As for himself, he found Lady Patience on one side and Lady Alice on the other and so he could not be entirely opposed to the unorthodox seating plan.
Radner was on Lady Alice’s other side with Lady Winsome on his other side. Marcus did not know what to make of the younger daughters at table, but fortunately that would be Radner’s problem and not his own.
The duke dinged one of his forks against his wine glass. “We’d best get things straight before we begin,” he said. “We only host small dinners for a reason. We are cozy enough that we will all talk together, so throw out the window any idea of turning to this seatmate and then that, like it’s a ritual dance. Also, my youngest daughter has something to say before we commence.”
The youngest, Lady Valor, rose from her chair with a look of nervous determination.
What on earth could she say? Why was she to say anything? She should be above stairs in the nursery.
“I wished to bid you welcome,” Lady Valor said.
Marcus nodded toward her. If that was it, well he supposed it was prettily enough done.
“Because—”
And there was more.
“Someday all my sisters will be married and I will be left here alone and will be my father’s hostess. I, myself, will never get married because… well, the man will sleep in the same room with you and it’s scary. Do they watch you sleep? We think Mr. Stratton watches Felicity sleep and now look what’s happened to her! She looks very bad!”
With that very alarming statement, Lady Valor curtsied and sat down.
“Well now,” the duke said, “I did not know Valor would say precisely that, but here we are.”
The footmen snorted as they came round to fill the wine glasses. The lackadaisical butler leaned on the sideboard watching the proceedings. Marcus picked up his glass and took a rather ungentlemanly swig.
At least the wine was very good.
“Never mind how this happened to me,” Lady Felicity said, “you must just be assured, Valor, that Percy and I are exceedingly happy over it.”
Mr. Stratton had turned red at the insinuation that he had something to do with Lady Felicity’s current condition. Lady Valor only shook her head with a decided look of pity.
Behind him, Marcus heard the dining room doors creak open. He glanced over his shoulder to see a mangy-looking cur who was missing a leg and had one eye clouded over make its way into the room. Had it got in from the street?
None of the family seemed at all taken aback to see such a sight, that sight disappearing under the table.
“That is Nelson,” Lady Patience said for his enlightenment. “We found him on the road last year.”
Marcus was not at all surprised to hear the dog was found on the road. Where else would it have been found? What it was currently doing under the dining room table was another question.
“You see what it is to have seven daughters, Stanford,” the duke said. “You end up with a three-legged and half-blind dog.”
“As soon as I saw him,” Lady Serenity said, “I wept and knew he must come with us. He was hanging about an inn, living on scraps.Scraps, you understand!”
“Scraps!” Lady Verity repeated. “A very usual case, but we would not stand for it.”
“Scraps,” Lady Winsome said in a dark tone.
“Now he chases Mrs. Wendover and sometimes I have to rescue her out of a closet,” Lady Valor said.
Good God, who was Mrs. Wendover? Was she an elderly relative? If she was, they ought not allow the dog to chase her. If she ended in a closet, she did not sound up to the task of outrunning a three-legged and half-blind dog.
“Mrs. Wendover likes Nelson, and also she doesn’t like Nelson, depending on where she ends up,” Lady Valor said.
He was beginning to feel very sorry for Mrs. Wendover.
“Mrs. Wendover is Valor’s stuffed rabbit,” Lady Patience said, by way of explanation.
That at least made more sense. Though, he must be cognizant of the idea that his mind had leapt to the notion of an elderly relative running from the dog. He thought it indicated his impressions of what might be possible in this household.
