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Ashton nodded. “My sincere apologies. If you are not too fatigued, can we speak of the issue after dinner?”

“Of course.”

As the dinner progressed through fish and fowl, the talk was mostly of the Ashtons’ postponed travel plans for their honeymoon and how they had fallen in love. Elena listened intently. It was so different from how she had fallen in love with Tomas. Their love story was vacant of any ballrooms, just full of dusty paths.

After eating dessert, Lady Ashton rose from her chair and put her hand out to Elena. Elena looked to Tomas and then back to her.

“We should leave the men to their secrets and enjoy the fire. Perhaps tea, if you like.”

“I do not really drink English tea yet, but I would not like to deprive you of the pleasure.”

“If we can make you something else?”

“No, really. Thank you, Lady Ashton. I have a special blend at Milford.” She could not yet call it home.

“Of course, but please you must call me Lucinda. It must be so strange for you. A new country. A new language. Everyone is talking in different accents.”

“Yes! I thought I was starting to understand it a little but how the local people speak just makes my ears hurt.” She laughed. “I cannot speak to the servants at all. They do not understand me.” Elena knew that with time and practice her English would improve, and she would think back and realize that she had had nothing to worry about. Until then, she felt strange even to hear English words.

“It must be hard, but I do hope you will find happiness here in England.”

“As long as I have Tomas near, I am happy.”

“I understand. That is how I feel about Tony,” she said as she indicated a sofa by the fire.

Elena sat marveling at the texture of the velvet material. “I am sorry that your honeymoon was postponed.”

“I am getting used to it. Tony is very dedicated to his new position and wants to impress the duke, his brother.”

“The duke is very thoughtful. He let us use his carriage for our trip to Milford.”

“Did he? Perhaps he is, though he does not show it often. I feel sorry for him really. Just between you and me, I think he is very lonely. All he does is work. We managed to get him out of the house a few times, to the opera and an art exhibition, but other than that we rarely see him.”

“Perhaps he does not recognize it as loneliness. I was alone after my father and brother died, and I did not realize how lonely I was until I met Tomas. I had friends around me, but it was different somehow.”

“Of course, when I was left at that school, I was surrounded by other students and staff. None of them were truly friends as they only stayed a short time, and for all intents and purposes I was lonely too. Which is why I was determined to find a husband once I was in London under Tony’s guardianship. I needed…something more. Something to belong to.”

“We are alike in many ways, Lady Ashton.”

“Please call me Lucinda. We are friends now, are we not?”

“I would like to be your friend as I really do not have any woman friends here. It would help me to practice my English if I could write to you.”

Lucinda took Elena’s hand in hers and squeezed it gently. “I think that is a wonderful idea, Elena.”

*

Thomas sipped his brandy and waited for Tony to tell him what was so urgent he had to drag him back to London.

“I would have saved you the journey, but I could not write it in a message or a letter, lest it end up in the wrong hands.”

“So, what is this all about then? You mentioned the three French men we met on the road?”

“They were Dushard’s men. They must have found out about their leader’s demise and sought revenge, although we were able to ascertain that they had been here for some time. So, you would not have recognized them.”

“They identified themselves as such. They did not bother to conceal their accents. I did not recognize any of them, but they knew me. They used two desperate men to hold us up and distract us while they got in position. Little did the Frenchmen know that your brother’s coach driver was right handy with a blunderbuss. So, we surprised them in return. They will not be reporting back to whoever took Dushard’s place. What else?”

“The report from Frankston in Cadiz.”