Dora laughed. ‘My dear Jane, it sounds the perfect antidote to waiting for a villain to burst in. We can laugh them out of countenance and kick them off the balcony.’
‘That’s exactly what Elizabeth would do.’ Gathering her courage, Jane handed it over. ‘Be kind. Writers ask for frank opinions, but really, we only want praise.’
Dora read until her candle burned down, caught a few hours’ sleep, then finished the story in the morning at first light. It felt like she had passed from an old to a new world in that interval. Wordlessly, she handedPride and Prejudiceback to Jane for safekeeping before they went down to breakfast. There was no way she would risk this with thieves about.
‘That bad, eh?’ said Jane with a sigh, locking it in her chest.
‘That good.’ Dora hugged her friend. ‘I stand in awe– no!’ She went down on her knees and bowed like a slave to the sultan in the pantomime. ‘I bow before your greatness.’
Jane flapped her hands at her. ‘Stop mocking me, you silly goose!’
‘Mock? Never! My obeisance is sincerely meant.’ She hopped up. ‘You, my dear Miss Jane Austen, are the Madame Catalani of the pen.’
‘What a delightful comparison!’ Jane’s cheeks went pink.
‘It is the best book I’ve ever had the pleasure to read, Elizabeth my favourite heroine, and if your Mr Egerton doesn’t pay you a thousand pounds for it, then he is undervaluing your talent.’
‘I was hoping for a hundred and fifty, but Henry warns that I might have to settle for less.’
Dora pulled a face. ‘Why do we women always have to settle for less? Byron is said to have got five hundred guineas forChilde Harold, and that isn’t a patch on your work.’
‘I’m no Lord Byron.’
‘Thank heavens not, or there would be a string of abandoned lovers and waifs in your wake.’
‘Yes, he is a deliciously reprehensible sort, isn’t he?’
The breakfast table hosted a motley crew of performers and the Austen family, Eliza and Henry showing their relaxed attitude to social status by joining them for the meal. There was a lively discussion about the bill of fare to be laid before the guests, both the society friends were able to come at short notice, and the diplomatic targets who were there for the secret conclusion to the evening. The theme was ‘Music from the Stage’. Hugo and Ren were to do a comic song; Julien, who had agreed with Jacob that he should be present, was to play a piece by Mozart; Susan had suggested she sing a setting of Shakespeare’s ‘It was a lover and his lass’ that she had done to great acclaim in Bath; while Dora herself had picked ‘Oh, the broom’ fromThe Beggar’s Opera. A friend of Hugo’s, currently out of work due to the closure of Drury Lane, was engaged to play a piece on the harp. Ruby, expected to arrive later for the dress rehearsal, had sent a note agreeing to join Dora, Hugo and Ren in ‘Over the hills and far away’, also fromThe Beggar’s Opera,in addition to a solo fromCosì fan tutte. They had a programme to which the climax would be the announcement of the winner of the auction in a room set aside for the international guests.
Jacob took his place beside Dora, yawning a little as he had had the watch in the middle of the night.
‘All quiet?’ she asked.
‘Yes. We saw some people loitering but, when they saw us watching, they made themselves scarce. And you?’ He heapedhis plate with breakfast fuel to keep him going during what was likely to be a long day.
‘I could barely sleep a wink.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘I’m sorry, love. The danger will be over soon.’
‘No, you don’t understand! That book– Jane’s next one– it is the most wonderful story I’ve ever read.’
He chuckled. ‘I’m glad you liked it. It would spoil your new friendship if you had harsh things to say.’
He wasn’t getting it. ‘Jacob, she’s one of the greats, one of the most talented writers of all time.’ He smiled but in a way that was merely humouring her. ‘You like Wordsworth? Well, she’s my Wordsworth, only better.’ She said the last with a teasing smile, knowing he was passionate about his Lakes poet.
‘Then I look forward to reading it for myself. When are we to expect Ruby?’
‘She has an appointment with a mantua-maker about a new gown and will arrive after that.’
‘I’m surprised she agreed so readily.’
‘Are you?’ Dora twiddled her teaspoon, nervous already about the evening– not her part in it, but the invitation that would put a killer in their midst. ‘She’s used to working, Jacob. She dreamed of the life of the ladybird, luxury and freedom from want, but now she’s living it, she’s lonely. Her happiness depends on the whims of a man who can only spare her a little of his time. I think she’s grateful I involved her, though she’ll claim it is a favour to me, her way of apologising for putting our names in the newspapers.’
Jacob spread butter on his toast, his appetite showing no signs of being blunted by nerves. ‘Sorry to put this crudely, but is she good enough for a London audience?’
Dora smiled at his effort to be restrained. He did not like Ruby. ‘You saw us perform once? What was it we did in Kendal?’
‘As You Like ItandCastle Spectre.’
