“And where do you hail from?” He continued his polite questions.
“Lincolnshire,” Kitty replied, before adding, “But I have resided in London for the last several years.”
“London is filled with entertainments,” Mr. Bailey answered. Though his tone suggested no excitement at the idea.
Before Kitty could think of anything to add to the halting conversation, their hostess stood. “Without a proper host, this part is difficult, but neither do I want to deprive the men of their Port and conversation.” Lady Sampson then turned towards Arabella’s father, the oldest gentleman in attendance by at least two decades. “Mr. Bailey, I’ll leave it to you to decide when to come through.”
The older man agreed, and Kitty soon found herself following the women into the drawing room. While they had dined, the room hadbeen rearranged to accommodate several square card tables. “I thought some of you might be interested in playing whist,” Lady Sampson explained.
“As long as I don’t have to play against Tim and Arabella,” Mrs. Sarah Towne responded, eliciting laughter from the others.
Lady Diana must have recognized the confusion on Kitty’s face because she leaned in and explained softly, “My son and his wife have an uncanny knack for predicting each other’s actions during games. Some would say they read each other’s minds.”
“How long have they been married?” Kitty asked. She thought Lady Sampson had mentioned that it was recent, but they appeared to have a relationship of long standing.
“Less than a year,” Lady Diana replied. “But they’ve been courting since they were ten years old.”
Kitty soon found herself seated at the table with three other women. Mrs. Marianne Warner sat across from her as her partner, with Mrs. Arabella Linfield and Mrs. Sarah Towne as their opponents. The older women had chosen to sit on the sofa and converse.
Only two tricks into the game, the men stepped into the drawing room. Apparently none of them were interested in a long conversation about politics and horse racing. Or whatever the men spoke of when they separated after dinner.
“Shall we rearrange partners, or are you too far into the game?” the vicar asked as he approached the table.
Mrs. Towne stepped away from her chair. “We have only just started.” She then turned to her other brother, who was standing several steps behind his twin. “Oliver, why don’t you take my place? And Tim canpartner Miss Childs.”
It seemed that the family was serious about keeping the vicar and his wife from playing together. But it also meant that Kitty now sat next to Oliver Linfield, close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
Chapter Four
Kittysatatawriting desk in her borrowed bedchamber, overlooking the back gardens of Arbor Hill. For an estate that was rarely occupied by its master and mistress, it was very well maintained. Lord Sampson clearly employed capable staff, from the housekeeper down to the undergardener. The dinner she’d attended the previous evening had been unconventional in its own way, but the food and service would have been perfectly acceptable to even the most discerning society hostess.
The only real drawback to the evening had been one Mr. Oliver Linfield. His aloof behavior had brought out her own. Neither had been truly rude to each other, but they had managed to play the most formal game of whist Kitty had ever seen. They both laid down cards with skill, but no real interest or humor. Even after Mr. Timothy did his best to add levity to the game. When the tiresome card game finally came to an end, Mrs. Arabella Linfield went to the pianoforte and entertained the party for the rest of the evening.
After the guests finally left, Kitty wondered if Lady Sampson would question her behavior. But instead, the baroness had simply informed her that she had accepted an invitation to tea at the vicarage for the following day and then retired for the night.
When the time finally came to leave for the vicarage, Kitty abandoned her half-written letter and went in search of the baroness. She found her in the library. After a brief greeting, Lady Sampson looked down at Kitty’s feet. “I would change into more sensible shoes. The walk into Whickfield can be rather muddy.”
“We are walking?” Kitty asked in both surprise and delight. She enjoyed a good walk, something she rarely got to do in London since her mother preferred the carriage.
“One advantage of being in the country is that I can do what I wish, and I enjoy the walk into Whickfield,” Lady Sampson responded with a kind smile. “Besides, we will be there in the same amount of time it would take the grooms to harness the horses.”
A quarter hour later, after a change of shoes, Kitty followed Lady Sampson across the back fields of Arbor Hill and through a wooded path that led directly to the churchyard and the vicarage beyond. The baroness might have been exaggerating about the walk being faster than harnessing the carriage, but not by much. As they approached the reddish-brown stone building, Kitty asked, “Do you often take tea at the vicarage when you are in the neighborhood?”
Lady Sampson slowed a few yards from the front door. “I don’t know that I ever have. Mr. Middleton, the previous vicar, had been a widower since long before I married Lord Sampson.” She continued to walk as she explained, “But I have taken tea with our dear Arabella many times. Either at Arbor Hill or Bailey House. Even at Blackthorne Park.”
Within moments of sounding the knocker, the door opened to reveal a lad of about thirteen years old. “Mrs. Linfield is expecting you.” He then stepped out of the way to reveal Arabella Linfieldstanding in front of a blue sofa, a tea tray already waiting on a low table in front of her.
“Welcome, please come in.” The vicar’s wife greeted them with a warm smile.
Mrs. Linfield invited Kitty to call her Arabella, and soon the three women were laughing as they told stories. Most of Arabella’s tales involved the Linfield twins, with whom she’d been friends her entire life.
“I’ve heard tell that it was you who put the frog in Tim’s boots.” Lady Sampson raised a brow at their hostess before taking a bite of tea cake.
Arabella lifted her cup halfway to her lips before replying, “That is a rather unfortunate rumor I cannot seem to avoid.” She then took a sip.
“Because you are guilty,” Lady Sampson replied before taking a sip of her own.
Instead of answering, Arabella turned to Kitty. “More tea?”
