Thus it was that Katherine found herself, to her own amazement and that of the watching Cathcarts, led to the far end of the table, to sit at the left hand of the earl himself, with Kent on her other side. Aveline glowered at her from her position in the middle of the table, but James, a little nearer, beamed at her and waved encouragingly.
Katherine hardly knew what she ate or drank that night. All she was aware of was Kent beside her, his arm only inches from her own, for the dining table was crowded rather, his eyes gazing into hers with an intensity that left her breathless. Always his wide smile and cheerful demeanour lifted her spirits, but this was something more, something almost ecstatic inside her, welling up like a spring, pulsing pure happiness through her veins.
Sometimes the earl drew her attention, to offer her some choice dish, or to ask her a question, but she could not say that she acquitted herself very well. With the son, the words poured out of her unstoppably, without the slightest effort, but with his father, she stuttered and hesitated and mumbled, reduced sometimes to monosyllabic answers.
It was frustrating, for her as much as for the earl, but she could find no point of contact with him. Where Kent asked her about Branton and mills and all the familiar sights of home, the earl questioned her on balls and gowns and horses, none of which subjects fired her with enthusiasm. At one point, he touched on music and she grew temporarily loquacious, but after determining that he could not distinguish Bach from Mozart, she fell back, defeated.
And if he could find no subject of interest to her, she could think of none for him. Whatever did earls think about or worry about? She dared not talk about politics, for he was bound to be of a different persuasion from her father and his friends, and she knew nothing about estate management or riding to hounds or the sports prevailing amongst the aristocracy. The only time she raised a response from him was when she asked after his mother, the ailing Dowager, and his wife, the absent Countess. Then his face melted into sorrow, and he shook his head dolefully.
“I wish either of them, or preferably both, were sitting at this table just now,” he said in a low voice. “I miss their wisdom. We men… we cannot do without our women to guide us, Miss Parish. It is a great grief to me that I have not the two most important women in my life beside me now, when we are in such trouble.”
Katherine murmured something, although she hardly knew what, for her heart was filled with grief for her father all over again. The earl might miss his mother and his wife, but Katherine desperately missed her father, with his easy-going approach to life. In some ways, he was very like Kent, in that nothing daunted him. He had planned his businesses with the utmost care, and left no detail unconsidered, but he accepted the vagaries of life without complaint. When one of his earliest mills had burnt to the ground, putting their financial affairs in great peril, he had merely shrugged and said it was only bricks and wood and cotton, and at least there had been no loss of life.
Two courses came and went, the cloths were cleared and dessert laid out and yet Katherine noticed none of it. It was only when chairs were pushed back and everyone started to rise that she realised that the ladies were departing for the drawing room. The gentlemen all stood and bowed as they left, and abruptly Katherine was cut adrift from the pleasure of Kent’s company, finding herself in a sea of soft feminine voices, and the swish of silk skirts and ivory fans.
She found a corner near the instrument to hide herself away, and was relieved that no one came near her until Lady Alice asked for the instrument to be opened. Then, Aveline’s clear voice rose above the murmur of conversation.
“Katherine will play. She would rather play than talk.”
Lady Alice spoke quietly to Mrs George Atherton, who sat beside her, and that lady rose and came towards Katherine.
“Miss Parish, Lady Alice has charged me to enquire if you would oblige us with a little music while we await the tea things. She was delighted with your performance the last time you were here.”
Katherine readily agreed to it. For once, Aveline was doing her a favour, for she would indeed rather play than talk, at least while Kent Atherton was not there to talk to. She settled at the pianoforte and began a gentle piece that would not overwhelm the many quiet conversations around the room. After a second piece she paused, sure that someone else would want to take over, but when no one volunteered she began a third piece. It was pure pleasure for her, for the instrument was an excellent one, superior to the one at Cathcart House, and she had no desire to surrender it yet awhile.
Eventually the gentlemen began to drift in, and at once Lady Olivia called for the carpets to be rolled up and dancing to begin. Those wishing to play cards were directed to the library, and the parlour adjoining the drawing room was available for quiet conversation, but the drawing room was to be given over to the dancers.
Katherine rose from the instrument and retreated to her corner, but after a few minutes, Lady Olivia found her there.
“Miss Parish, would it be very presumptuous of me to ask you to return to the instrument? I had arranged for Mrs Dewar to play for the dancers, but she has not yet arrived and it would be such a shame to delay our enjoyment for a moment longer than necessary. But you have played so splendidly for us already, so if your fingers are quite worn out, I shall beg your pardon and leave you in peace. I can always play myself, if need be.”
“No, indeed, I should be delighted to provide the dance music,” Katherine said. “There is nothing I enjoy more than playing, and I can continue all night if need be. If Mrs Dewar arrives, she may dance herself, if she chooses. But what would you have me play first?”
“The music is all set out in order over here,” she said, gathering a pile of papers from a side table and carrying them to the instrument. “I am sure there is nothing in there that will give you the least trouble.”
“Ah, yes, I know all these,” Katherine said, swiftly leafing through them. “Just give the word when you are ready to begin. Enjoy your dancing, my lady.”
She gave a brilliant smile. “I shall! Oh, I certainly shall!”
Katherine was accustomed to being ignored as she played for those dancing. For musical performances, a performer might be listened to attentively, or joined at the instrument by someone wanting to sing, but when the company is caught up in the enchantment of the dance, the musician is treated as if she is not even there.
Not tonight, however. Her cousin James danced once with Lady Olivia and once with Miss Strong, but the rest of the time he sat near Katherine, watching her play, complimenting her performance and jumping up to help her find the next piece between dances. Fortunately, he did not attempt to turn the pages for her, which would have been nothing but a distraction, when she knew every piece by heart already, but she wondered greatly what he meant by such attentions.
At first, there were only three couples dancing, but gradually more joined in. Kent, one of the last of the gentlemen to return, danced first with Emily’s older sister, Julia, and then her younger sister, Penelope. Then it was Miss Franklyn, followed by Miss Strong. After that, since the Dewars had now arrived, he danced with one of the Dewar sisters. Katherine watched it all surreptitiously, noting Aveline’s increasing annoyance at being repeatedly overlooked, and Kent’s cheerful manner of completely ignoring her. It was not that she lacked partners, for she stood up for every dance, but the one she wanted eluded her.
After that, as Katherine was reaching for the next piece of music, Lady Olivia approached her again.
“A little change, Miss Parish. I am to play the next, and you are to dance.”
“Oh no, I do not dance.”
“I am assured that you do indeed dance if it is a reel, and lo, the next is indeed a reel, you see.” Triumphantly she waved the music at Katherine. “Look, your partner awaits you.”
And there was Kent, holding out his hand to her and smiling, smiling… and behind him, Lucas and Emily, urging her to make up a set with them.
“I cannot wait to see you dance, my dear friend!” Emily cried.
Katherine was scarlet with embarrassment, but how could she resist the combined entreaties of all of them, and especially that warm smile? She ceded the instrument to Lady Olivia, and allowed herself to be led onto the floor and take up the proper position as the opening was played. And then she danced, and the happy faces of her companions brought reward enough for her bravery.
