Degrees of Hope Read Online Free Page B

hunting game birds after the first of February. However hare had no season, so although the hunting parties were less frequent in the spring and summer, there was on average a shooting party at least every other month. 
    Malcolm expressed an interest in hunting deer but whilst there were a few on his estate, Lucien didn't cultivate them or hunt them, although he did allow the steward and gamekeeper to cull them when their numbers grew too large.
    Lucien thought deer to be a proud animal and disliked killing them, though his excuse to other gentlemen was that there was less skill required to chase a deer to exhaustion and then shoot it whilst it was cornered. Hitting a pheasant, grouse or hare on the other hand, was difficult and much more sportsmanlike.
    Since the Marchwood estate was the largest for easily thirty miles and offered the best sport, local gentlemen abided by his likes and dislikes, even when one of them hosted a shooting party. Some of the gentlemen ventured further afield, to other estates in the county where they might hunt big game, but Lucien always declined such invitations if deer were being hunted.
    Besides which, deer stalking took place at dawn, whilst game shooting was an all-day activity and therefore, much more sociable. The ladies would congregate by the picnic tables in the garden whilst the men hunted, and then both parties would come together for lunch. Usually that was the end of shooting for the day and the afternoon would be spent eating and drinking, either outside in the sunshine if weather permitted, or in the Beaumont's new orangery if the weather wasn't so kind.
    Today was one such day in mid-March, and after the spring showers turned into actual rain, the ladies had decided that the gazebo tents they were sheltering under weren't going to be enough, and they rushed inside.
    Hope was giggling as they entered the orangery, having enjoyed the dash through the rain. Some ladies were upset that their gowns or hair had become wet, but most seemed to have enjoyed the excitement. 
    Martha oversaw the rearrangement of the tables and furnishings as the servants brought them inside, whilst the ladies checked their appearance and wiped their damp faces with handkerchiefs. Honoria and Hope were over to one side, looking out at the garden through the windows as the rain fell harder still.
    They were looking in the wrong direction to see the men return, but Martha spotted them and greeted Lucien with a smile and a kiss. Each man had a servant with him to reload his guns and at this time of year, they also carried umbrellas. The rain was so heavy though, that in the dash to get indoors, most had made a hard target for their servants to shield, even with the umbrellas.
    Lucien didn't look too perturbed by his drenching. He had spent a large part of his childhood outdoors, roaming the estate on foot or horseback, so a little rain was nothing to him, nor to many of the other gentlemen. However, Martha noticed that Malcolm looked decidedly less happy, almost angry.
    She heard Hope and Honoria begin to laugh as MacDuff shook himself, spraying them with water. She watched as Malcolm's eyes narrowed as he observed them. Martha looked over to her daughter and her friend but they looked innocent enough, chatting and laughing as young women should, in her opinion. She couldn't see what might have upset Malcolm, but she thought it best to divert them before Malcolm became any more disturbed.
    “Girls! Go and fetch some towels for the gentlemen, please.”
    Although that was a servant's job, neither woman looked upset by the request, and they returned a few moments later and began handing towels out to the men who wanted one.
    The men had returned early, so it took a little while for lunch to be served. Most were content to drink and talk in the meantime, but Malcolm remained in a bad mood and Honoria remained at his side. Hope joined them but quickly sensed that she wasn't helping to reduce the tension between