“Yes, milord.” The young man picked up the letter and departed the room as quickly as he’d entered.
Charles turned his attention back to his wife. He picked up his tea and took a sip. “Hopefully, we’ll have a response in a day or two.”
“I’m sure your brother will be prompt.”
“Yes, I’m sure he will be,” he replied.
Cathryn picked up a small cucumber sandwich from her plate and bit into it. “Are you going to talk with someone about finding us a house?”
“I thought I’d wait and see what Arthur has to say. It’s too far north here, and the house needs a lot of updating and renovations to come up to the times.”
“You’re right about updating. Would you still consider London?”
“Yes, but where would we go during the summer? No one stays in town during the summer. So that’s a bit of a quandary right there. I thought we could find somewhere not far from London to live. That way during the summer we could either stay at my family’s home in Mayfair or go home to the country.”
“That’s a smart move.”
He reached for his scone to slather some jam on it. “You’ve been around much more than I have. Is there any place you’d like to look?”
“The Cotswolds is a large area and there are a good many beautiful places. It’s not far from your family or London.”
“Anywhere else?” he asked.
“By the sea?”
“Somewhere in particular?”
“Somerset area is quite nice. My mother’s sister used to live in a house overlooking the sea. Now she’s no longer with us and the house is just sitting there.”
“What happened to your uncle?”
“The last time I heard my mother mention my uncle, she said he could not bear to spend time in that house and moved to Italy after accepting a position with a shipping company whose home base was somewhere in Italy.”
“I’ve heard of that happening before. It makes for a sad situation.”
She nodded. “Yes, it does.”
“Who lives in the house now?”
“Their son, Monty.”
He smiled broadly.
“What? Did I say something funny?”
“No. I was merely smiling because you finally shared something about your family.”
“That’s not true. I’ve shared before. I’m just not happy with them right now, particularly my parents.”
“I was teasing.”
She arched a brow. “Your attempt at humor? Bad, really bad, Charles.” She smiled and giggled.
“Something more for you to teach me,” he replied and winked at her.
“Depending on what your brother says, we’re going to look in Gloucester and Somerset. What if he offers the wing at the manor house? Is that something you’d consider?”
“I’m not sure. It needs to be updated, like this house, and York is a good way off from the families.”
