chided. She turned her attention again to Haldiman. “Why, to hear him tell it, you are a regular ogre. I half expected to be beaten when we landed in last night. And by the by, Rufus, that was an excellent mount your groom gave me. A sweet goer, headstrong and fast, just as I like. In Canada, you know, we have real distances to cover, not like this poky little scrap of an island.”
“I have heard North America is larger,” Haldiman replied, with impassive good humor. Her every solecism was welcome, as showing Peter how ineligible the lady was.
“Heard? Don’t you own a map? You could practically slide England into Retford and leave room for Scotland besides.”
“I see you are feeling confined on this tight little island already, Betsy. Such a spirit as yours requires the broader spaces of Canada.”
“I doubt if I could stick it here for long, but while I am here, I mean to see what there is to see. It sets a lady a little apart to have traveled.”
“There is little enough to see in the provinces. You ought to go to London,” Haldiman suggested.
“Just what I’ve been telling Peter. We shall all get up a party to go very soon.” Her darting eyes espied a motion at the doorway. “They are serving something to eat at last. Miss Wood heeded my little hint.”
Betsy was the first one at the table. Haldiman lifted a repressive brow at his brother and said, “We shall cancel that dinner party for tonight. I hope Mama has not mentioned it.”
But when the brothers joined the others for coffee and cake, they learned their mother had already extended the invitation, and Mrs. Wood had accepted on behalf of her family. Sara was horrified to realize her afternoon’s torment was to be repeated in front of an even larger audience.
“Just a small party to welcome Peter home,” Lady Haldiman was explaining. “I sent a note off to Reverend Kane. He don’t answer, but he always turns up. Odd manners. Sir Swithin Idle is at home. He will come, and of course his mama.”
“Sir Swithin is going to paint Sara’s picture,” Mary mentioned.
“Yes, pretty as a picture to be sure,” Lady Haldiman agreed. “And an amusing rattle besides. He calls me Perdita, for Prinny was once after me for his flirt.”
“That must have been years ago,” Miss Harvey said.
“I don’t know,” Lady Haldiman murmured, shaking her head vaguely. “Where do the years go? Past reclaiming. A lovely cake, Pamela,” she added, turning her attention to Mrs. Wood.
Sara nibbled silently at her cake. How could she get out of this dinner party? Claiming a sick headache would not be inappropriate. Indeed, she felt the incipient stab of pain at her temples to even consider it. Watching her, Haldiman remembered his promise to make the visit short and soon herded the family together to leave.
As he left, he said aside to Sara, “The dinner party was Mama’s idea. Are you very displeased?”
“It sounds delightful,” she answered through thin lips.
“The first week will be the hardest, Sara. You’ll see.” He studied her tense, pale face a moment. She looked very different from the young Sara he had tried to comfort after Peter’s disappearance. That girl had been nearly speechless. The new, older Sara had developed a more forthright manner that interested him. “Idle has chosen a bad moment to capture you on canvas. I didn’t realize he ran tame here at Whitehern. Idle is a bit of a lad with the ladies, you know.”
Sara gazed at him with a steady, scornful eye, and replied, “We aging spinsters, you know, cannot afford to be choosy.”
“You don’t mean—is that why you are so adamant about not having Peter?” His voice was high with disbelief. It angered Sara that he should find it impossible another man found her attractive. “You and Swithin are courting?”
She was about to deny this ridiculous charge, till it occurred to her a new beau would be a wonderful shield against the old. “Now you are putting words in
“I have heard North America is larger,” Haldiman replied, with impassive good humor. Her every solecism was welcome, as showing Peter how ineligible the lady was.
“Heard? Don’t you own a map? You could practically slide England into Retford and leave room for Scotland besides.”
“I see you are feeling confined on this tight little island already, Betsy. Such a spirit as yours requires the broader spaces of Canada.”
“I doubt if I could stick it here for long, but while I am here, I mean to see what there is to see. It sets a lady a little apart to have traveled.”
“There is little enough to see in the provinces. You ought to go to London,” Haldiman suggested.
“Just what I’ve been telling Peter. We shall all get up a party to go very soon.” Her darting eyes espied a motion at the doorway. “They are serving something to eat at last. Miss Wood heeded my little hint.”
Betsy was the first one at the table. Haldiman lifted a repressive brow at his brother and said, “We shall cancel that dinner party for tonight. I hope Mama has not mentioned it.”
But when the brothers joined the others for coffee and cake, they learned their mother had already extended the invitation, and Mrs. Wood had accepted on behalf of her family. Sara was horrified to realize her afternoon’s torment was to be repeated in front of an even larger audience.
“Just a small party to welcome Peter home,” Lady Haldiman was explaining. “I sent a note off to Reverend Kane. He don’t answer, but he always turns up. Odd manners. Sir Swithin Idle is at home. He will come, and of course his mama.”
“Sir Swithin is going to paint Sara’s picture,” Mary mentioned.
“Yes, pretty as a picture to be sure,” Lady Haldiman agreed. “And an amusing rattle besides. He calls me Perdita, for Prinny was once after me for his flirt.”
“That must have been years ago,” Miss Harvey said.
“I don’t know,” Lady Haldiman murmured, shaking her head vaguely. “Where do the years go? Past reclaiming. A lovely cake, Pamela,” she added, turning her attention to Mrs. Wood.
Sara nibbled silently at her cake. How could she get out of this dinner party? Claiming a sick headache would not be inappropriate. Indeed, she felt the incipient stab of pain at her temples to even consider it. Watching her, Haldiman remembered his promise to make the visit short and soon herded the family together to leave.
As he left, he said aside to Sara, “The dinner party was Mama’s idea. Are you very displeased?”
“It sounds delightful,” she answered through thin lips.
“The first week will be the hardest, Sara. You’ll see.” He studied her tense, pale face a moment. She looked very different from the young Sara he had tried to comfort after Peter’s disappearance. That girl had been nearly speechless. The new, older Sara had developed a more forthright manner that interested him. “Idle has chosen a bad moment to capture you on canvas. I didn’t realize he ran tame here at Whitehern. Idle is a bit of a lad with the ladies, you know.”
Sara gazed at him with a steady, scornful eye, and replied, “We aging spinsters, you know, cannot afford to be choosy.”
“You don’t mean—is that why you are so adamant about not having Peter?” His voice was high with disbelief. It angered Sara that he should find it impossible another man found her attractive. “You and Swithin are courting?”
She was about to deny this ridiculous charge, till it occurred to her a new beau would be a wonderful shield against the old. “Now you are putting words in
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