“Hannah!” screeched Mrs. Linton, hurtling into the kitchen.
“Yes, ma’am!” the cook shouted.
“Bring out the ham now! Mr. Linton is distracting them from the delay.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Mrs. Linton took a steadying breath, then returned to the dining room, where her husband
was politely inquiring about the travelers’ journey.
“You said you’ve come from Westport? Our neighborhood had just received a new
couple in Lancaster Hall, come from County Mayo, as well.”
“What a coincidence!” interjected Mrs. Linton.
And then she stopped in shock as one of the grubby travelers grinned, reached into his
coat, and brought out a bottle of 1822 Madeira wine. There was a stunned silence, then a loud clatter behind her as Hannah dropped the plate of ham onto the bare floor.
“Well,” said the other traveler, removing her coat, “we have indeed come from County Mayo.”
“To our new estate at Lancaster House,” said the first, scrubbing the dirt off his face and revealing himself to be none other than--
“Lord Oswald,” breathed Hannah, and she bobbed a courtesy so deep that Mrs. Linton placed a hand on her arm.
“Oh, dear! We’re terribly sorry for the scarcity of our supper,” Mrs. Linton said.
“That, my dear Mrs. Linton, is exactly why we chose to dine with you,” replied the Lady. “No other household seemed to offer so sincere an invitation.”
“Er... we’ve got a goose,” said Mr. Linton. “We could send it down to Michael to be roasted, then bring it up to your kitchens.”
“Oh, you needn’t do that! In fact, we’d like to reward you for your generosity,” said Lord Oswald, rather impressed with his own graciousness.
“Oh, I’m sure all we could wish is to earn your respect and help our neighbors!”
“Then shall we place you at the fore of the almsgiving endeavors we intend to undertake here?”
Mr. and Mrs. Linton looked at each other in astonishment, then turned
continued on following page
VJCL SPRING FORUM PAGE 17