"Let the Widow Eat in the Kitchen," Her In-Laws Said — The Duke Carried His Plate Down to Join Her
Chapter 2
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"This is pepper water," said the duke. "Milagu thanni, the Tamils call it, with tamarind and black pepper and curry leaves and a little coconut. I ate it every day for 3 years in the officers' mess at Fort St. George, and I have only ever tasted it made this way by one person in my life." He looked up from the bowl. "Who made this soup, Lady Ashdown?"The table had gone quiet. Lady Ashdown's face had turned a dull pink.It was a young footman standing behind Sir Reginald's chair with a decanter who answered. He did not mean to. The words came out before he could stop them:"It was Mrs. Frederick, Your Grace. Mrs. Dawlish burned her hand. Mrs. Frederick cooked the whole dinner."The duke turned his head. "Mrs. Frederick Ashdown," he said slowly. "Captain Ashdown's widow. She's here in this house?"Lady Ashdown opened her mouth, then she shut it."Where is she?" said the duke.There was a terrible pause, and then Lavinia, who was 19 and not clever, said in a bright, careless voice, "Oh, she's in the kitchen, Your Grace. Mama thought it best. She does so hate company."The Duke of Aldridge looked at Lavinia for a long moment, then at Lady Ashdown, then at Sir Reginald, who had suddenly become absorbed in his wine.Then he stood up.He picked up his plate from the table—the fine white Ashdown china with its gold rim and its slice of roast lamb and its little heap of buttered potatoes. He picked up his knife and fork and wrapped them in his napkin, and without another word to anyone, he walked out of the dining room.Lady Ashdown rose so fast her chair fell over behind her. They followed him, all three of them, down the corridor, through the green baize door that none of them had opened in years, down the narrow, steep back stairs with the duke's long stride ahead of them and his plate held steady in one hand.In the kitchen, two maids and the old cook with her bandaged hand were standing by the range. They saw the Duke of Aldridge come through the doorway in his black and gold carrying his own dinner, and every one of them froze where they stood with their mouths open.At the end of the long wooden table, the young widow in black looked up. She saw who it was, and all the color went out of her face.The duke crossed the kitchen. He set his plate down on the scrubbed table directly across from hers. He laid his knife and fork beside it. He pulled out a rough wooden chair and sat down in it in his evening coat in front of the cook and the maids and the stunned faces of the whole Ashdown family crowding the doorway behind him.And then he smiled at her gently as if they were quite alone."Mrs. Ashdown," said the Duke of Aldridge, "forgive me for interrupting your supper, but I've been looking for you for 2 years."In the doorway, Lady Ashdown made a small sound like a woman who had stepped on a nail.