‘Why, thank you, kind sir.’ She put her hand over his. ‘Do not fret about the concert, Jacob. Worry about your plan for the auction. There’s much that can go wrong with that.’
He gave her a chiding look. ‘Was that supposed to be calming? I now feel ten times worse.’
Ruby glided over, peerless in scarlet. If she was going to be called a Jezebel for being pregnant outside of wedlock, shewas going to embrace that reputation without shame. Many actresses had trodden this path before her, the famous Mrs Jordan for one, who had a clutch of children with Prince William. ‘Good evening, Dr Sandys. Thank you for the names of the accoucheurs.’
He dipped his chin to her. He had been avoiding her all afternoon, but he couldn’t duck out of a polite conversation now. ‘Miss Plum. Are you well?’
‘I am.’
‘Thank you for joining us at short notice.’
She nodded regally to that pleasantry. ‘It was the least I could do for my dearest friend.’
Was he the only one hearing her twist the knife in Dora’s gentle soul, reminding her not to betray her friend by seeking her own happiness? He could feel Dora watching them in the mirror, her expression guarded.
‘I hope you get the reward of enjoying the performance.’
‘I hope you do too. You must go out there and watch, not skulk behind the scenes making us all nervous. We have got this under control.’
Dora grinned, tapping him on the leg. ‘I agree with Ruby. Try to enjoy it– and keep an eye out for the French.’
Having been given his marching orders, Jacob used the servants’ corridor to enter at the back of the dining room. All heads were turned to the stage where Ren and Hugo were completing their act. The Londoners were roaring with belly laughs while the foreigners looked bemused by some of the local references that sailed over their heads. There was one lady who sat pinch-faced. Was she Percy’s representative? She had the strong profile that he associated with Gallic beauties.
After enthusiastic applause, the mood changed as Miss Austen surrendered her place at the piano to Julien. He accompanied Susan in her sweet Shakespearian ballad, thenplayed expertly a sonata by Mozart, a clever piece that ran up and down the keys like the pitter-patter of a rainstorm. Once he had finished, Dora entered and stood beside him. With a look between them, Julien gave her the note for ‘Oh, the broom’. Then she started singing.
Dear God! He had not known her voice was sublime. He had heard her sing going about the house, or humming, but she had never performed for him. Why had he not asked? She must have thought him severely lacking in interest in her accomplishments. It was a simple Scottish air that suited her voice, a mezzo-soprano. He thought her daring to sing unaccompanied like this after the flourishes of Mozart, but it suited the words. As Jacob listened, he realised that it was about a shepherdess taken out of her own country by a bonnie laird, pining for the flowering broom she’d left behind on the hillside. Was it a message to him? Dora had never been a shepherdess of course, perish the thought, but he had taken her away from her people, the performers who lived simple but rich lives acting on stages across the north country. He’d thrown her into a world of viscounts and diplomats with enemies around every corner, a place where his own family did not accept her.
He swallowed. She was so at home with her fellow performers and he would never be the kind of man who could get up on stage and sing a song, or play out a scene. Would she tire of his more restrained ways and long for the alchemical reaction of a stage play and public applause that produced a golden moment for her? Would he have to let her go back to that?
Michel Percy arrived at his side, a handkerchief flourished in his hand as he dabbed his eyes with false sensibility. His eyes glittered with fiery resolution, belying the Man of Feeling act. ‘Very affecting. I did not realise Miss Dora could sing so well.’
Neither had Jacob, but he wasn’t going to admit that to the enemy. ‘She is talented in many areas.’ He joined in theapplause. Dora’s eyes met his then slid to his side. Yes, he took the bait, my darling, thought Jacob.
‘I always thought her a skilful woman. As I’m sure you are enjoying, frequently.’
Thedouble entendrewas there to be acknowledged but it went against his plans if he planted a facer on the man’s nose so early in the evening. Later maybe.
‘I didn’t know you were invited,’ Jacob said instead, thinking he deserved a medal for his restraint.
‘My invitation must have got lost in the postbag,’ said Percy. ‘I understood all diplomatic representatives were summoned.’
‘So like Perrault’s aged fairy you come to cast your curse on Sleeping Beauty’s christening?’ said Jacob.
‘You read fairytales? How surprisingly whimsical. You always struck me as a practical man.’ Percy tucked his handkerchief away. ‘You aren’t going to have me thrown out of this christening then?’
‘I am not the host,’ said Jacob.
‘Then I had better go and charm Mrs Austen. She looks like a lady who will enjoy a little French gallantry. She must miss her first husband, being married to a plain old Englishman.’
‘Not so plain, not so old,’ said Jacob, but he let Percy go off to discover that himself.
Jacob’s emotions settled as the harpist played. He might be reading too much into Dora’s choice of song. It could be as simple as it being the one she could perform best in this setting. Though Ruby had edged him out of the dressing room with Dora’s agreement, that was not the same as evicting him from her life.
Catching his train of thought, he realised he was far less secure in his relationship than he had thought. Did he want to be married because he was grasping after a sense of security rather than because it was what was best for Dora?
Now was not the time to second guess his course of action. His offer of marriage was public. Until she broke off with him, that was the direction in which he intended to travel.
Ruby arrived on stage with the sweeping arm of the opera diva. He hoped Dora did not over-estimate her friend’s skills or this was going to be embarrassing. He doubted very much Ruby could speak Italian but the song she had chosen was in that language. He joined in the polite applause for her entrance. With a gracious smile at Julien, she began.
