Dobbs sent up some tea on account of the weather. Thought ye might like a lie-in.” She set the tray down on the table by the window and took her leave without another word. The girl had been more sour than usual lately, making me wonder if something was wrong. Maybe she felt a little left out since her brother would be marrying Betty in the near future, and things would change at home. I wondered if perhaps she would be a good match for Robbie in due time, but she didn’t seem interested in him any more than he was interested in her. She was still very young and probably going through some growing pains. Mrs. Dobbs was quite right, I thought, as I poured steaming tea into a fine china cup, adding a splash of fresh cream and reaching for a scone. I would like a lie-in, right after I had my decadent breakfast. I was amazed that I hadn’t gained weight, eating like I did. The tea was surprisingly sweet, but I didn’t mind, as I took a sip and bit into the buttery scone, filled with blueberries freshly picked in the woods by Nell. I finished my breakfast and went back to bed, falling asleep again and waking up only when a branch struck my window making me jump up with fright. It was almost noon, so I got dressed and went downstairs to find Alec. He was already in his study, staring at the ledger and running his hands through his hair in frustration. “Oh, good, you are here. Look at this. I just cannot reconcile the figures and it’s driving me mad.” He did indeed look mad, so I took over the ledger, starting from the beginning. I must have been working for about twenty minutes when I felt a strange pain in my stomach. Too many scones, I chided myself and tried to concentrate on the figures. My head was beginning to hurt, and I had a hard time seeing the figures on the page. I looked up at Alec and saw the alarm on his face.
