Hecate’s place was vacant; she had taken yet another trip up to London to stay with Kitty
Letitia wondered about that as she finished her excellent leek soup. Hecate was old enough to be out, of course. In fact, she was old enough to be considered ‘on the shelf’ compared to the current crop of debutantes. But she was still childlike in many ways…how was she faring? And what was the attraction that kept her traveling the roads between Ridlington and the metropolis?
She had never said.
And that, realized Letitia, summarized many of the relationships in this family. Loving, always. But also secretive. Jack Ridlington’s legacy to his offspring.I don’t care about your secrets so why should anyone else?
An attitude that had lingered in all of them. Wasn’t she sitting here at the table this exact moment with her own gargantuan secret?
“You’re unusually silent, Letitia.” James nudged her. “I believe we’re supposed to make polite conversation.” He grinned. “I’ll start. Delicious soup, isn’t it?”
She glanced up and shot him a quick smile. “How kind of you to remark upon the excellence of the soup, sir. Indeed, it is most palatable.”
He rolled his eyes. “Stop it.”
“You started it.”
“Children.” Rosaline eyed them across the table.
“Yes, ma’am.” James looked repentant. “I’m simply engaged in drawing our reticent Miss Letitia into some polite dinner conversation.”
“Well, I suppose that’s better than drawing her into impolite conversation,” quipped Paul.
“But a lot less interesting,” countered James.
“Speaking of polite,” Rosaline interrupted with firm tones, “how is your new maid coming along, Letitia? She seems quite competent.”
Letitia nodded and allowed a footman to replace her soup plate with a clean one. “She’s very good indeed, Rosaline. I was most fortunate to be in the right place at the right time as far as she was concerned, and I think our meeting was truly a beneficial act of Fate.”
“The fact she wants no wages is enough for me,” muttered Edmund. “I’m trying to persuade the rest of the staff to adopt the same beliefs, but they’re having none of it. Eh, Chidwell?”
Chidwell, who stood by the sideboard as dinner was served, cast his master a scornful look. “Your Lordship’s humour is always most amusing and appreciated by all of us, sir.”
“He has you there, Edmund.” Paul chuckled.
Edmund sighed. “Oh well. I do believe we can scrape up enough pennies to survive yet another month.”
He was indeed jesting, Letitia knew. Certainly the additional burden of wages for her maid would not have helped the planned recovery of Ridlington Chase, but overall their situation had improved drastically since Edmund had acceded to the Barony.
“Speaking of pennies,” Rosaline turned to her brother. “What is the news from London as to your situation, Paul?”
He shrugged. “It crawls, my dear. It just crawls along like a slug. I am learning that although they are no longer persona grata in society, the von Rillenbach family still commands enough power abroad that many would prefer not to offer insult. Especially at this point with the situation in France so tenuous.”
“Damned Napoleon,” offered James.
“Indeed,” nodded Paul. “However progress is being made, albeit at the speed of aforementioned slug.” He took a bite of his dinner.
“How fastdoslugs move?” Letitia ponded aloud. “One has to assume that they do actually have a destination in mind when they start crawling. Do they feel it a slow journey? Or is their crawl like a trot on a good mare for us?”
Silence fell as everyone looked at her with varying expressions of confusion and curiosity.
“Well, I just wondered,” she said defensively.
“Back to the topic at hand,” said Edmund, shaking his head at the odd turn of conversation. “Will you stand to inherit a title, Paul?”
“No. No, I don’t think so.” Paul frowned. “The DeVoreaux line has substantial holdings, most of which are currently in some sort of frozen state, either rented or held by distant relatives. That’s a mess that will need to be sorted out by an army of lawyers, most probably.”
“Financially…how is it looking?” Rosaline asked her brother. “And I inquire as your beloved sister, not as the almost-destitute Baroness, of course.”
