The Steward of Blackwood Hall

Chapter twenty - An uncomfortable revelation

When the housekeeper announced dinner, Mrs Latimer showed them into the dining room. "You must excuse us if we do not stand on ceremony this evening, Sir Henry. I fear our modest family meal will seem quite plain compared to the fare you are used to."

"Please do not concern yourself, Mrs Latimer. I am rather partial to eating en famille. It makes a pleasing change from the stuffy formality you often find at dinner parties."

Their hostess' wide smile returned as she put everyone in their place. "If you would be so kind as to sit here, Sir Henry, I am sure Selina will be more than happy to answer any further questions you may have about the neighbourhood."

There was a curious light in Mr. Latimer's eye as he took his place opposite his wife. "Would you care to join me, Mr. Fielding? Belle, I would like you here, on my right."

Fielding took the chair on Mr. Latimer's left, which gave him an excellent view of Anabelle and his friend at the other end of the table.

Despite her feigned concern for the simplicity of their meal, Mrs Latimer's cook had risen to the occasion. Fielding lost count of the different dishes, served à la française. He only sampled those that were placed nearest to him, which included a raised pigeon pie and some kind of ragout. As they ate, two servants circled the dining table, filling glasses with a selection of wines.

Mountford, always eager to please, was more than willing to give their hostess the approbation she craved. "I must say, ma'am, that this fish is excellent. The best I've ever tasted."

"You are too kind, sir. I would be happy to furnish Mrs North with the recipe, should you desire. It was fresh caught this morning, and from the same stream that borders your own property. Is that not right, Mr. Latimer?"

"What? Oh, yes. You will find the stream handy for perch, bream and the occasional pike, if you know the right spots. Not that I have had the opportunity of late. I believe Mr. Fielding has enjoyed more recent experience with the rod than I."

Mountford looked up. "Did you catch anything?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," Fielding said, recalling the one small fish he had returned to the water. 

Mr. Latimer glanced towards Anabelle, whose attention seemed fixed upon her plate. "It is always worth another try. I am sure you will have better luck the next time."

Fielding sampled the heady red wine as he took heart from his host's clumsy encouragement. Surely a father would be best placed to know his daughter's mind. Yet there was nothing in Anabelle's behaviour that gave him any cause to hope.

The Latimer matriarch was presently looking with maternal fondness upon Miss Selina, who remained oblivious while in quiet conversation with Mountford. From his conversations with Anabelle, Fielding had recognised a close bond with her sister and was inclined to think well of the young woman. During their brief meeting in Haltford she had seemed a sensible, practical female; watching her now with Mountford he recognised a familiar and worrying spark of interest in his friend's eye.

Considering how Henry fell into and out of love with tedious regularity, he would have to keep an eye on the situation. Given his own desire for a closer connection with the Latimer family—or one of them, at least—it would not do for Mountford to toy with the affections of Anabelle's favourite sister.

It was a mark of Mrs Latimer's ignorance that she was content to encourage the interest of his notoriously fickle friend, while rejecting him as an acceptable husband for Anabelle.

Meanwhile, Mr. Latimer continued to offer his own unique form of support. Throughout his conversation with Fielding, he attempted to coax Anabelle towards whatever subject fell under discussion, using an odd mixture of questioning and gentle teasing.