Charles adored Miss Munro immediately. He loved her theatrical manner, her obvious affection for Mr. Thorne, her complete lack of subtlety, and the hilarious way she took over the conversation. He was intrigued by the knowledge that Mr. Thorne had spoken of his new acquaintances in such detail but had not missed the fact that Miss Munro clearly paid very close attention to everything Mr. Thorne had written.
When the carriage reached the house, Charles was eager to see how Miss Munro would interact with the other members of the household. Gavin came out of his study as soon as they were all inside. Charles pulled his husband in for a kiss.
“Who’s that?” Gavin whispered.
“Oh, you must be Mr. Gavin Kentworthy,” Miss Munro said. “Your husband promised I would be able to recognize you by his greeting and he did not disappoint. I’m Basil’s friend, Miss Munro. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You have?” Gavin said.
“Yes, and I can see you’re quite as charming as described. And you must be Mr. and Mrs. Hartford. What a pleasure. I hope you don’t mind Basil and me disrupting your usual routine. I was quite mad to meet everyone, you see.”
Veronica sputtered in disbelief. “Well, I must say—”
Gavin glanced between Miss Munro and Veronica and then timidly stepped forward. “Not at all, Miss Munro. We are very happy to have you. Any friend of Mr. Thorne is welcome here. Shall I show you to the dining room?”
Miss Munro gave him a wide smile and tucked her hand around his arm. “Such a dear! Thank you, Mr. Kentworthy. I was sure I would like you.”
Gavin blushed and led her out of the room as promised. John stared after them and then turned to Mr. Thorne. “A pleasure to see you again, Mr. Thorne.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hartford,” Mr. Thorne said pleasantly.
John nodded and held out his arm for Veronica. Mr. Thorne offered his arm to Gerry, who took it, blushing. Pip and Charles took up the rear.
“What do you think of her?” Charles said quietly to Pip.
Pip chuckled. “I like her. I’m…interested to see how this conversation goes.”
Charles grinned in response. “Never a dull moment, eh, darling?”
“Not if you can help it.”
Charles laughed.
For part of the meal, the conversation went almost exactly as it had gone since Miss Munro arrived. She kept up a near steady stream of observations, questions, and comments. She praised the meal as excellent and complimented Gavin on employing such a good cook, told Gerry her dress was lovely and how well the color suited her complexion, asked John and Veronica who their favorite people were in Tutting-on-Cress, talked about how impressed she had been by Gerry’s shop, asked Pip what he did in the shop and whether he liked it there, asked Charles if there was anyone she ought to meet who Mr. Thorne hadn’t met yet, and finally asked John and Veronica about their son.
“He is about two years old,” John explained.
“A lovely age! And what is his name?”
“John.”
“Ah. A very steady name. I would love to meet him. Did you bring him with you?”
“He is in the nursery,” Veronica explained. “Where he belongs.”
“Does he like the garden? You seem to have a lovely garden. Have you met Basil’s family? I think their youngest is about little Johnny’s age—”
“It’s not Johnny,” Veronica snapped. “It’s John. I can’t abide nicknames. They’re insufferably common, to my mind. And no, we haven’t introduced him to Mr. Thorne’s siblings. He does not accompany us on our social calls.”
“Whyever not?”
“Because he’s too loud and chattery to do well in polite society.” Veronica looked smug, as if she had delivered a well-worded insult.
Miss Munro waved a hand airily. “That is how children are. Why, you should see Basil’s family. They are the liveliest creatures, and so adorable.”
“Yes, I’ve met them. I found them to be very poorly behaved.”
“I beg your pardon,” Mr. Thorne said. “I hate to contradict you, Mrs. Hartford. But how were they poorly behaved?”
“They asked too many questions, they wouldn’t sit down for the space of two seconds, they insisted on exploring a strange house on their own. It was far too demanding.”
Mr. Thorne looked pained. “I…was not aware that was inappropriate.”
“Of course it wasn’t inappropriate,” Gerry said hotly. “They were being children. Bertie didn’t mind. If he did mind, he wouldn’t have invited them, and he wouldn’t have given them leave to explore the house. They didn’t do any damage and they even left the room so the adults could converse easily. To my mind, they were perfectly behaved.”
Mr. Thorne gave Gerry a small smile. “Thank you, Miss Hartford.”
“Very well said, darling,” Miss Munro said. “I’ve always said if you can’t handle children being children, then you shouldn’t have them. Of course, Basil was somewhat dropped into the situation, but all the same. I don’t hear him complaining about them.”
Veronica gaped. “How dare you, you vulgar creature! John, did you hear what she said? The idea.” She turned back to Miss Munro, not waiting for her husband to agree with her, which was just as well, as John didn’t respond. He had gone rigid and pale, his lips pressed close together.
“Mr. Hartford?” Mr. Thorne said softly. “Are you all right?”
John gave a stiff nod. “I’m afraid I’m not feeling altogether the thing. Do carry on, please.” He quickly left the table.
Mr. Thorne looked conflicted, then quietly excused himself and followed John.
Veronica rallied despite her husband’s departure. “I think it is a pretty low thing that people have forgotten their moral duties and responsibilities in this day and age.”
“Moral duty?” Miss Munro said, laughing. “What a strange way to go about that decision. Moral duty won’t help you to love a child more.”
“But inheritance!”
“That’s what entailments are for,” Miss Munro replied, shaking her head in disbelief.
Veronica gasped in horror. “How dare you say such a thing.”
Miss Munro smiled. “I do adore a lively debate. It has been far too long since I’ve enjoyed one. Basil is wonderful, but he is not one for this sort of conversation, you know what I mean? I am glad we’re getting on so well, Mrs. Hartford. Do go on.”
Gerry choked on her tea. Gavin’s mouth twitched.
“Lively debate?” Veronica said. “What, is this some sort of game to you?”
“It’s such fun! What else shall we discuss? You can pick the next topic.”
Veronica sputtered some more.
Charles leaned forward and said to Miss Munro, “I would love to hear your thoughts on the importance of order of precedence.”
Miss Munro lit up. “Excellent!”