She wanted to find Felicia but she hesitated. She stood by the open double doors, looking out. A few more guests had left now, and no one new was arriving. There was a sense that Percy ought to be left alone. His gentleman-traveller companion was taking his leave, and the last few guests were making moves to go. There was no more sign of Oscar. Theodore was talking with great animation to Percy. Adelia thought that she probably ought to step back out and take Felicia’s place in bidding farewell to people.
But she stayed where she was.
Percy’s arrival had sent ripples through the household. Lady Agnes, Captain Everard, Oscar Brodie, Felicia; all were affected and not all with great joy.
All? She realised that she had not seen The Countess at all that day; and Lady Katharine had not come out of the gatehouse to greet her own brother. Lady Agnes had been outside so who had been with The Countess that day? Perhaps Lady Katharine stepped in.
Something was bothering Adelia. In fact, many things were bothering her. She ordered it all in her head, as much as she could, and waited impatiently to be able to speak to Theodore as soon as she was able to.
THEODORE HAD HEARD the commotion as the retinue that surrounded Percy had first entered the main part of the castle. He had, as Adelia had guessed, been hiding in the study. He had plenty of things to read, and no interest at all in the guests that were arriving and departing. He had made a check on all the coins in the ice house that morning, and none had shown any discolouration at all. There was a faint whiff of sewer gas but it was stronger outside the ice house than within it. He was now engaged upon digging into the history of the Seeley-Wood family, particularly the business records although the great leather-bound ledgers were patchy and incomplete. The Seeley-Woods had held the Earldom of Buckshaw for generations but they had always been involved in business ventures alongside their aristocratic duties, with various companies passing from son to son and cousin to cousin depending on who was inheriting the main title and who was having to make their own living on the periphery. In spite of The Countess’s allergy to the word “trade”, the family had risen in the world precisely because of it.
When he heard the shouts of jubilation, he left the crumbling papers and books open in disarray on the table and ran out to follow Percy as he headed into the garden. He was pleased to see him. He had never spent much time alone with this particular son-in-law but in company he was hearty and amusing, and Theodore was looking forward to getting to know him even better.
Everyone seemed delighted to see Percy as he strode around the gardens, greeting strangers and friends alike. Felicia didn’t seem to be able to get close to him. Anyway, Theodore thought, she’d have him all to herself later on; she was being a dutiful wife letting Percy speak to all the guests before they departed.
Lady Agnes rushed past Theodore as Captain Everard left in the other direction, and she seemed to be in a hurry. Theodore guessed that she was on her way to inform The Countess of her grandson’s return. Brodie had been around but he, too, had gone, probably to let his mother know, in case she hadn’t seen the carriages roll past the gatehouse.
Then Percy was descending on Theodore and he had to focus his attention on the exuberant, cheerful gentleman who seemed keen to tell everyone all about his latest exploits.
THERE WAS A LULL IN between the end of the At Home and dinnertime. In fact, dinner had been pushed back an hour later to give the servants time to prepare something even more special than had been planned.
“It’s Mrs Rush who is organising it all, not Felicia,” Adelia said to Theodore.
“She knows the kitchens so that makes sense. Why do you look like that? Felicia has never been interested in the domestic side of things,” Theodore said. They were in their rooms. Theodore was lying on the bed, his stocking feet stretched out and propped up on a cushion to ease his weary limbs. Adelia was sitting by the window, looking out at the gathering dusk. An early moth was already battering itself against the window pane.
“She ought to oversee the welcome-home dinner for her own husband.”
“Would you do so for me?”
“I oversee all your meals. This is why you don’t have gout.”
He wriggled his toes in response. “Well, thank you very much for your care and attention.”
“It’s not out of the goodness of my heart,” she told him. “You’re simply insufferable when you’re unwell. Did you see how Felicia reacted when her husband came back?”
“She hung back to let the others greet him first.”
“Yes, and didn’t you think it was odd?”
“Not really,” Theodore said.
Adelia rolled her eyes. “What did you and Percy speak about?”
“Monkeys, mostly.”
“Excuse me?”
Theodore half-closed his eyes. “Yes, monkeys.”
“Did you talk about anything relevant to – you know, proceedings? I assume he’s had the letters about the death of his house steward. He must have mentioned that!”
Theodore nodded. “Ah, yes, yes. It was the strangest thing. We were alone at one point, when everyone had gone or was just leaving, and he was standing on the terrace looking out towards the ice house though we couldn’t see it from where we were. And he sighed. I thought he was glad to be home and I said as much.”
“Is he not glad to be home?”
“Only in part, I think. He said, rather shockingly, that a part of him was glad that Hartley Knight was gone.”
“Gone? Was that the
