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Miles walked over to Daphne and sat down in a chair next to her, studying the list. ‘Who’s this Richard Bowers chap? His name rings a bell.’
A wry smile touched Daphne’s mouth. ‘He’s Aunt Vanessa’s current boyfriend. It’s serious. She told Papa they will be announcing their engagement soon. Apparently she had been intending to tell Papa about him this weekend, and so she asked if she could invite him to the wedding, to meet Papa before he went on his honeymoon. Our father agreed. What else could he do?’
‘So there’s going to be another wedding?’ Miles said.
‘Seemingly so, but listen, the two of you, what I’ve just told you is confidential. Vanessa doesn’t want to announce the engagement yet. He’s from the Barnard family, or rather his mother is, and Great-Aunt Gwendolyn knows her.’
‘I think I know him,’ Miles said. ‘He’s with the Foreign Office, a diplomat.’
‘No, that’s his brother, Clive. Dulcie told me that Richard is in the arts. I’m not sure what he does.’
Miles nodded, then murmured, ‘Ah, I see Mark Stanton is coming, and also Paul Drummond. I’m glad there are a few extra chaps. We can dance.’
‘Dance? What do you mean?’ Daphne asked, her voice rising in alarm.
‘I’ve booked a quartet to play after dinner.’
‘Miles, you didn’t! That’s so expensive,’ Daphne protested.
‘It’s all right, Daphers, I’m footing the bill. It’s … well, sort of my wedding present to Papa and Charlotte, and Cecily has offered to pay for the fireworks display.’
Daphne gaped at her brother. ‘You can’t be serious,’ she spluttered. Sudden anxiety echoed in her voice. ‘Papa and Charlotte wanted a small, very quiet wedding, no fuss. I’m sure this news will upset them.’
‘No, it won’t, you’ll see,’ Miles reassured her, sounding confident. ‘I have been inspired by Aunt Lavinia’s mean-spirited attitude. Cecily and I decided we needed to give the engagement dinner a little bit of a boost.’
‘It will give Aunt Lavinia a bit of a shock,’ Daphne exclaimed, and then laughed when she saw the look on her brother’s face. ‘She will certainly think that a fireworks display is vulgar.’
‘But it’s nicer than having a cream bun pushed in your mouth, don’t you think?’ Dulcie said as she walked into the conservatory.
Miles said, ‘She will be apoplectic when the fireworks start.’ As he looked from his sisters to Cecily, there was a wicked glint in his blue eyes.
Later that afternoon, when Daphne told Hugo about the quartet and the fireworks, he burst out laughing. She was so taken aback by his hilarity, she could only stare at him nonplussed.
Once he had stopped, she asked, ‘Why are you laughing? Papa and Charlotte won’t like it: dancing and fireworks and all the fuss. They wanted a quiet wedding.’
‘Yes, I know. Don’t worry, darling, I do believe your father is aware of Miles’s plans.’
Daphne frowned. ‘You think Miles has told Papa?’
Hugo nodded. ‘The other day Charles made an odd remark to me, about being a bit rusty for the dance floor. He then went on to say something about the villagers coming to the park on Saturday night. Before I could question him, we were interrupted by a very important call from New York. And then I forgot all about it. You know how I am when business intrudes.’
Daphne shook her head. ‘I wonder why Papa didn’t mention it to me? He usually consults with me on everything.’
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