“That is… very generous of you,” Abigail said stiffly, eyeing the decorative piece. She closed her hand over it. “And that was very inconsiderate ofyou,” she added, shaking her head at Nathaniel. “Now, shall we dine before everything cools? I think there has been quite enough excitement for one evening.”
Leah took the chair beside her mother while Nathaniel took the chair opposite, next tohismother, rather like they were drawing lines upon a battlefield of mahogany and lace tablecloth.
For a long while, no one said anything. Meanwhile, the footmen began to bring in the first course, the watercress soup still steaming hot as the wide bowls were set down.
“I apologize that it is watercress again,” Nathaniel said, flashing a sheepish smile at Leah.
She bit her lower lip, but it did not appear to be anxiety this time; there was humor in her eyes, like she was struggling to swallow a laugh. “I will never complain when there is watercress soup. Why, I think it might be my favorite soup.”
“It is?” Nathaniel felt a laugh threatening to bubble uphisthroat, for what sort of dinner discussion was this? Had they truly fallen on such hard conversational times?
Leah nodded. “I find it very… earthy.”
“Earthy? An interesting description.” The corner of Nathaniel’s lip crept up into a smirk. “In what way is it earthy? Do you taste soil? Mother, you ought to check with the cook and ensure that she did not accidentally sprinkle soil instead of pepper.”
Leah snorted, blowing a few drops of soup off her spoon. To try and hide what she had done, she hurriedly sipped the soup off the spoon and promptly began to choke.
“Darling, are you well?” Sarah thumped her daughter between the shoulder blades, but it only seemed to make the spluttering worse.
All the while, Nathaniel’s mother watched with an unimpressed glower, still clutching the brooch in one hand as she ate with the other.
“Water!” Nathaniel urged. “She needs water!”
A footman darted forward and poured a glass then Sarah brought the glass to Leah’s lips, helping her to drink. A few moments later, peace had been restored, and the unfortunate spray of soup had been cleared up with a few dabs of a napkin though the redness in Leah’s cheeks could not be so easily wiped away. She looked mortified, and Nathaniel did not know whether to make a jest of it to bring a smile to her lips, or whether he should put an end to the evening before his mother could cast any further judgment upon the poor woman.
But to his surprise and delight, Leah straightened up, took a breath, and said, “Ordinarily, Your Grace, I prefer to ingest my soup with my mouth. I am not in the habit of spurting it from my nose.” A faint smirk graced her plump lips. “Please, do forgive me. The brooch incident has made me nervous. So nervous, in truth, that I think Iforgothow to eat for a moment.”
“You are forgiven,” Abigail said coolly. “But, perhaps, you could be more careful with the fish course. I would not want a bone catching in your noseormouth.”
Leah closed her eyes for a second and pressed her lips together, suppressing another smirk. “Of course, Your Grace. And let us all hope that the meat course has been sliced, for all our sakes.”
“A toast, my dearest Leah,” Nathaniel suggested, releasing the laughter he had been fighting to hold in. She was not just courageous but witty and able to make fun of herself in the face of a mishap. He did not know if he had ever seen a more remarkable response in a person, and though he knew he had no right, his chest swelled with pride.
Leah raised her glass. “A toast to what?”
“To you and your steadfastness,” he replied. “To you and your shining character. To you and your grace in the face of my foolishness.”
She smiled. “To an uneventful remainder of our dinner together.”
“To strengthening the bonds between our families,” Sarah added, her expression so hopeful that Nathaniel almost felt guilty.
Abigail sipped from her glass, refusing to toast. Instead, she returned to her soup, silently spooning in mouthful after mouthful, like she was hoping to rush as quickly as possible toward the end of the evening.
“To all of that,” Nathaniel said, clinking his glass with those of Leah and Sarah before casting a frown at his mother. She was never usually so rude, and though she might not have appreciated how Leah had come into his life, he was appalled by her behavior. Indeed, he would tell her so, just as soon as dinner was concluded.
Leah cleared her throat, drawing Nathaniel’s attention back toward her. “Your Grace, I wondered if I might play the pianoforte for you after dinner? I realize I have not shown much grace this evening, but I assure you, I am in possession of some.”
“The pianoforte?” Abigail seemed to mull over the idea. “Yes, I suppose you may though be aware that it is a rather valuable instrument.”
Leah bowed her head. “I shall be careful, Your Grace.”
“Very well.” Abigail appeared more pensive as she continued to eat her soup, but it was Nathaniel’s curiosity that had been piqued. After all, Jonathan had claimed she was atrocious while she had claimed to be much improved. Nathaniel supposed he would soon discover who was right, and though he was not a wagering man himself, he knew where he would place his bet.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Spread out across the small music room, half of it consumed by the pianoforte, Nathaniel settled in to watch Leah play. Sarah sat at the bench with her daughter, braced to turn the pages of the sheet music when the moment came though Nathaniel suspected it was for a simpler reason—to offer moral support. Meanwhile, Abigail was yawning rudely in the far corner, so dismissive of Leah that Nathaniel had half a mind to scold her there and then.
Do not make me do that, Mother. I do not want to do that. Do not turn me into him,he urged silently as if his words could reach his mother’s mind, but she was ignoring him.
