“He won’t,” Barbara assured her.“He is his spare heir, after all.”
Stella nodded.“I so appreciate you spending time with me, but I can see that at any moment, Bradley will be seeking sustenance.”
“Will I see you again on this trip?”Barbara asked, sounding almost desperate with her query.“I have so missed the company of other women,” she added.“English women.”
Stella inhaled softly.“Well, I suppose that depends on where you’re off to next,” she remarked.“And when?”
“The boys wish to go to Luxor.Something about some half-buried temples in the sand,” Barbara replied with a wave of her hand.
Stella displayed a brilliant grin.“I do believe the men in our lives have the same destination in mind,” she said.“Which means we really must see to it that we travel together.”
“That would be capital,” Barbara replied with excitement.
“Everly says it’s four-hundred miles south of here.”
Barbara’s mouth dropped open in shock.“That will takeweeks,” she whispered.
“We’ll go on a boat,” Stella stated.“A sailing barge of some sort.It’s about a fortnight heading south on the river.It’s not necessarily faster coming back even though the river flows north—something to do with the winds—when we’ll be going with the current.”
“Oh,” Barbara said with relief.“That’s not so bad, I suppose.”
“The heat shouldn’t be as bad this time of the year, but there may be some insects, so we’ll need to sleep with mosquito netting,” Stella explained.
“We’ve been doing so on the ship we were on coming from Alexandria,” Barbara said.
“We really must have our men discuss this.Will you join us for dinner this evening?”Stella asked.“The cook here at the riad is excellent, and there is plenty of room at the table.”
“For allsixof us?”Barbara asked.
“Indeed.Come by at six o’clock.We can convene in the parlor and learn about everything you’ve done over the past year,” Stella said with excitement.“I haven’t seen your new daughter-in-law since she and Helen attended finishing school together.”
The comment had Barbara blinking in surprise.“I...I wasn’t aware Diana was in London long enough to attend Warwick’s,” she commented, referring to Warwick’s Grammar and Finishing School.
“She wasn’t, not really.But she did attend for a time,” Stella said, “In between trips to Sicily.”At seeing Barbara’s thoughtful expression, she added, “If you’re worried she won’t make a suitable countess for Lord Forster when he inherits?—”
“I am not,” Barbara quickly interrupted.She dipped her head.“I cannot say the same for Randy’s mother, however.”
Stella sighed.“She’s probably fluent in at least a few languages.”
“Ancient Greek, Latin, Sicilian...”Barbara lifted a shoulder.“Actually, despite spending several weeks traveling with her, I don’t really know all that much about her.I do know she wishes to continue her archaeology avocation, and she can paint beautifully.Oh, and she remembers everything she has ever heard or seen or read.”
Tittering, Stella said, “Well, I’ll see what I can discover during dinner this evening.She’s probably a fascinating young woman.It’s no wonder your nephew thought to take her as his wife.She’ll never bore him.”
Barbara nodded, her attention once again on Lady Helen and the babe.Helen had the boy hoisted onto her hip and was making her way in their direction.
“Apologies, Lady Bellingham,” Helen said, managing to dip a curtsy despite the way she held Bradley.“I fear my brother is about to make his hunger known to all.”
“It’s fine, Lady Helen,” Barbara said, coming to her feet.She chucked the boy under the chin and made a cooing sound, which had him displaying three pairs of teeth when he grinned.“I will see all three of you later this evening,” she added, curtsying to Stella before she took her leave.
Although she hadn’t had much say in the itinerary of their travels, Barbara was about to make her wishes known to Will.Having Lady Everly as a like-minded traveling companion would certainly improve the trip.
