Oh, dear. Cedric has gone away for a few more days? Why must he torture Lavinia so? Doesn't he know that not only will her heart miss him terribly, she only has his uncle for company? Such cruelness!
Sorry, VirginiaR, I'm not sure what you mean here. Cedric hasn't left again. He's down in the tunnel, with Jacques, for some fencing practice and a serious discussion about love and the timing thereof. They make reference to when they had been away at the farms, but that was the trip they took before the dinner party. He has finished that work and won't have to go out again.
Oh, it had sounded as if this was a few days later from when they first showed us the tunnel and were just returning from another adventure / trip out of the area. (Hence being informed of the new groom.) Had he just returned from a trip the day of the party, ie. the day before? For some reason, I thought he had returned several days before and, therefore, any news of a new groom would have been told to Cedric before this point. Had he only just returned (when Lavinia bumped into him in the hall with his supper), then this delay in informing Cedric would make more sense.
Is it odd that Cedric runs the estate, yet Lucius would take charge of not only hiring a groom, but not informing Cedric of the new employee? I mean, this fact in itself would raise a flag with Cedric, would it not? Unless, of course, the groom is considered a servant hired by the butler. Lucius might think he's being sneaky but those in lower quarters (and sadly, this includes Cedric) see all.
