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Authors: Laura Matthews
Tags: Regency Romance
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hunting, but Selina was uncomfortably aware of his curiosity. “I do hope he will wait until the arm is healed,” she replied as casually as she could while she led him to the dining hall, where she absently instructed that dinner might now be served. Rushton seated her at the head of the long table and took the only other place set, immediately to her right.
“Henry and I see no reason for formality at meals, and I would not like to have to shout all the way to the other end of the table. Our other meals we take in the breakfast parlor, which is more comfortable, but it would seem somehow untraditional to dine there, or to have a shorter table brought in, for that matter. This one was fashioned from trees on the estate some two hundred years ago.”
“Your family has lived here that long?” he asked, surprised.
“Oh, yes,” she answered negligently as a footman ladled soup into her bowl. ‘The Easterly family goes back to the original building of the house. Somewhere along the line there was only a female heir, and her husband adopted her name as well as his own. In 1473, I believe, though I would have to check in the muniment room. I have never been as concerned with my ancestry as I might, I fear.”
“And now there is only a female heir again.”
“Yes,” she sighed. “Father was very sad about that. I mean, even if I had married, one could hardly expect a man to take on Easterly-Cummings-Something-or-Other. I suppose Henry or his children will inherit Shalbrook one day, but it is hardly likely that they will live here. He has an estate of his own in Derbyshire, near Chesterfield, which, though smaller, is a much more comfortable place. I cannot see anyone choosing to live at Shalbrook when they don’t have to endure damp walls, cold corridors and smoking chimneys, can you?”
“It’s picturesque. Perhaps the family will produce a romantic,” he suggested with a smile.
He had a charming smile, and Selina had rarely seen it before. For a moment she forgot what they had been discussing. “Well, we have no ghosts to offer, and a very uneventful history, but you may be right.” He was studying with fascination the dish placed before him and Selina could not repress a chuckle. “Those are balons of legs of fowls. We have a very inventive cook, Mr. Rushton. You need not try anything that does not appeal to you. There will be a goose-pie larded with bacon and a leg of veal marinaded with endive sauce. Sometimes I feed the most unusual dishes to the dog, just so they won’t go back untasted, you understand. But it’s difficult to keep a good cook for just the two of us, and I feel it is only fair to allow him to experiment now and again to keep his hand in.”
Selina laughed. “I have found it expedient to have the dog admitted only toward the end of the meal. Sometimes there is more than one dish which she would enjoy.” The corners of his mouth twitched and they shared an understanding glance. The task of entertaining him with light conversation did not seem burdensome afterwards, and when she would have excused herself after the sweet wines, he asked her permission to withdraw with her.
“Certainly. I shall have McDonough bring whatever you wish to the drawing room. We have a fine old Manzanilla.”
Chapter Six
Established in the gold drawing room, Rushton was hesitant to bring up the subject of the vale. The former restraint between them had been broken down over their shared meal, and it was easier than he had thought to ignore the outlandish clothing she wore and merely enjoy her companionship. There was no artifice to her, no airs of any sort. She did not seem in the least perturbed to have dined along with him; in fact he felt sure that the thought of proper chaperonage had never occurred to her. Accustomed as she was to her life with her cousin, such matters undoubtedly did not arise very often.
Selina watched as he poured himself a glass of Manzanilla, the fine, long hands
“Henry and I see no reason for formality at meals, and I would not like to have to shout all the way to the other end of the table. Our other meals we take in the breakfast parlor, which is more comfortable, but it would seem somehow untraditional to dine there, or to have a shorter table brought in, for that matter. This one was fashioned from trees on the estate some two hundred years ago.”
“Your family has lived here that long?” he asked, surprised.
“Oh, yes,” she answered negligently as a footman ladled soup into her bowl. ‘The Easterly family goes back to the original building of the house. Somewhere along the line there was only a female heir, and her husband adopted her name as well as his own. In 1473, I believe, though I would have to check in the muniment room. I have never been as concerned with my ancestry as I might, I fear.”
“And now there is only a female heir again.”
“Yes,” she sighed. “Father was very sad about that. I mean, even if I had married, one could hardly expect a man to take on Easterly-Cummings-Something-or-Other. I suppose Henry or his children will inherit Shalbrook one day, but it is hardly likely that they will live here. He has an estate of his own in Derbyshire, near Chesterfield, which, though smaller, is a much more comfortable place. I cannot see anyone choosing to live at Shalbrook when they don’t have to endure damp walls, cold corridors and smoking chimneys, can you?”
“It’s picturesque. Perhaps the family will produce a romantic,” he suggested with a smile.
He had a charming smile, and Selina had rarely seen it before. For a moment she forgot what they had been discussing. “Well, we have no ghosts to offer, and a very uneventful history, but you may be right.” He was studying with fascination the dish placed before him and Selina could not repress a chuckle. “Those are balons of legs of fowls. We have a very inventive cook, Mr. Rushton. You need not try anything that does not appeal to you. There will be a goose-pie larded with bacon and a leg of veal marinaded with endive sauce. Sometimes I feed the most unusual dishes to the dog, just so they won’t go back untasted, you understand. But it’s difficult to keep a good cook for just the two of us, and I feel it is only fair to allow him to experiment now and again to keep his hand in.”
Selina laughed. “I have found it expedient to have the dog admitted only toward the end of the meal. Sometimes there is more than one dish which she would enjoy.” The corners of his mouth twitched and they shared an understanding glance. The task of entertaining him with light conversation did not seem burdensome afterwards, and when she would have excused herself after the sweet wines, he asked her permission to withdraw with her.
“Certainly. I shall have McDonough bring whatever you wish to the drawing room. We have a fine old Manzanilla.”
Chapter Six
Established in the gold drawing room, Rushton was hesitant to bring up the subject of the vale. The former restraint between them had been broken down over their shared meal, and it was easier than he had thought to ignore the outlandish clothing she wore and merely enjoy her companionship. There was no artifice to her, no airs of any sort. She did not seem in the least perturbed to have dined along with him; in fact he felt sure that the thought of proper chaperonage had never occurred to her. Accustomed as she was to her life with her cousin, such matters undoubtedly did not arise very often.
Selina watched as he poured himself a glass of Manzanilla, the fine, long hands
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