little look or smile that they shared wordlessly between one another was more than enough to assure her that he had no intentions of leaving either. It was enough for the French woman to push away that faint whisper of doubt in the back of her mind as the past tried to remind her that she'd felt like this once, and it had ended in nothing but pain and betrayal. No matter how hard it would try though, she would never let it warn her away from Taylor. No, he had shown her time and time again that he was nothing like Julien or the others that had been an ever so brief part of her life. She'd be damned if she let the past try and weigh on her future. She can hear his voice as he speaks to Reginald, the panting of the excited black and tan Beauceron that had gone to greet the man he'd found a friend in. When Taylor appears at the end of the hallway, Reginald seemingly adamant on keeping Taylor's hand on his proud head, she sees that twinkle in his eyes when hunter greens meet glittering sage. The French woman nearly forgets that they're not alone in that fleeting moment when the handsome man greets her with a nod of his head â€" which she was almost entirely certain was for Townsend that had given them a side-glance as he tended to the skillet â€" as his tenor tones returned her greeting, accompanied by an ever-teasing and playful wink that has her smile shifting into something coy."Well that's certainly good to hear. I'm sure you'll have much to do", she answers with amusement dancing over each lilted syllable as sage eyes follow him.

Reginald remains beside Taylor, moving into a perfect sit beside the man as asked for permission to pour himself a cup of coffee which was hardly denied as Townsend gave him an approving nod before turning back to finishing breakfast. It is only when Taylor moves around the island that Adelaide is sitting at that the black and tan male looks over to Rose, the harlequin female now sitting on her haunches by the fireplace as she watched in still silence at the stirrings of everyone â€" specifically Taylor â€" that were occurring in the kitchen. The woman returns his secretive grin and glance with a small, knowing smile of her own, she too entirely aware of how close their knees were. Boldly, she shifts subtly in her seat so that the miniscule space that had existed between then was quickly slain, that ever so slight and seemingly insignificant touch only growing that smile as she lifts her coffee mug up to gently parted lips to take another sip, hardly caring if Townsend could see that impish look she gave Taylor. She allows for them men to discuss the matters of yardwork, sage eyes watching as the Englishman then begins to divine the prepared meal onto separate plates, ensuring each plate was matched with a fork before he placed it between the pair, Adelaide naturally being served first."Thank you, Townsend. This looks amazing", she says warmly as she picks up that fork and begins to eat, her gaze shifting between the two of them with amusement and intrigue, wondering if today might be one day closer to when they might finally start seeing eye to eye.