“And are you fond ofreading?”
“I very much am. But unfortunately, with my work schedule, I do not have the time to read that I once had. I have a particular fondness for novels and I am so looking forward to reading Ellen’s when she is finished writing it. It is one of the reasons she is going to London—to find apublisher.”
“Yes, shementionedthat.”
“And Daniel, doyouread?”
He waggled his head. “Only law books at the moment. But when I have the time I enjoy reading about foreign lands. There are many fine narrations of travel abroad. Have you ever read any of thosebooks?”
“I have not,” she replied. “But they do sound intriguing and I would like to sample somesometime.”
The footmen removed the soup plates and began serving a new wine to go with the fishcourse.
Lydia looked over at Edwin. He was in deep conversation with Caroline. She noticed that, up to this point, everyone was in a localized conversation, and as yet no one had introduced a table wideconversation.
The footmen began serving the fish—Dover sole in a buttersauce.
Lydia noticed that Daniel had had two glasses of the previous wine, and was now already on his second glass of the new wine. He was conversing with his sister, who sat opposite, and Lydia noticed that he was beginning to speak a little louder and was prone to easy and more prolonged laughter. She considered he might have a drinkingproblem.
It was then that Edwin stood. “I should like to propose a toast.” The guests turned their attention to him. “To our guests… Your Lordship, Caroline, Daniel…” He turned to each as he mentioned their names. “Welcome to Honeyfield, and I hope this will be a strengthening of our family’s ties.Cheers.”
The guests toasted and Lydia noticed the Duchess was particularly pleased with the mention of strengtheningfamilyties.
Then Edwin turned to Lydia. “And I should also like to toast Miss Lydia who has greatly enabled me to pursue my dream of establishing the Honeyfield Arboretum. To MissLydia.”
“To Miss Lydia,” the toastwentup.
Lydia was surprised, shocked, andpleased.
