“I could not find the little tool to open the tin,” she went on, “but I thought to begin heating it whilst I searched for it.”
“How did you heat the soup before you opened it?”
“I put the canister into the water and brought it to a boil.”
Elizabeth gaped at the mess. It was like a soup bomb had gone off on her stovetop. “For how long?”
“I am uncertain. I never remembered which tool was the tin opener, and I decided instead to eat the remaining…the food Sandra ordered for us on Friday. It was bread with tomato sauce and melted cheese.”
Elizabeth slowly connected the dots between the tin and the explosion, but her thoughts were primarily focused on how to get the soup off the ceiling’s plasterwork.
“I admit that did not go well, either,” Georgiana admitted. “I placed the piece on a plate and put it into the…the little box on the counter?”
Darcy opened the microwave door and peered in, then quickly shut it with a grimace. “For how long?” he also asked.
“I asked it to heat it for ten minutes. I thought that was a reasonable amount of time.” She looked close to tears. “But, but you see, I misjudged that as well.”
Pizza needed ten seconds, not ten minutes. There were two food explosions to clean.
“And did you then forget about the tin in the boiling water?” Darcy asked.
“I am so sorry,” cried Georgiana. “I ate a piece of the tomato bread cold. That was actually good, and I went on with the rest of my afternoon. I was singing in my room to prepare for tomorrow. Then there was a terrible sound! I do not understand what happened.”
“You ought to have poured the soup into the pot and warmed it directly, rather than heat it in the tin,” Darcy explained. Elizabeth saw how much effort he put into speaking evenly. “The soup inside the tin boiled and turned to steam. The roiling contents put pressure on the tin, which exploded. You are lucky you were not next to it and injured when it burst.”
“But why is it everywhere?” Elizabeth whispered to Darcy, staring at the ceiling.
“I think some must have hit the ceiling fan, which slung it round the room.”
She dropped her gaze. “Why is it smeared all over the counter?” Rather than be spattered, the brown liquid was streaked all over the surface, almost ground into it.
“I tried to clean it, of course,” Georgiana answered, “but I made it worse. I was so confused by the types of cleaners.”
Darcy started to ask her what she used, but Elizabeth laid a hand on his arm. It didn’t matter, and Georgiana was on the verge of tears as it was. Instead, he muttered, “When does the cleaning person come?”
Elizabeth slowly shook her head. “I can’t leave this for her. I have to clean it before she comes to clean.”
Darcy looked at the ceiling again and said drily, “I’ll get you a ladder.”
“I think we will have to take the Danconias out to dinner instead,” she said, trying to be lively.
“No, we’ll order something again and eat downstairs in the dining room. The park is open longer, but the house closes at five.”
“I think this quarter the table is set with an elaborate Edwardian tea service.”
“It’s still our dining room and our dishes. We can serve curry takeaway on anything.”
Elizabeth tore her gaze from the mess to look at Georgiana, who looked so stricken that she gave her a hug. “Have you not eaten since yesterday because of…all this?”
“No, I breakfasted this morning, the nursery food Sandra makes. And last night your servant, I mean employee, Mr Roland, came to enquire about my health. I was too embarrassed to let him in to see what I had done. I mentioned having trouble with the stove, and he invited me to dinner at his home with his—” She broke off with a fierce blush.
Elizabeth looked at Darcy for a nineteenth-century explanation, but he shrugged in confusion. “Who did you have dinner with?”
“I would never have joined them in my time, but Mr Roland seemed sincere, and he of course knew why I was struggling. And I was hungry, and he was kind and I did enjoyhercompany, but did I cause a scandal?” she asked in a frantic rush.
“Why would it be a scandal? Who else dined with you?” he insisted.
She hissed in a whisper into her brother’s ear that Elizabeth couldn’t hear.
