“She is proud of her conservatory. Perhaps you have an interest in building one on your property?” Soothcoor suggested.
“That is a perfect idea. I believe I have the perfect location for it, too.”
“The terrace off the morning room?” James asked.
“Yes. And I can ask if that is a suitable location,” Cecilia said.
“I, of course, will be skeptical.”
“But you would never saynoto me,” she said coyly.
“Baggage.”
She laughed.
“You are well matched,” Soothcoor observed.
Was that a faint note of envy Cecilia heard in his voice? She looked at their friend, then back out the window at the manor house as they approached. She would consider what to do about that on another day.
John Coachman pulled the carriage up before the grand entrance to the manor. It was a neat, Palladian-style manor, covered in gleaming white stucco. Connecting at the left side of the building was a large glass and wrought-iron structure.
“An architect would most likely decry the despoiling of the Palladian symmetry with the conservatory addition,” James observed.
Soothcoor laughed shortly. “Yes, one tried. The Countess is very good at putting down such affronts and the people who make them.”
A footman opened the door as they climbed the front steps to the first-floor entry. Behind him came the butler, crossing the entry hall to them.
“Is my stepmother at home, Jamison?” Soothcoor asked.
The butler bowed stiffly. “Yes, my lord.”
“Please tell her I have come to visit and have brought my friends, Sir James and Lady Branstoke.”
“Immediately, my lord.” He walked toward a door on the left.
Cecilia looked around the hall. It had a grand vaulted ceiling, painted to look like the blue sky, with billowing white clouds. The walls were painted blue, the trim and columns at either end of the gallery style entry were painted bright white.
“The Countess must love the outdoors,” Cecilia observed.
“Yes, but like most people with red hair, she burns in the slightest sunlight. When she goes out, she wears the most outlandish large bonnets.”
“I am very grateful for my bonnets,” said the Countess from the door to the left.
She came toward them. “To what do I owe this visit, Alastair?” she asked, looking from him to the Branstokes and back. “I thought you and Charles had gone to Coor Castle for the holidays.”
Alastair brushed her cheek with a kiss. “We had. I rushed back when I learned Owen had sent Christopher to me, but the child had been kidnapped. I came to tell you Christopher has been found. Since Lady Branstoke has been talking of having a conservatory addition to their new estate in Kent and has been questioning me about yours, I invited them to come with me to see yours when I brought you the news about Christopher.”
She looked at the Branstokes and smiled graciously. “I am pleased you have an interest in my little passion. Come, let’s adjourn to my parlor. It connects to my conservatory, and you will see how beautifully the connection works to bring the wondrous outside into the house. The conservatory extends the width of the house and connects to the dining room as well. Sometimes in the evening I will eat at that end of the conservatory instead of the dining room, if the moon and stars are bright enough.”
In the parlor--done in shades of green with foliage wallpaper and floral fabric-covered furniture--the sofa and chairs faced the conservatory, not the fireplace, as was common. Cecilia noted with some amusement that the gown she’d chosen to wear that day matched perfectly with the Countess’s décor.
“You have created quite a comfortable room,” Cecilia enthused.
Lady Soothcoor smiled. “Thank you. I enjoy it. This is my favorite room in the house. In the spring, the conservatory is a blaze of color. There are some plants blooming there now, ones Jonathan has coaxed to ignore nature’s timetable,” she said with a laugh.
“Jonathan?” Soothcoor queried.
“Dr. Lakewood, Alastair.” She said with a little smile. She rang the bell, and when it was answered, she requested refreshments be brought in.
