The guests began arriving at half past seven.
Leofric stood at the entrance of the grand hall, Isabella beside him, both of them dressed and composed and presenting to the world the picture of a perfectly united household. She in deep burgundy, her hair pinned elegantly, her chin level. He in his dark evening coat, shoulders back, expression blank and, well, not-so-welcoming.
They looked wonderful together.
They had not spoken a single word to each other since the wine cellar.
"Lord and Lady Ashbourne," Fletcher announced from the doorway.
Leofric stepped forward with a smile. "Wonderful to see you both."
Isabella followed beside him. "You look absolutely lovely this evening," she told Lady Ashbourne, who beamed and launched into a story about her dress that Isabella listened to with great attention while noticing, from the corner of her eye, that Leofric's jaw was doing the tight thing it did when he was working very hard at something.
