Page 34 - RotalTutor

dinner table was so delicious to her that she suddenly felt happy for the first time in a long time. She was no longer hungry, she was slightly rested from her long trip, and she had a dark, happy plan. She chatted happily with Duke Reginald and Lady Margaret. “I want to thank you for putting that picture of Mother in my room.” Lady Margaret smiled. “Alexander thought you might like it since you are so far from home.” She scowled at Alexander. He had said his mother had it hung there, and Louise had also presumed it had been Lady Margaret’s idea. Alexander’s expression didn’t change, even as she glowered at him. Now she really couldn’t wait to teach him a lesson. “And how was your trip here, Your Highness?” Duke Reginald asked. “Quite uneventful - long, tiring, dusty.” “Lots of beautiful country, though,” Lady Margaret added. “Yes, but I’m glad it’s over.” She wanted the conversation to be over, too. She wanted to get back to her room to start planning her course of action, but she couldn’t leave until her hosts signaled the end of dinner. The meal truly had been wonderful: roast mutton cooked over a spit to take away the grease; thick, grainy bread with dark gravy poured over it;, and hot rolls full of melting butter. And when she thought she couldn’t eat 32