“Thank you, Your Grace. I remember now, Susannah and Amelia.”
“Very impressive indeed!” He clapped his hands silently. “And now for the most difficult of questions, how old are they?”
Helena smiled confidently, for she knew the answer to, she had asked Rebecca the very question last year. She adjusted the year in her mind and directly answered Matteo.
“Four and twenty, three and twenty, one and twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen, and fifteen!”
“And how old are you?”
“Six and twenty!” She covered her mouth as soon as she uttered the words.
“Thank you for your answer.” He silently applauded her again, grinning broadly.
“You—”
An excited chatter spread among the guests as the Wakefield sisters, one by one, walked on stage. When they were complete, they curtsied and took their positions, hands ready to play.
Matteo leaned closer to her. She could still hear the laughter in his voice.
“Six and twenty is a fine age, my dear Helena. Thank you for trusting me with your secret.”
She could no longer help it; she laughed. Fortunately for her, a welcoming applause for the start of the performance broke. From in front of them, Chastity turned to look at her, then at Matteo, perplexity and a hint of a smile on her face.
Helena bit her lip and tried to put on a straight face, but the twitching of her lips gave her away. She looked at Matteo, who joined the applause, an innocent look on his face.
“Did you enjoy the musical, Lady Chastity?” Matteo asked as they waited for Matteo’s carriage to pick them up.
“Oh, immensely, Your Grace.” Chastity clasped her hands together as if savoring the memory of the music. “The Wakefield Sisters played so beautifully, I can only hope to be as proficient as they are.”
“But you do play the pianoforte beautifully, Chastity,” Helena said.
“Not better than you, Helena,” Chastity said with a grin.
Helena laughed.
“But I think Faith, at least, is most definitely better than me.”
“Only because she has had more practice.”
Matteo could easily imagine Helena making sure that her sister completed her scheduled hours on the pianoforte while she neglected her own study of it. It seemed to him that she needed more time for herself, for her own interests.
“All this talk of you and your sisters playing the pianoforte must lead to you allowing me to listen to you play,” Matteo said with a persuasive smile at Helena. “A small private concert.”
“Well…”
“You must hear Faith play first, Your Grace,” Chastity said, warming to the idea. “She does, indeed, play the best out of all four of us.”
“Excellent, I shall take that as a formal invitation,” Matteo said, smiling. He turned to Helena. “Just tell me when and I shall be there.”
He looked pointedly at Helena, subtly gesturing with his eyes at Chastity, who was closely watching their interaction.
“Er, perhaps you can join us for a family supper tomorrow evening? And then we can play after.” Helena suggested. “We have no plans for tomorrow night, and it would be an opportunity to acquaint yourself better with Faith and Grace.”
“As it happens, I have no prior engagements for tomorrow evening. I am happy to accept, Helena.”
Matteo turned to Chastity.
“I hope the plan is agreeable to you, Lady Chastity?”
