Page 55 of Elixir of a Duchess' Passion
Chapter 25
“Lord Fenchurch, your chef has quite outdone himself this evening.”
It was the usual compliment that guests were to give their host at dinner, though for once, Melissa thought she had to agree with Mr Bloom’s words. The soup starter had been perfectly balanced, not too salty, and with just the right hint of sweetness. And the lamb they were all currently eating had been excellently seasoned with rosemary and thyme.
Melissa smiled silently at the comment, pleased to let her best friend’s husband have his moment to accept the praise on behalf of his servant. But Daisy spoke up and said, “Actually, I believe it is Lady Belmont who deserves the praise. Our chef couldn’t have made this dinner quite so well if it hadn’t been for all the fresh herbs she brought from Oxfordshire last week.”
The eyes of all the guests turned upon Melissa then, but she focused her smile upon Daisy and said, “I may have supplied the herbs, but your chef has quite the talent to do all he has with them so far.”
“Daisy is right,” Lord Fenchurch insisted, reaching out to clutch his wife’s hand. The smile on his face suggested that he was in an overly good mood, and the look that passed between the couple suggested to Melissa that her teas and tonics had been working for their fertility troubles; at least they seemed to have been getting the couple in the mood easily enough. She was almost certain she had heard the tell-tale sounds coming from their master bedroom shortly before their guests had begun to arrive. “Only the best quality produce could make such a fine meal.”
“Then that praise ought to go to your meat supplier,” Melissa insisted, cutting some more of the lamb. “This meat is so tender it melts in the mouth.”
“Yes, it is lovely,” Mrs Bloom said from where she sat beside her husband a little down the table. Even as she spoke, she gave a disgruntled look in Melissa’s direction as though she wasn’t entirely pleased to be agreeing with her. Clearly, Mrs Bloom would not be the kind of woman who would turn up at her door looking for help or advice.
It was clear from the almost constant scowl upon the businessman’s wife’s face that she was only sat at the table at the behest of her husband, a friend of Lord Fenchurch’s. She was a sour-faced woman and one that Melissa had no interest in getting to know. She was greatly relieved her best friend hadn’t tried to seat her next to her.
In fact, the seat directly to Melissa’s right was left empty while every other seat at the table had been taken. She suspected several at the table were questioning why she had been given a seat of priority to Lord Fenchurch’s right hand, directly opposite his wife. Many would not account for the fact that she and Lady Fenchurch had been friends since childhood.
Though she was used to the odd looks she got from the rest of society, she still noticed them, and many of the guests had looked at her once or twice that evening as though she did not belong.
As though Daisy had sensed Mrs Bloom’s distrust towards Melissa, the lady said, “Thank you, Mrs Bloom. Mel, I must tell you again how glad I am that you decided to come and join us in London for a while!”
Out of the corner of her eye, Melissa saw the distasteful look on Mrs Bloom’s face at having her conversation cut off quite so quickly. Melissa couldn’t imagine what more she could have wanted to say about the food, but there was no way she was going to try and pick up the conversation again.
Instead, she smiled at her friend and said, “I am so glad you had room for me. Your dining table is always quite full.”
She glanced down the table at the other guests, Lord and Lady Becker, Mr and Mrs Bloom, Mr and Mrs Rend, and a couple of other individuals she hadn’t yet actually been introduced to. Every night since she had been in London, another set of guests had been at the Lord and Lady’s table. Melissa knew well enough why. As a politician, Lord Fenchurch was required to make friends wherever he could.
Yet, it didn’t matter how many people she was introduced to, Melissa still felt quite alone save for her best friend sitting opposite her every evening.
“The more, the merrier, I always say,” Lord Fenchurch stated, raising his wine glass to hold it up. “A toast to many great friends.”
Daisy smiled at her husband and picked up her own wine glass to join in the toast. Melissa followed suit, and the rest of the table joined in.
“To many great friends,” the entire room said. Only the servants standing all around the edge were silent, staring on over the heads of the guests at the table until they were required once more for something. A part of Melissa thought she might have been more welcome among their number than at the table with the likes of Mrs Bloom, who kept looking at her with such a judging expression on her face. Even when the woman smiled, there was unkindness in her gaze that Melissa knew well.
She suspected that Daisy’s maids and other servants would be much more welcoming just as the farmers and their wives were back home and her own servants, who had long since begun to take all her advice, asking for it willingly.
Melissa’s only relief from the people surrounding her was that her own maid, Betty, remained close by no matter where she went.
As the lord’s toast ended, the table returned to their relative conversations. Melissa turned her attention back to her food, all too happy to eat, and retire to her guest chambers upstairs. At the same time, Daisy and Anthony continued to entertain in the drawing room, the parlour, or wherever else they might decide to take drinks after dinner.
But as she finished the main meal and prepared herself for the final course, dessert, Melissa couldn’t help overhearing the conversation between Mrs Bloom and Lady Becker.
“Can you believe he would have the gall to show his face around here again?” Mrs Bloom suggested with disgust, her tone hushed but not nearly enough that Melissa couldn’t hear. “I would have thought his father would have more sense than to allow him back so soon.”
Ordinarily, Melissa would not have listened to the conversation. In fact, she was already beginning to switch off to it. She had half-turned to suggest to Daisy that she was tired and would retire early when she heard Lady Becker’s response, “Lord Durham has never been harsh enough with him.”
“Lord Spurnrose was likely to return to London at some point or other,” Mr Rend put in from where he was sitting beside the two women. At the sound of the man’s name, Melissa’s stomach twisted. The venom the two women had been talking about him made her feel sick. “He is, after all, Lord Durham’s heir.”
“Can you imagine?” Mrs Bloom scoffed, and Melissa realised she was growing to like the woman less and less. “Should that man ever become an earl, I shall eat my hat.”
Melissa’s skin crawled, and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from suggesting that she might help the woman to do so.
Trying her absolute hardest not to react in any way to the conversation, Melissa looked instead to Daisy. As soon as she met her friend’s gaze, it became clear that she had also heard the words being spoken further down the table.
“Mrs Bloom, is there something about the viscount you feel you ought to share with us?” Daisy said, and though she spoke in a friendly manner, her voice had a slight edge as though she was warning the woman not to say anything too scandalous at her table.
