“So I see.”
Sarah hurried into the larder, pausing long enough to draw a deep breath, and hoping the cooler air would extinguish the heat in her cheeks.
When she stepped back out, she adopted an unconcerned air, although she doubted either of them were convinced.
“Here you are.” She handed over the jug of cream, and when the woman left wearing a barely concealed smile, Sarah turned to Mr. Henshall. “Thank you for your help. Nothing more to do now until after it bakes and cools.”
“How long will that take?”
“Maybe two hours in the oven. I shall have to add another paper to the top once it’s colored to keep it from scorching. Then another few hours to cool.”
“What do we do in the meantime?” he asked, and the low timbre of his voice and the warm way he looked at her made her pulse leap anew.
Sarah swallowed. “I ... suppose I shall do the washing up.”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “Ach, well. Not my first choice, but I can help with that too.”
Since they were planning to dance in the larger drawing room during the party, they went ahead and moved the pianoforte from the parlour into that room for their group dancing lesson. Jack came over to help, and together he, Mr. Henshall, James, and Mr. Gwilt moved the heavy instrument from one room to the next. Georgiana had offered to help, but her mother snapped at her, “You need not always play the Amazon, young lady.”
Georgie reared her head back, stung, and was only slightly mollified when Sarah caught her eye and mouthed the wordSorry.
Viola had come over with Jack, ready to play for them. Once the piano had been moved, James departed for Killerton, and Jack to attend a horse auction with his father. Emily was already an accomplished dancer but joined them to watch and turn the sheet music for Viola.
The prospective students gathered for the lesson: Georgie, Effie,Mr. Henshall, and Sarah, although Sarah said she might not be able to stay long as she still had much to do in preparation for the Twelfth Night party two days hence.
While they waited for Colin to arrive, they moved the furniture from the middle of the room to the walls and rolled up the Turkish carpet.
Their teacher was late. How were they to proceed without him?
A few minutes later, a knock sounded. Mr. Gwilt opened the door to their tardy tutor. Colin entered in a fur-trimmed greatcoat, but he did not enter alone. A second man accompanied him. Mr. Gwilt took their coats, hats, and gloves, and Colin led his guest across the hall to join them.
“Pray forgive my tardiness,” Colin said. “Had a capital idea, but as often happens, it came a bit late.”
He turned to the young man beside him, who was, Georgiana knew, the same age as she was.
“This, as you may know, is Hubert Cornish. Met him at Salcombe Hill when his father hosted the shooting party. Home from Oxford for Christmas. Asked him to come as we need another gentleman to even our numbers.”
Hubert nodded and bowed. “Happy to oblige.”
Georgiana suppressed a groan. Her sisters were better acquainted with Hubert’s older sister, Charlotte, the magistrate’s proud daughter, but they were only slightly acquainted with her brother, as he had been away at school. Georgiana, however, had encountered Hubert several times during her walks when he’d been home between terms. He was always so terribly polite to her—formal and flattering. It was awful. And the way he looked at her made her want to look behind herself. Surely he must have been gazing so admiringly at someone else.
And he was looking at her that way now.
She acknowledged him with a dry “Hubert.”
He bowed. “Miss Georgiana. What a delight to see you again. And who is your fair friend? I do not believe I have had that pleasure.”
“This is Miss Effie ... em, McKay?”
She noticed Effie wince at the surname. “Effie will do, if ye don’t mind.”
“A pleasure, miss,” Hubert said with another bow. “Do I detect a Scottish accent?”
“Indeed, ye do. We’ve come a long way to be here.”
“In that case, let us delay no longer. After all, we are here to dance.”
The other introductions quickly dispensed with, Colin rubbed his hands together and said, “Let’s begin. My dear sister-in-law, Viola, and I have devised a simple program. We shall start with an easy country dance.”
