who you were when you opened your mouth and spoke like such aââ
âLetâs just say that I spoke like an Englishman, all right?â
âThatâs exactly right,â Brandy said.
Uncle Claude cackled from his place beside Lady Adellaâs chair. âYer grace mistakes the matter. Our Brandy here is the eldest. Itâs near to nineteen she is.â
Percy said, âAppearances are sometimes deceptive, donât ye agree, Brandy?â
She wanted to kick him, but she couldnât, not in front of Grandmama and an English duke who was related to them. She raised her chin and stared at him.
âDo leave the girl alone, Percy,â Lady Adella said, and tapped his arm with her fan. âI told ye that she doesnât yet ken what to do with your sort. Give her time, give her time. I try to teach her a bit each day.â
âWell, I for one do agree with Percy,â Constance said. âMost gentlemen do think Iâm the eldest.â She patted several soft black tendrils into place and gazed at the duke with the melting look sheâd been practicing in front of her mirror. He looked disconcerted. It was obvious sheâd have to practice some more.
âWhere could that old sot Crabbe be?â Lady Adella wondered aloud. âI swear we would all starve to death if he had his way in the matter. He becomes slower by the year. I wonder what heâs drinking in the kitchen?â
âGood evening, Brandy,â said Bertrand in his calm, cultured voice. âYeâre looking fit, but then ye always do.â
âGood evening, cousin Bertrand, Uncle Claude. How are ye feeling, sir?â
âAs fit as can be expected with this damned gout. Bertie here gives me little sympathy, just stares down at his ledgers and does naught of anything else at all.â
He gazed over at the duke, who stood in conversation with Lady Adella, and added with barely veiled malice, âThe dukeâs much more the thing than poor Bertrand here, I vow. Iâll wager heâs a man who tells ye exactly whatâs on his mind. Of course, Bertie here is much too timid a fellow to tell us how he feels.â
âFather,â Bertrand said in a low voice.
âLook ye at Percy,â Claude continued, disregarding his son. âItâs an oily viperâs tongue he has, but at least he doesnât chew his cud in silence like a stupid cow.â
âHeâs a bull, Uncle Claude,â Brandy said in a loud voice, âif you must use that simile.â
To Bertrand she said quickly in a low voice, âWhy did the duke come here? Grandmama said he would have no interest in us. She said heâd send a man of business. I donât understand. Isnât he rich? Isnât he a peer of the realm? Why the devil is he here?â
âAll of those things, I should imagine. I donât know why he came, Brandy. Mayhap he was visiting some friends in Scotland and thought to deign to visit his poor relations. Time will tell.â
Brandy frowned, thinking of their crofters. Her jaw tightened. The English were always taking. He was here to see for himself how much he could squeeze from the land. He might be elegant, even a bit on the handsome side, but he was still greedy for all that.
Crabbe flung open the doors and announced in his wheezy voice, âDinner be ready.â
Brandy, for the first time in her life, feltembarrassed. The duke would think them backward. He would think they werenât civilized. Why could Crabbe not say that dinner was served, like a well-trained English servant?
âItâs about time, ye old sot,â said Lady Adella, planting her cane and rising slowly. Percy slipped his hand under her arm.
âBrandy, yeâre the eldest. Let his grace lead ye to dinner, and mind you donât bore him with how ye caught the biggest sea bass last month.â
âBut, Grandmama,â Constance said. âI might not be the
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