26. The rain it raineth

The rain which had started at the end of my ride, continued through the afternoon, so the plans that I had made were abandoned and I sat and read. I looked out of the windows of the library as it fell in sheets, driving across the great park.

The river at the other end of the park, where the bridge and the ford sit side-by-side, swelled even in the time I was watching it.

Charlotte came in to find me at one point, and we watched it together. "Do you think it will flood, William? It would be a dreadful shame if the guests could not reach us."

"Hopley thinks not." I told her. "He has a good eye for the weather. 'It will rain until evening', he told me, and then it will clear overnight, he thinks. Tomorrow will be dry. And even if the river does swell so that we can't use the bridge, carriages may come in through the gate at the village.

"Speaking of the ball, is all ready?"

Charlotte said that it was, a small orchestra had been engaged, and some of the grooms and stable staff were going to be managing the carriages.

All in all, it sounded well in hand, and I said so.