The Freelands Chapter 23

In which the household at Becket convenes to debate the pressing question of land reform, revealing divergent and often unyielding attitudes among the landed gentry and their guests, while the young Nedda confides tenderly in her Uncle John about her hopes, fears, and engagement to Derek. Against a backdrop of floral beauty and the scent of woodsmoke, reflections on social unrest, duty, and the mysteries of life and death quietly unfold with gentle, lingering melancholy.