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“Edith will be sad to hear it.”
“Where is Edith?”
Mr. Burke’s gaze strayed toward Pippa’s family, and William fought the temptation to follow it there. “Home with my youngest, Tommy. He’s unwell. It’s a mere cold, but he’s possessed of a sickly constitution.”
“I’ve been told you have a daughter who might be willing to cook for us,” Father said, wasting no time. He cracked a smile. “My son and my cousin and I, that is. If we are left to our own devices, we’ll be eating stew every day, and not a pleasant one at that.”
Mr. Burke looked again to Pippa’s family, his eyes narrowing. “I’ll have to ask my Lily, but she’s a fine cook. Her stew would be pleasant enough, and you’ll have bread to go with it, no doubt.”
“It sounds to be an improvement already.”
Mr. Burke smiled. “Come, I’ll introduce you.”
He led them across the open lawn toward Pippa and the group she was speaking to. Her gaze lifted, snagging on him, and William sent her a brief smile. Pink bloomed on her tanned cheeks, and she looked away.
“Lily, I want you to meet an old friend of mine,” Mr. Burke said.
The young woman who’d been speaking to Pippa since the end of the sermon stepped forward, her pale green eyes rounding in interest as she came to rest beside her father. She dipped in a curtsy as the introductions were made, but her gaze kept straying back to William.
He swallowed a sigh. It was of no interest to him to employ a cook who would watch him with such unabashed curiosity. Perhaps he could do his best later that evening to make a stew worth eating and put Father off the idea of hiring anyone at all.
“How long do you plan to remain in Collacott?” Mr. Burke asked, the unspoken question lingering on the edges of his nervous words. He likely wanted to know if the Blakemores’ presence was a threat at all. To his fishing, to his safety, to his daughter . . . only on the last thing could William safely promise he would not interfere.
Once the smuggling had begun, no one was safe.
No one.
“That depends on how long I can convince my boy to stay with me,” Father said, affecting affection that was more parts false than not. He clapped William on the back and infused his voice with a warmth that William seldom heard. “I hope a good, long while, but one cannot control their grown sons, of course. I hope we remain here for good.”
No, one could not typically control their grown sons, but Father somehow had. He wielded guilt like a well-trained hound and maintained control over the leash that bound William, despite their differing opinions. To claim his intent to remain in Collacott for good, though? That was doing it much too brown.
“How fortunate for us,” Mr. Burke said. “Come, meet your neighbors.” He indicated a tall, broad man behind him, and gestured the gentleman forward. A woman followed close to his side, holding a chubby, cherry-cheeked babe. Pippa edged in close to the woman as the children they’d sat with ran off to play with their friends.
“Mr. MacKenzie,” Mr. Burke began.
“But everyone calls me Mac,” the giant said, cutting in with a pleasant smile, the easy expression of a man comfortable in his own boots. “This is my wife, Mrs. MacKenzie, our son Liam, and my sister-in-law, Miss Sheffield. Our other two are running about somewhere.”
“Getting into trouble, most likely,” Mrs. Mackenzie said wryly, dipping a curtsy.
Father gestured to him. “This is my son, Mr. William Blakemore, and my cousin’s son, Mr. Roger Blakemore.”
Bows and curtsies were exchanged without missing a beat, and Roger hung back a little, allowing Father to make the connection with no argument. His quiet acceptance grated on William, for though he had no choice but to heed his father’s wishes, Roger was a free man and could do as he wanted.
“We would love to have you over to dine, Mr. Blakemore,” Mrs. Mackenzie said. He could sense a hesitancy to her words, and she turned to include the Burkes in her invitation. “You know we would be happy if both of your families would join us. We can wait to plan a day when Tommy is better and Edith won’t need to remain home with him.”
Mr. Burke began to put her off. “Oh, I’m not sure—”
“We should enjoy that very much,” Father said. He speared Burke with a look. “I haven’t seen my good friends in twenty years, at least. A reunion is certainly in order.”
“It is settled,” Mrs. Mackenzie said. A victorious look shone in her dark blue eyes.
Pippa slipped up beside her friend and strung her arm through Lily’s. She whispered something so close to Lily’s ear that the hair moved on the side of her face, and William wished he could know what was being said. Lily nodded softly.
“It was a pleasure to meet you,” Pippa said, curtsying as she pulled her friend away. “Welcome back to Collacott.”
“Pippa, you certainly do not mean to walk,” Mrs. Mackenzie said.
Dragging her friend away, Pippa lifted her chin. “I intend to do just that.”
