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Ellie was salivating from the smells of cooking dinner wafting down the corridor when she looked up to see Henry come through the door in the small parlour before the entrance to the formal dining area.  He looked like a freshly shot GQ model who had walked off a casual wear shoot. He hand changed into a crisp polo shirt that clung to his biceps. It made Ellie's eyes be drawn to his upper musculature and be warn in places where she had not felt since this afternoon. It revealed his deep colarbones and made Ellie want to trace his skin. It was apparent from the way that he gave her an easy smile that Henry had put the press attack to bed. Ellie was glad as he had seemed distant in the taxi to Stanford Hall. She did not like to see him looking so lost.

It was starting to become awkward so Ellie quickly turned to become interested in the flowers in a Ming vase sitting next to the open door. Rightley opened the door with a bow to let them know he had made the food ready for them. Ellie snuck glanced at him through her eyelashes when she hoped he was not looking. Henry didn't seem to notice her attention or maybe he was ignoring it. Rightley had seated them both close together instead of on either end of the long banquet table. It would have been difficult to converse if they had not been sitting around the corner from each other. Henry pulled out her seat for her before taking his own. Ellie looked around the peeling wallpaper of the dilapitated room and looked to Henry with some strain. "If I had known the house was in the need of repair to the level that it is, I probably would have just come myself. I feel that brining you here was a bit of a misjudgement on my part. I was a bit too excited that I forgot to be careful."

Henry raised an eyebrow as he chuckled. "I have lived with my mom in China. This house is watertight. There aren't mosquitoes even though it is by a river. There is running water and ventalation. It's true that it's no showpiece. But it's a little piece of heaven when compared to billage life."

"I did know you lived with your mother for a while, but you never told me how that went. Well . . . now that I know you're not that American. I do feel you are quite a survivor." Ellie wondered if he had met her when she was tending her father in their country house, would he have spared her a glance as he went over to the well to get water. Would he have been more open to her than he was now?  The circumstances would have been very different. She was just an average stock racer then. Ellie knew that at that point she was nothing to look at beyond probably dying of a car accident or fuel explosion as she had dangled her life always near danger. She probably would have avoided looking at him because he was out of her league.

The time from their last meal had waned to skip their evening supper to now dinner. In truth both were quite hunger so they ate with hearty vigor to what had been cooked. As the manager had mentioned the food was nothing special. Rightley was not a five star chef so the food was homey and fillimg which was fine enough for both of them.

As their plates emptied and were cleared away, Ellie wiped her mouth. She looked to Henry who was still holding his silverware. "I think that's all we have for tonight, Henry. It was decent food, but the alcohol is just different. I always feel the Europeans never gave the Americans the real secret to making good wine."

"I expect nothing less on a Europe trip." Henry shrugged to himself in a satisfied way as he placed his silverware down with finality.

Ellie pursed her lips. "I'm not surprised. I know the jewelry in my drawers is going to be intense as well. I heard some whisperings from the staff that the exotic animal collection is something else as well. It's not a good sign if the house is in this state. I hope my gut instinct is not true that my sisters just spend all the money on themselves and forgot about the house. It's slowly starting to reveal itself surely."

For desert Rightley had put out a fruit bowl with some skewers for both of them. Henry picked up his and reached in to spear a blackberry.  The berry burst a bit and exploded against a banana. Henry looked irritated with his mess and quickly ate his berry before touching the next fruit. He peeled the fruit contemplatively. "Am I the first baron to be here since your father passed away? I know you sisters had some beauty and attraction for men, however, my room hasn't been used. It stood out to me."

"It's definitely more dusty than my room. I'm sure no one has used it properly for at least three years. I know my middle sister did have a lavish wedding, but they lived in Morrocco and never were around here. She didn't have any children and the man is happily married I hope to someone new. I just have the marriage news from a society page my lawyer found. I have no interest in finding out more. I do know my oldest sister did have a lot of trouble getting pregnant but she was never married. I don't know why she wanted to get pregnant so badly, but they did eventually have to remove her uterus due to an ectopic pregnancy. I have no idea who the fathers were but they haven't come forward during the time of her death or after. It would be nice for those children to have fathers even though they are no longer living."

"I know this is not a subject we usually speak of but how are the finances of the house. Is there any money to start some work?  I'd like to get the grime out of everything. It necessary." Henry stuck his skewer back into the fruit bowl to give himself a strawberry. He seemed to be excited that he had found one in the huge mound as he ate it quickly.