Page 73 of Lord Hartwell’s Refuge

“Not this time.” Matilda tilted her head to the side, her smile widening. “I would call it speculative breathing. I am speculating, Tamsin. I have known you nearly our whole lives, and I have been acquainted with your husband for a few years now. You might consider me the expert in him, between the two of us. Since the moment I heard about your engagement, brief as it was, I have performed a great deal of arithmetic in my head on the both of you.”

“Arithmetic?”

“Of a sort.” Matilda popped her parasol open again and put it over her shoulder. “I think the two of you are quite well suited to one another. Your bad habits are similar, but so are your hearts. Both of you want what is right and best. Neither of you are any good at leaving a single thing in someone else’s hands.”

That certainly did not sound like something that should cause problems. “Being self-sufficient and responsible are good things, I should think.”

“Of course they are, darling.” Matilda rose from the bench. “Oh, look. Lady Emily and Lady Juniper Sterling are out walking. Let us join them. I have great hopes for the four of us to form a great alliance.”

That put an end to their private conversation without Tamsin having solved anything, though admittedly she felt better for having said so much of what was troubling her out loud.

When Tamsin returned home after a very pleasing afternoon walk with her future sister-in-law and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Briers, the housekeeper, met her at the entry. “My lady, we have received a note that Mr. Eastwood is expected at dinner this evening, along with his betrothed, as well as Mr. John Sterling, and Lady Juniper Sterling. Tonight’s meal was meant for only the three family members at home, with fish as our prominent dish. Now we have seven to dine, Cook doesn’t think there is enough time for something suitably grand.”

Tamsin’s first instinct was to ask what Frances ordinarily preferred in such circumstances—but as her lips parted to form the question, she stopped herself and reconsidered. “What have we in the house other than the fish?”

Mrs. Briers’s brows lowered. “Other than fish, my lady?”

“Yes. What would Cook have served us tomorrow?”

“There is the joint of mutton, my lady, and two fowls. Cook meant one for tomorrow and the other for the servants’ table. There are quite a few vegetables and Cook always has a few sweet pastries laid by.”

Tamsin considered this. “Then roast both fowls, and the mutton as well. Cook may serve the fish she has, and anyone fortunate enough to be seated near it may have some.”

The housekeeper hesitated. “For company, my lady?”

Perhaps it was a little irregular, but even still… “Mr. Eastwood still lives in this house on occasion, and Lady Emily is to marry him. Mr. Sterling and his wife are her family. I think we may safely concern ourselves more with feeding them rather than impressing them.”

Mrs. Briers considered the idea a moment before nodding. “A family dinner. That is a fine idea, my lady.”

Tamsin waited.

Mrs. Briers waited too.

Apparently, there was to be no objection. No justification of her decision required. “I think that is a perfect resolution.” Tamsin did not fight the desire to smile. A lady ought to permit herself a small triumph, now and then. “A family dinner. Intimate. Last minute, yes, but because this is also their home.”

“Very good, my lady.” The housekeeper actually returned her smile.

“Thank you, Mrs. Briers. That will be all.”

The housekeeper departed, but Tamsin remained where she was for a moment.

It was a peculiar sort of power, she decided. She had solved a problem that was, in fact, hers to solve. She had stated what she wanted without considering if anyone else would approve…and that had been enormously satisfactory. It had not pressed upon her the way the decision would have in the Mayweather household. When she had been forced to make similar arrangements in her childhood home, she remained braced for the rest of the day, waiting for the moment when her father or stepmother would decide if it had been the right one.

But Mrs. Briers had already gone to inform Cook. Not ask, not inquire: inform. The rest of the family would be none the wiser as to the decision made; they would simply enjoy the outcome. No one was coming to tell Tamsin whether she had chosen correctly. The matter was settled.

How very strange.

And how very pleasant.

Chapter Twenty-One

The afternoon following her walk with Matilda, Charles and Henry arrived at Tamsin’s new home unannounced and before visiting hours. As they were family, the footman immediately showed them to the sitting room at the back of the house, where Tamsin was reading a book lent to her by her mother-in-law, who had gone out to visit a friend.

Her first reaction upon seeing her brothers was not delight.

It was alarm.

She rose so quickly the book resting open across her lap slid to the floor. “Charles? Henry? What happened?”