Chapter 27Dinner finally—thankfully—was over.
It had been an uncomfortable affair, with Aunt Cecily frequently averting her gaze from the gouges on my cheek.
Conversation was desultory; for the most part Arabella gushed on about where she and Arthur would reside, naming the most fashionable neighbourhoods in London, while Arthur grew silent and thoughtful.
Might he be having second thoughts, I wondered snidely?
Well, perhaps Aunt Cecily would see them set up by giving him what remained of the price of the Flame.
Finally the last cover was removed, and the ladies left us to our port.
“I must say your return to Fayerweather comes as something of a surprise to me, Arthur.” I took a walnut from the dish at the centre of the table and cracked it neatly between my fingers.
I caught Geo wa
