“Thank you very much,” Viv said.

“Yes, thank you,” I echoed. I opened the door to allow them to leave and shut and locked it behind them.

Viv was on her phone. “I’m texting Andre to let him know the tea is here.”

“No need,” he said. Andre returned through the door to Viv’s room. “I almost left but then I didn’t feel right leaving you at the mercy of Dooney. Just in case he was his usual obnoxious self, which he was, I wanted to be on hand, so I waited in your room. Nice view you’ve got there.”

“You’re a good friend, Andre,” I said. “Dooney is awful and I’d think that even if I didn’t know about your time with him at school.”

“Not only is he awful, he’s clearly delusional,” Viv said. She rose from the divan and crossed the room to the small table by the window. She sat down and lifted the lid on the teapot to see that the tea had steeped sufficiently, and then poured three cups. Andre and I joined her at the table, and I immediately investigated the three-tiered tray of food the kitchen staff had prepared for tea.

There were the scones on the bottom, tiny finger sandwiches in the middle and petit fours on the top. My sweet tooth wanted to start at the top but a scone with raspberry jam and clotted cream wasn’t a hardship, so I started there.

Using tongs, I selected my scone and passed the utensil to Andre. The scones were warm. I forgot all about Dooney and settled in with my light meal and marveled that I was enjoying high tea in a castle just like the heroine of every historical romance I had ever read. In short, I was having a moment.

“Are you all right, Scarlett?” Viv asked.

“Just soaking it all in,” I said. I opened my eyes and took a bracing sip of tea.

“It is very posh, isn’t it,” Andre agreed.

“What do you suppose dinner will be like?” I asked.

“From what Piper said, there will be about fifty guests in total, formal attire required, and it’s to be served in one of the dining rooms,” Viv said.

“One of the dining rooms,” I repeated. I nibbled my scone and pondered castle life. “How many dining rooms do you suppose there are?”

“More than anyone needs,” Andre said. “While I appreciate the historic significance of the castle, I can’t wrap my mind around the arrogance of building such a massive thing.”

“But back in the day, it wasn’t arrogance,” Viv said. “It was survival.”

I glanced between them. As an American, I had no dog in this fight and no opinion on castles other than—wow.

“How do you figure that?” Andre asked.