Chapter
Fifty-seven
Interrogation
Nation
Before dinner, Darcy’s great-aunt came into
the drawing room to introduce herself to Paige.
“How do you do?” she asked rather formally,
looking Paige up and down. “Where are you from dear?”
“America, Los Angeles.”
“Oh, really?” She looked at Darcy
distastefully. He suddenly knew introducing Paige to his great-aunt so early on
– before Paige was officially his girlfriend, was probably a mistake.
“Well,
we’re really hoping Darcy ends up back in Australia with the other half or
stays here after he’s finished all of this study nonsense. Wouldn’t happen if
he married an American now would it?”
Paige noted she said the word ‘American’ as
if it were an infection of some sort. Paige felt like she had to defend
herself, “Ah… really, we’re just friends.”
“Yes, well, he always liked Mackenzie at
school but I’m hoping he’ll warm to my Mariah when he meets her.” Lady Donovan
leaned in with a whisper, “So, I’d keep my hands off him if I were you. It’ll
only end in tears.”
Paige didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Actually, we just ran into each other in
town… I’m here for my college debate final.”
“Oh…” Darcy’s great-aunt peered at Paige,
“Friends as well as lovers, then. Well, I’d keep my claws off him all the same.”
Darcy had started fidgeting in the corner
of the room, apparently he hadn’t heard what his great-aunt said. As he wandered
over, his great-aunt started smiling again, pretending to be nice.
Thankfully, he hadn’t heard his great-aunt’s
most recent insult or it would have been all out war. The pale look on Paige’s
face said it all. He should never have left her alone with his great aunt and
if she was this bad, imagine how much worse his great uncle (Darcy was his sole
heir) might be.
“At least he’s back from Australia,” (she
pronounced it Orst-ralia), “fearfully hot place, full of colonials and the
Irish, well, I suppose it takes all sorts to make a world…”
Paige heard a cough in the corner of the
room and noticed Darcy’s great-uncle in the corner hunched over an atlas.
“This is going to be fun,” Paige thought
sarcastically as the dinner party walked into the dining room and Lady Donovan
talked up the value of her creepy antiques.
Paige couldn’t wait to get home to text her
sister.
When it came to dinner, Lady Donovan had the
table placements pre-arranged.
“No no, Darcy, you sit here,” Lady Donovan
patted the seat beside her. Paige was placed at the other end of the table near
Lord Donovan who had not yet spoken. Let’s just say, Paige’s first meal at an
English country mansion was something to remember – and not in a good way.
Finally when pudding was served, or did
she imagine it, Lord Donovan looked up from his newspaper and spoke, “nice day
for hunting then?”
