Joseph glanced at her then back at Frederic. “I had suggested that our families have dinner with each other yesterday afternoon.”
“Yes, so my niece says though she neglected to tell us until mere seconds ago.”
“I told you twenty minutes ago,” Catriona expressed without thinking. Only when the words were out her mouth did she realize that it helped very little with her argument.
“Yes, yes, same thing,” Frederic said with a chuckle. Then his eyes fell to Joseph’s side. “And who is this lovely young lady?”
“Forgive me.” Joseph put a hand on Dorothea’s back, guiding her forward. She’d been standing so close to her father’s leg, one would assume that their clothes were sewn together. She seemed reluctant to step ahead. “This is Dorothea, my daughter. Dorothea, please greet them.”
Dorothea gripped the skirt of her dress and sank into a curtsy worthy of the queen. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” she said softly, her eyes on the floor.
“The pleasure is mine, young lady,” Frederic returned warmly. “These are my nieces, Ava and Maisie. And I’m sure you already know Catriona.”
Dorothea’s eyes fell on Ava, Maisie, and then Catriona last, expressionless. She said nothing, returning to her father’s side.
To Catriona’s surprise and pleasure, her sisters seemed to be behaving themselves. She only hoped it would last throughout dinner.
“It is nice to finally meet you, Your Grace,” Ava said, shooting forward. Maisie was quick on her heels. “Catriona has told us so much about you.”
“I have not,” Catriona felt the need to protest, approaching as well.
Ava ignored her. “She thinks you are quite handsome, you know. Which was quite marvelous to find out since she is rather hard to please.”
“I also do not recall saying such a thing.”
“Then do you not think I’m handsome?” Joseph asked.
Catriona blinked, her heart skipping a beat. “I… I’m not…”
“That means, ‘Of course, I do!’,” Maisie informed him with a laugh.
Ava was staring at Catriona with wide eyes “I don’t think I have ever seen Cat speechless. This is a momentous moment. Uncle Frederic, we should document this.”
“I have already committed the sight to memory, and I will call for our painter in the morning.”
Ava and Maisie laughed at her uncle’s response. Catriona almost did as well though she maintained her strict expression out of sheer principle. But she didn’t miss the twitch of Joseph’s lips.
“Why are we standing around like this?” Catriona asked. “We don’t want our guests to remain hungry for much longer.”
“Ah, yes, yes,” Ava agreed, nodding her head hard enough to shake a few curls loose. “Isn’t she such a good hostess? She would make a wonderful duchess.”
“I agree,” Joseph chimed in with a nod. “And she gets along rather well with Dorothea as well, which is quite the boon.”
Catriona flushed. Feeling the sudden urge to avoid Joseph’s eyes, she knelt next to Dorothea, taking her hand. “It’s nice to see you again, Dorothea. I hope you did not get in too much trouble that day.”
Dorothea slowly shook her head. “Daddy only sent me to bed early without dessert.”
“Without dessert?” Ava gasped dramatically. “I never would have survived such an ordeal.”
Dorothea’s eyes flew to Ava. She blinked, seemingly not knowing how to react to such a response. “It was rather hard.”
“I can imagine,” Maisie chimed in. She knelt in front of Dorothea, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I rememberbeing sent to bed early without dessert when I was younger. I cried the entire night.”
“The entire night?” Dorothea repeated, slightly incredulous.
“Yes, of course,” Maisie sighed. “Cook had served raspberry tarts, after all, which were my favorites.”
Dorothea giggled, and the sound filled the room without lighthearted happiness. “You were quite emotional when you were younger.” she observed between her laughter.
