"I had a little talent," said that lady, "and a few lessons, mostly in how to control it. Lady Herbert is correct in that we aren't encouraged in it."
"Men aren't, either," said Julian, "but sometimes the magic does what it wants."
Lady Applewhite giggled, and even Halliwell cracked a smile. "I'm very mundane, according to the testers from school," she said. "I never really minded not having magic, but I do love hearing about yours."
"Thank you, Lady Applewhite," said Julian, choosing the most polite form of address. "I'm not nearly as fun as Alex is, as you saw. I can't do the illusions like he can, though I'm learning some other things besides plants, like potions."
He figured mentioning the combat magic was probably not polite dinner conversation.
"What did you learn at university?" Halliwell asked Camellia, attempting to draw him into the conversation.
"Oh, you know, the usual," said Camellia, turning his attention to her and giving her a somewhat rude once-over. "These days I'm mostly concerned with matters of finance, keeping the family fortunes growing."
Julian thought she was a lovely girl, and of an appropriate age for Camellia, but then again it was all pretty abstract for him. Plus, Camellia seemed like kind of a jerk, so he didn't wish the man on any woman here.
"I'm glad that's not my job," said Julian, getting an echo of agreement from Grover. "I get some income from the St. Albans barony, but Phin, my brother-in-law, he runs that for me with the rest of his estates."
He hadn't meant to point out that he was ranked above everyone around him, but somehow it just came out that way.
"I had heard that your sister sometimes runs things," said Camellia, like it was some nasty insinuation.
"Yes, of course she does. Emmy ran it all for a while, but she's happy to have his help now," said Julian, unfazed by this boor. "I never had a head for it, myself, my husband was supposed to do that, but Alex wanted no part of titles and estates."
Camellia looked particularly shocked at the last, but Applewhite giggled and Halliwell sighed enviously. "So you gave it all up for him!"
"I did, and we're both happier for it," said Julian with a smile off toward where Alex was saying something with both hands moving for emphasis. "Alex makes me very happy."
"That's the dream," sighed Halliwell, eyes going distant. "Someone who will return your devotion."
"I'm very fortunate," said Julian. "I was never very good with all the social parties and whatnot to get paired up with people."
The servers came to relieve them all of their fish course, and another wave followed quickly with a palate cleanser of paper-thin slices of apple doused in lime. It was only a few bites of food, but the lime, along with the mint hiding between layers, was the perfect way to reset his tastebuds from the first few courses.
Julian didn't get or need an extra portion this time, and he tasted the local apples from his own estate this time, which traded with Chudleigh for their pears. No wine came with this course, either,lime-and-mint sparkling water instead accompanying the treat, and soon enough both were gone and plates were again being cleared.
Julian sighed and tried to guess how many courses were left, and what the rest of their evening would hold. A party like this, the guests would expect to be entertained for ages even after the late dinner, either with dancing or games or a performance of some kind, or even all three if the host was enterprising enough.
"I do wonder what Chudleigh has for us later," said Lady Dahlia, echoing Julian's thoughts. "He's always been good at surprises."
"Our courtship dates were always pretty fun," said Julian with a smile. "I was glad I'd invited him, even if I ended up with my Alex."
"Your Alex was a surprise all around," said Dahlia. "No one in society had heard a peep from him in years, and then he showed up in the second spot for your Courtship and shocked us all."
"He does enjoy being shocking," said Julian with a smile. "He also did a good job of surprising and delighting me on our dates."
Halliwell sighed again, glancing down the table, though Julian couldn't see who her attention was landing on. "You were so lucky to get to do a Courtship and find someone."
"I don't think the circumstances of the Courtship were lucky," said Julian, a little sad and a little bitter himself, "but the outcome was fortunate for me."
"You had the whole thing voided, as I recall," said Camellia. "Quite the thing."
"Yes, it was all to do with the villainous plot," said Julian. "But I'm fine now, and happy, and Alex doesn't mind that I sometimes still miss my Cecil."
"Well," said Halliwell, "Your Cecil is hardly competition now, is he?"
Everyone looked a bit shocked at that, Applewhite tittering nervously, but it was Grover who changed the subject as the food arrived. "I guess Chudleigh did get some hunting in before all this!"
Their next course was a small pheasant pie, with a cute cutout of the bird laid atop the pastry so there was no doubt of what was inside. This, too, was a single portion, as it would have been impossible for them to produce extra pies or larger pies at this late stage. Julian dug in hungrily, finding it a hearty portion nonetheless, and probably meant to be one of the main dishes in the meal.
