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“Not to mention you’d earn the ire of your favorite cousin,” Dinah added. There was no chance she would ever let Chef Voss go, not even to Rachel.
“I don’t know,” Eliza said between bites. “These cakes might be worth all that plus more.”
Dinah laughed, as did the others.
“I’m afraid you’ve ruined me, dear,” Charlotte said after finishing off one of the finger cakes quicker than any of them. “I shall never be happy at Sunbend House again.”
“Does Lord Blackmore not mind the cooking?” Dinah asked.
“If he doesn’t, surely his wife does,” Rachel added.
Charlotte cast her gaze heavenward. “I considered asking if they wished for me to help them find a new cook. My dear daughter-in-law is a sweet thing but is quite overwhelmed at the moment with a new baby. And though my son dotes on her, he is a man and sometimes rather stupid. But every time I think about bringing the topic up, I’m sure of what will happen. I’ll say something like ‘My dear boy, now that your household is growing, do you not think that Cook could use some additional help in the kitchen?’ And he’ll respond with something such as, ‘I’d never considered it before. I’ll ask the housekeeper if Cook is overwhelmed or not.’ And then the housekeeper will of course say all is well and that will be the end of that.”
Charlotte helped herself to another cake, shaking it gently at all of them as she continued. “My other option is to speak directly to my daughter-in-law, Susan. ‘You have so much on your hands now,’ I would say, ‘why don’t you let me help you find a new cook who can do the Blackmore name justice?’ She would reply with something like, ‘Does the cooking here truly bother you that much? I am so very sorry. I will see to a change immediately.’ Which sounds like a victory, but actually she would go straight to my son, and then he would come find me and say, ‘Why did you bother Susan with this? Don’t you know she just had a baby and is still recovering?’ And then, we’d simply have the same conversation as though I’d approached him on the subject first.” Charlotte sighed and leaned back.
“Sounds rather like a hopeless cause,” Dinah said.
“I’m afraid so,” Charlotte agreed. “Think of me while I’m gone, will you, ladies? Eat your lovely cakes and drink your perfect tea and know that I desperately wish I was doing the same.”
Dinah leaned over, resting her head momentarily on Charlotte’s shoulder, speaking in a fake solemn tone. “I shall eat an extra piece of cake in your honor every day you are away.”
“Thank you, dear,” Charlotte said with a smile. Then she paused. “Though, truth be told,” the older woman’s voice changed, becoming more weighted, “I will worry for you as well while I’m away.”
The mood in the room shifted. Dinah instantly became aware of her family’s collective concern for her—but instead of comforting her, it felt a little more like swallowing salt water, sharp on the way down and unpleasant long after.
“I am well,” Dinah said, looking more at her tea than the women around her. “There is no reason to worry over me.”
Eliza, Rachel, and Charlotte all exchanged glances.
Dinah pursed her lips. Apparently, they’d not stopped talking about her choices simply because she was married now.
“Truly, though?” Rachel asked after a moment of silence between them.
“We know you, Dinah,” Eliza added. “Don’t pretend around us that you are happy with having been forced into this marriage.”
Tears bit at the back of Dinah’s eyes. But she blinked several times, willing away any signs of crying, and smiled more brightly. “Henry and I may have had a rocky beginning, but that doesn’t necessarily ensure a horrible life together.” Over the past several days, she and Henry had spoken often to one another, and always affably so. There was no love. No deep, abiding affection between them.
But nonetheless, Dinah didn’t want the pity of these women about her, no matter that they were family.
“I am determined to make the most of my current situation,” she said.
Charlotte placed her tea back on the low table in front of them. “Good for you. Get in there and show Lord Stanton exactly what sort of a woman he’s been blessed to marry.”
“Show him your zeal for life,” Eliza said.
“Show him how big your heart is,” Rachel added.
“Show him,” Charlotte said, taking hold of Dinah’s chin and turning their faces toward one another, “that you are a Mulgrave; and Mulgraves don’t back down from a challenge.”
Dinah had to blink several times over to keep the tears at bay.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Then she was wrapped in the hugs of all her family.
They were right. She could do this. She would show Henry that no matter his thoughts on love, she wasn’t one to turn tail and run. She wasn’t going anywhere. She was in this forever.
Henry may consider himself a decisive man—but he’d never come up against Mulgrave stubbornness. And no man faced such a force and remained unaffected.
