“Mother, I don’t think we need to talk about death while we’re having lunch,” the Duke interrupted. “We are here to celebrate a wonderful couple, and that means we should spend our time celebrating life.”
Michael smiled at his brother and gave him a good-natured nudge with his elbow.
“As a token of my appreciation for this fine day and the union of my brother and this fine woman, I have brought some of our best wine from my estate, and I thought we could have a bottle during lunch to celebrate.”
“A wonderful idea,” Michael agreed.
“I am so happy, I might cry,” Margaret said.
Bridget should be happy and appreciative, but it only made her angrier. After the altercation earlier, the Duke’s politeness would only make her look bad.
She cleared her throat. “I believe it was Aristotle who said,Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.When I look at the two of you, that is what I see. His Grace is very kind to have brought wine for us, and when it is poured, we must have a toast to the couple of the hour.”
Margaret took her sister’s hand and squeezed it gently. Then, she placed her other hand over her heart.
“You are a wonderful sister,” Margaret told her.
“I do what I can,” Bridget replied. She could feel the Duke’s eyes on her but didn’t give him the satisfaction of looking back at him.
Cream of mushroom soup was served for the first course. One maid wheeled a small trolley around, and a second ladled soup into the bowls.
“Thank you,” the Duke said to the maid when she placed the bowl in front of him. “Your service is impeccable, and I know you strive for excellence.”
The maid looked a little surprised but also touched by his words. She moved around the table with a little more bounce in her step. When the maids reached the other side of the table, Bridget was not to be outdone.
“Thank you,” she gushed. “I have not yet tasted the soup, but the aroma is divine. You must send my compliments to the kitchen staff for creating such a wonderful start to the meal. And thank you both for making our guests feel so welcome.”
The maids looked even more surprised at the gratitude from a second person at the table, and their spirits were lifted even more. They wheeled the cart out of the dining room with a mix of confusion and gratification.
It was not the Duke’s eyes that Bridget felt on her this time, but her mother’s. Again, she did not turn to meet her gaze. Her mother, however, did lean in and whispered in her ear, “What are you playing at, Bridget?”
“Nothing, Mother,” Bridget whispered back. “I am not being impolite, am I?”
“No, but you are being unusually polite,” Penelope pointed out.
“Mother, how can you say such a thing?” Bridget whispered with mock offense. “Do we need to talk about this at lunch when we are here to support Margaret?”
“No, I guess not,” Penelope muttered.
Bridget finally looked over at the Duke, and he was looking back at her with amusement. When he had a slight smile on his face and was not talking badly of her, he was much more agreeable. She liked him better as the man she had met on the moors rather than the one she had overheard in the sitting room back on their estate.
Still, he was only doing what she was doing, and Bridget needed to strike again before he did.
“Oh, Your Grace,” Bridget said as pleasantly as she could.
The Duke’s expression changed to one of apprehension, knowing something was coming.
“I noticed you were about to eat, but we have not yet said grace,” Bridget continued. “Would you mind saying grace for us?” She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, my. That was funny to say.”
Once again, she could feel her mother’s curious eyes on her, and she didn’t turn to her again. She only held the Duke’s gaze, challenging him to rise to the occasion.
“I would love to,” Nicholas replied. “I had no intention of eating before saying grace, but the soup smelled simply divine. Lady Lincoln, you certainly have employed wonderful cooks.”
Penelope shook her head nervously at the compliment.
“I am often tempted by the wrong thing, but I am glad to have Lady Bridget here to keep me straight. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
“I appreciate you saying that, Your Grace,” Bridget replied.
