Gregory waited while the empty soup plates were cleared and the main course—a combination of fish, fowl, and meats—was ceremonially laid out. The vegetable dishes were numerous and quite popular, even among the men. Once all were served and had started eating, he found himself waving his fork at the dishes and saying, “This—all of it—is superb.” The combination of flavors was hearty and exquisitely sumptuous at the same time. He raised his glass to Cromwell. “My compliments to Nessie. This is, indeed, a welcome feast to remember.”
The others around the table echoed the sentiment.
Cromwell beamed. “I’ll be sure to convey your appreciation, sir.”
“Preferably before dessert,” Tristan called, and the others laughed.
As Gregory returned his attention to his plate, Julia explained, “Nessie has been known to substitute bread-and-butter pudding for more flavorsome desserts if she thinks we haven’t been properly grateful for her culinary efforts.”
Gregory chuckled. “She sounds a character.”
Julia nodded. “She is.”
Gregory turned to Alice and smiled encouragingly and was unsurprised to discover that she, too, was primed to tell him more about her apothecary business. He listened, recognizing enough to confirm that she truly knew her craft.
When she looked faintly surprised at his questions, he grinned and revealed, “My cousin Lucilla, who lives in Scotland, is active in the same sphere, so I’m passingly acquainted with the use of herbs, tinctures, and such for successfully treating all manner of ailments.”
Alice brightened. “That’s something of a relief. These days, not everyone is, although I must admit that, around here, most have come to rely on our help when they fall ill.”
Prompted by Millie, who had assisted in describing the gamut of their services, Alice proudly reported a substantial profit of over seven hundred and fifty pounds in the past six months, with a full five hundred pounds paid into the collective fund. “It’s been a particularly good year for our creams and lotions. The ladies are our best customers these days.”
Gregory was beyond impressed. Indeed, he was faintly staggered. If there were fifteen businesses achieving profits of similar levels…
He made a mental note to get onto the estate’s solicitor about the monies that plainly weren’t being used.
At that moment, dessert appeared. Bowls of trifle, poached pears in syrup, and stuffed oranges were set out on the table as the footmen whisked away their used plates and replaced them with bowls. Everyone eagerly served themselves, and for a few minutes, the room fell silent as they savored.
Then it was Joshua’s turn to fill Gregory in on the relative value of certain breeds of pigs and goats, which explained why only certain breeds were raised in the Hall’s pens. “If one is going to go to the trouble of breeding and fattening the beasts, there’s no sense not aiming to get premium prices.”
Given Gregory’s knowledge of goats, the conversation got quite technical. He realized how amazing it was to engage in such a discussion over a dinner table, yet a quick glance at the others’ faces revealed no hint of boredom. Indeed, it seemed all were truly interested in the details of each other’s business.
Caitlin Fergusson’s assertion that everyone there was invested in the well-being of the estate as a whole rang true.
As he listened to Joshua’s reporting of his profits and payment to the Hall fund—every bit as impressive as those of his peers—Gregory was struck by that broader revelation of collective spirit and the enthusiasm and passion on which it was based. Everyone about the table possessed a strong sense of individual and collective purpose. And he envied them that.
Isn’t that what I’ve come here hoping to find for myself?
The realization had him looking about the table with new eyes.
He’d come there intending to take up the reins of the estate and make it into…something. Into some venture that would, he hoped, anchor, absorb, and engage him in the same way Walkhurst Manor anchored Christopher, his older brother, and Alverton and his estates and their family absorbed his sister, Therese.
He was searching for an occupation, one that would give meaning to his life.
Yet Bellamy Hall was a far cry from what he’d expected to find. From what he’d anticipated managing.
Looking around at the faces, he felt as if he’d stepped into a fictional place, not the crazy situation it had initially appeared to be but a gentleman’s country estate operating in an entirely unexpected fashion.
He remembered the figures he’d glimpsed on the papers on the study desk. If they were to be believed, the estate was rolling along exceedingly comfortably, and in that day and age, that was no mean feat. That such a success was achieved through the collective efforts of such an eclectic group elevated the accomplishment to a significantly higher level.
For the first time, he felt he was starting to properly see and appreciate what Timms, and Minnie before her, had created at the Hall.
And they’d passed this strange and rather amazing legacy to him.
In accepting the inheritance, he’d assumed responsibility for all that entailed. For everything that existed on the Bellamy Hall estate.
Doubt reared its head. He wasn’t at all sure he was the right man for the job.
Then again, none of his cousins to whom Timms might have left the place would have been any better prepared to face this reality and take on the role of owner of Bellamy Hall.
