“Then I look forward to your visit.”
By now, the soup plates were being removed and the fish course was being served. The white wine was being poured for this course. This activity disrupted the conversation, until the gentleman to Nora’s left introduced himself and engaged her in conversation for a time.
This allowed Harry to return his attention to Anna.
“Have you been able to convince your father to let you build your classical pavilion yet?”
Anna sighed. “Not yet. He is extremely resistant to my pleas. And I fear it shall never come to pass, as he is away for such long periods, and when heishome, he keeps putting me off.”
This gave Harry a splendid idea. “Then perhaps you might consider building something for me?”
Anna’s face lit up and she took her friend’s hand. “You would do that for me?”
“I most certainly would.”
“What do you need to have built? A wing on the house? A grand entryway gate to the estate? A monument to your father? Tell me.”
He could tell she was very excited, but he was afraid he was about to disappoint her.
“Nothing quite as grand as any of those. I was thinking more in the line of a well house.”
“Oh…” She was disappointed, but added, “Then it shall be the finest well house in all of Great Britain.”
He liked her spirit. “Excellent. Then we shall do it.”
“First, you will need to show me the location. Then we can discuss design ideas and then I will work up some drawings…” Harry laughed. “And do you have a budget?”
“All in good time, Anna. I am in no rush.”
Anna laughed. “Perhaps not… but I am.” She leaned towards him and put both of her hands on his. “But I am getting ahead of myself, am I not? I am so sorry. It is just that this is so exciting for me.”
This made Harry very happy. He had been able to make her smile, and he realized this would provide him with the opportunity to spend more time with her. Yes, they were good friends, but might their interaction on the building open her up to romantic feelings for him? He could only hope. But at the very least, they could spend more time together.
“I am pleased this makes you excited. And I look forward to working with you on this.”
“I know now is not the time, but in a few days might I come back so we can begin planning?”
“Of course. Any time. Christopher does not leave until next week, so we will be here unless we go out for a ride.”
“Excellent,” Anna said and sat back in her chair very satisfied.
* * *
After dinner was over, guests gravitated back to the dancing salon. By now, Aunt Agatha had gathered quite a group around her and she was telling one story after another of her adventures in Africa and beyond. How many were actually true was another matter altogether. Neither Maria nor Harry had heard any of her tales yet, but that would have to be for another time, as after dinner-drinks needed to be served and the orchestra would be starting up soon, with more dancing to follow.
Anna was so excited about her building project, she could not bear to go back to the table and just sit. She sought out Percy and corralled him as he was being served a cognac.
“Oh, Percy, you have no idea…”
He appeared to be amused by her enthusiasm and asked, “And what news do you have for me?”
She told him of her building commission from Harry. And she could not stop herself and launched into, “Now I have a number of very fine classical structures I could model the well house after. I was thinking of a Greek motif with some late classical column designs. What do you think?”
Percy took her by the shoulders and said, “I have no idea what you are referring to, but I am certain whatever you choose will be just splendid.”
“Do you or your father know of any builders? I am afraid my work is mostly conceptual, and I do not have any practical experience with actually building anything.”
“Maybe we can help. I am a bit of a laggard myself, so I do not know anything about building. But I am certain my father will know. However, I am not certain he knows anyreputablebuilders. He tends to work more in rather shady areas, and I do not know how well you could trust who he might send your way.”
