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“It looks magnificent,” Paula told her.
“Let’s hope for good enough. It’s a really big platter, so I’d like to plate everyone at the table.”
She moved to Paula. “A little bit of everything, thank you.”
“No need to be stingy with me. You can load me up,” Ace told her.
“Now that you’ve had some time,” Deuce began as she worked her way around the table, “how are you liking Poole’s Bay? Not just the manor, but the village, the area.”
“I like it very much. I never really expected to move out of the city, or far from it in any case. It’s a big change, but it feels right for me. I like everything.”
She sat, then looked up at another slam. “Or almost everything.”
Seth looked up with her. “I’m not sure I could get used to that.”
“I’ll let you know if I do. Right now I’m trying to figure out how my mother’s going to react when she’s here next weekend.” And since no one made gagging noises as they ate, Sonya concluded she’d done well enough on the meal.
“I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you.” Corrine sipped from her water glass. “And where you’re making your home. Does she know the history of the house?”
“I’ve given her bits and pieces. I’ve been reading the book,” Sonya said to Deuce. “The Poole family history. And I’ve been documenting the… incidents.”
“That shows a practical nature,” Corrine commented, then took another bite of beef. “That would be helpful in a move like this. Poole’s Bay and the manor are a world away from Boston. A good quality for a woman building her own business, I’d think. Honesty would be another key, wouldn’t it?”
“If you’re not honest with a client, you’ll lose the client.”
Corrine nodded as she ate. “Honesty in business, and in personal matters, is essential to building relationships. And yet, you weren’t honest with us.”
“I—I’m sorry?”
“You said you weren’t much of a cook, and I’m finding myself just a little irked that your pot roast is better than mine. It is, isn’t it, Deuce?”
“I take the Fifth.”
“And we all know what that means.” Now she picked up her wine, and those steel-blue eyes shifted to Sonya. “I think false modesty’s just a dangling hook for compliments.”
“I think you just gave me one,” Sonya said as Anna didn’t bother to smother a laugh. “And on my first attempt at pot roast.”
“This is your first? And to think I was disposed to like you. Well, I want your recipe.”
“It’s actually my mother’s but—”
“Check with her. She may not want to share outside of family. But if she will, I’ll trade my pound cake recipe for it, which I don’t offer lightly.”
“She does not,” Deuce confirmed.
“You’ll sample that for dessert, if anyone has room after this meal. Anna made it for tonight. Do you bake?”
“I put frozen pizza in the oven. That’s the height of my baking skills. Wait, I warmed up these rolls without burning them.”
Corrine smiled. “I expect living up here you’ll learn enough to get by.”
“I’m hoping my friend Cleo handles most of that end of things.”
“An illustrator,” Paula said. “It’s so nice to add more artists to the community.”
They talked art and food, local events and impressions. And with conversation, the fire simmering, second helpings, and a fresh bottle of wine, Sonya put her first dinner party at the manor in the success column.
“I thought we’d have coffee and dessert in the music room.”
