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Henry let her shoulders rise and fall in another expressive shrug "He likes mutton"

"I do not believe you for one second, Miss Henrietta Barrett"

"Oh, all right The mutton was my idea No need for him to knoell he can eat here"

"Your little plans are going to be the death of you"

Henry leaned closer to the housekeeper "Do you want to be turned out on your ear?"

"I don't see--"

"He can do that, you know He can turn every last one of us out Better to be rid of hi pause before Mrs Simpson said, "Mutton it is, then"

Henry paused before she opened the door leading out to the rest of the house "And don't cook it too well A little dry perhaps Or make the sauce just a touch too salty"

"I draw the line at--"

"All right, all right," Henry said quickly Getting Mrs Simpson to prepare mutton when she had beef, lah of a battle She was never going to succeed in getting her to prepare it badly

Dunford aiting for her in the s in front of a , staring out over the fields He obviously didn't hear her come in, for he started when Henry cleared her throat

He turned around, smiled, motioned to the ith a tilt of his head, and said, "The land is lovely You have done an excellent job in your ement"

Henry flushed at the unexpected coreat deal to me" She allowed him to pull a chair out for her and sat down just as a footht in breakfast

They ate in near silence Henry are that she needed to eat as much as possible--the noonday lanced over at Dunford, as eating with sie either

Henry speared her last sausage with her fork and forced herself to pause in her virtual inhalation of food "I thought I "

Dunford could not give an is After a ht you'd want to become better acquainted with your new estate There is e it properly"

"Is that so?"

This ti the last of her sausage "Oh, yes I'm sure you realize that one has to keep abreast of rents and crops and tenants' needs, but if one wants real success, one really o the extra mile"

"I'm not certain I want to knohat this 'extra mile' entails"

"Oh, this and that" Henry smiled She looked down at Dunford's empty plate "Shall we be off?"

"By all means" He stood as soon as she did and let her lead the way out of the house

"I thought we in with the animals," Henry said

"I suppose you know the