sounds of her speech roll over her like waves as she drank her tea and slowly thawed. When Frances wound down, she set the tea aside and considered the task set before them.
"I do believe we should plan for at least three hundred, since there are so many here just within the county who will wish pay their respects. Remember too, the Marquess was a powerful man and those in the government will wish to meet his son and
consider what he will do to carry on his father's work." She certainly was one of them although she had little concerned herself with such things during her move to the country. This far from London, very few government documents would make their way to her and that, considering how fragile her peace was, was probably a good thing. Despondency was increasingly her companion and she saw no way through the mental fog that weighed her down.
Realizing that Frances had chattered on and Ammie had lost the thread of the conversation, she drew a deep breath and raised her hand. "I am sorry, Frances. I was woolgathering. If you have not already done so, might we go over the food supplies on hand and decide where and how to bring in what additional supplies we will need? And we should contact the neighboring estates to see if there extra bedrooms available should there be a need."
"Just so, my Lady, Frances replied. "I have the maids going through the linens and opening all the rooms, but, if what you say is true, we will need well beyond the resources of Barcloe, especially since the meal following cannot be held outside."
"I have ordered the opening of Duclose which will provide accommodations for twenty guests and servants, but I have only a skeleton staff. I will recruit more servants from the surrounding villages for both Barcloe and Duclose if you wish. Also the ___________ Inn has additional rooms and an excellent cook if we need to call on her."
As they spent the next several hours organizing and disbursing requests for aid throughout the nearby area, Belle found herself suffering the pangs of memories of all the kindnesses performed by the former Marquess and his Lady to a small French emigree. The Marquess had quickly established a kind of kinship with the Ammie that went beyond his ferrying of her and her cousins. They both delighted in word puzzles. He would lay them out for her and she would spend time looking at them until, suddenly, all the pieces satisfyingly fell in place, and she would look up at him in joy as she read out the message contained in the puzzle.
The Marchioness was not as happy as the Marquess when he put more puzzles before her. She would often draw her out to the garden to help her tend roses while he patiently waited until the sun or the rain drew them back into the house. Then he would set out another puzzle while his wife sniffed and turned away.
When she was a little older, she realized that the messages she was deciphering from the puzzles were interesting as well. She thought about the numbers and
"I do believe we should plan for at least three hundred, since there are so many here just within the county who will wish pay their respects. Remember too, the Marquess was a powerful man and those in the government will wish to meet his son and
consider what he will do to carry on his father's work." She certainly was one of them although she had little concerned herself with such things during her move to the country. This far from London, very few government documents would make their way to her and that, considering how fragile her peace was, was probably a good thing. Despondency was increasingly her companion and she saw no way through the mental fog that weighed her down.
Realizing that Frances had chattered on and Ammie had lost the thread of the conversation, she drew a deep breath and raised her hand. "I am sorry, Frances. I was woolgathering. If you have not already done so, might we go over the food supplies on hand and decide where and how to bring in what additional supplies we will need? And we should contact the neighboring estates to see if there extra bedrooms available should there be a need."
"Just so, my Lady, Frances replied. "I have the maids going through the linens and opening all the rooms, but, if what you say is true, we will need well beyond the resources of Barcloe, especially since the meal following cannot be held outside."
"I have ordered the opening of Duclose which will provide accommodations for twenty guests and servants, but I have only a skeleton staff. I will recruit more servants from the surrounding villages for both Barcloe and Duclose if you wish. Also the ___________ Inn has additional rooms and an excellent cook if we need to call on her."
As they spent the next several hours organizing and disbursing requests for aid throughout the nearby area, Belle found herself suffering the pangs of memories of all the kindnesses performed by the former Marquess and his Lady to a small French emigree. The Marquess had quickly established a kind of kinship with the Ammie that went beyond his ferrying of her and her cousins. They both delighted in word puzzles. He would lay them out for her and she would spend time looking at them until, suddenly, all the pieces satisfyingly fell in place, and she would look up at him in joy as she read out the message contained in the puzzle.
The Marchioness was not as happy as the Marquess when he put more puzzles before her. She would often draw her out to the garden to help her tend roses while he patiently waited until the sun or the rain drew them back into the house. Then he would set out another puzzle while his wife sniffed and turned away.
When she was a little older, she realized that the messages she was deciphering from the puzzles were interesting as well. She thought about the numbers and
