.â
She glanced at Lucas, offering him a shy smile. âSome people seem to expect me to deliver an evangelical lecture over dinner, and I cannot disabuse them of the notion. I suppose I must simply look and act too plain .â
âNonsense, Phoebe,â said Annabel, obviously misunderstanding the Quaker meaning of the term. âYouâre the prettiest girl in the room and you have the loveliest manners, too.â
Robert looked thoughtful, which usually boded ill. âWell, Phoebe is a dashed pretty girl, Belle, but to be fair, there ainât that many girls in the room to begin with. You and Meredith donât qualify anymoreââ
Meredith reached over the back of the sofa and pinched him, but Robert simply grinned and carried on.
âAs for the rest, given how old most of the guests are, itâll be a miracle if one of them doesnât keel over dead into the punch bowl by the end of the night.â
Annabel rounded horrified eyes at her husband. âDo not let Grandpapa hear you say that. Heâs certainly as old as most of the guests tonight. And you know how sensitive he is about his age.â
Robert cast an alarmed eye in his grandfatherâs direction. If there was one thing calculated to reduce him to silence, it was the fear of the old manâs wrath.
âYes,â said Meredith. âLet us not upset the General. Although,â she added, trying to repress a laugh, âLady Bellingham does look to be nodding off as we speak. I do hope she doesnât begin snoring like she did at the Wellbourneâs musicale last week. She was so loud she drowned everything out, including Cissy Pattersonâs performance on the harp. And you know Cissy. Any little thing pitches her into hysterics.â
Phoebe blinked, clearly not knowing how to respond to that piece of information.
âPoor Phoebe,â Lucas said. âWe are all so gay to dissipation.â
She laughed. âI do not mind in the least. While it is true that several of the guests are rather deaf, which does make conversation a challenge, one cannot fault their kindness or courtesy.â
Robert gave a dramatic sigh. âIâm ready to hang myself, just to break the boredom.â
âIâm sure your hanging would greatly enliven the evening,â Meredith said in a tart voice. âEnough nonsense, Robert. Iâd like to hear how the new Lord Merritt is faring with his estate. I believe you have quite a mountain of work ahead of you, do you not, Lucas?â
Now Lucas had to repress a sigh. The state of his holdings was another topic heâd rather avoid, but he couldnât be rude to Meredith. If Silverton had asked the question, he would have rebuffed him, but Meredith had treated him with nothing but warmth and generosity from the day heâd met her.
âIâm sorry to say the home farms are in a deplorable state, which is my greatest concern. The house needs significant repair, and the stable looks ready to collapse any minute, as does the dairy. The orchards are in better condition, which is the only blessing in the lot.â
Phoebe listened to him with eager concentration. âThe estate in Kent is quite large, is it not?â
âLarge enough. There is also a small hunting lodge in Lincolnshire, but Mistletoe Manor is the primary seat of the earldom.â
Phoebe scrunched up her nose. âMistletoe Manor? Itâs lovely, but rather an odd name.â
âYou have no idea.â Whichever ancestor had applied that demented label to the once-dignified Elizabethan manor deserved to be whipped. The name was bad enough, Lucas mused, but the manor staffâmost of them descended from families who had served the Merritts for generationsâcherished a bizarre obsession with everything the name implied. Why, even the housekeeperâ
Robertâs laugh interrupted his gloomy thoughts. âIâd forgotten about that. From what Grandfather
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