Emily returned to the house and went to the sun porch for a cup of tea. There were only a few older folks scattered around. One lady was knitting and a gentleman was asleep with a book open on his lap. Emily decided not to try and engage in any conversation and went to a large window overlooking the gardens at the back of the house, before sitting at a table to write out a list of songs to play for the children.

After finishing her tea she started to leave when she heard the gong that announced the meals. She was surprised to realize it was already lunch time.

She picked up her scrap of paper with the list of songs and left the porch.

As she passed down the hallway leading to the dining room, she heard someone call her name and turned to see Mark coming toward her.

“Mark. Thank you for that most successful meeting this morning. I am truly pleased and excited.”

“As am I.”

“How very kind of you to offer to go to Germany to finalize the tour with Herr Darmstadt.”

“Not at all. I enjoy travel and it has been awhile since I have been out of England.”

“I expect I shall need to begin assembling a list of works for the tour. You will probably want to take that to Heidelberg with you.”

Mark nodded. “And Emily, there is something else. I wonder if I might ask a favor of you.”

“Absolutely, of course. Especially after all you have done for me.”

“My father was too ill to attend the recital last evening and I wondered if you might be able to come with me to his room this afternoon and perform just a few pieces for him. He is such a devout lover of music.”

“I would be honored. How long should the presentation be?”

“No more than twenty or thirty minutes. He will tire if it is longer.”

Emily began to laugh.

“What?”

“That makes two concerts for this afternoon.”

“What is the other?”

“I was besieged by children playing outside who scoffed at my recital last evening. ‘Too loud and jangly,’ they said. And I promised them a concert of songs they might like at four o’clock.”

“I like that. I shall make it known to all the parents with kids that there will be a recital just for them. However, do not be surprised if many of the parents attend too. Your playing was a huge success last evening. I have been getting glowing comments from the guests all morning.”

Emily smiled at that. “Then, when shall I play for your father?”

“Perhaps three o’clock if he is not asleep? Would that suit you?” Emily nodded. “Let us meet in my study just before three and I will take you to his rooms. And I shall invite the Duchess, as well. Father would like it if she was there.”

By now the guests were pouring into the dining room for lunch. Mark and Emily followed.

* * *

Two footmen rolled a small piano into Jacob’s room. He was sitting up in the bed, having been groomed by the nurse. The draperies were open and the room was bright and cheery, the glaring sun having moved away by now.

Mark escorted The Duchess and Sophie to chairs that had been added for the additional guests. Emily sat down at the piano and, after lifting the lid, ran a few scales to warm up her hands.

Emily could not help but notice Mark and Sophie deep in conversation before she was ready to play. The Duchess had been accompanied by Baggs, who stood behind the Duchess’s chair, ready to hand her a handkerchief or the mints she so loved to suck on in the afternoons before tea.

Mark turned to his father and they conversed for a moment before Mark stood and came over to Emily. He put his hand on the piano and smiled. Emily could see Sophie’s back straighten as he said, “What will you be playing this afternoon?”

“I thought it should be different from what I performed last evening and I have selected a Mozart sonata, a Schubert Impromptus and, lastly, a few of the songs I shall be playing for the children later.”

“That sounds lovely.” He turned to his father from the piano and told him her selection.

“Oh, I like that,” his father said. “Please begin, Miss Emily.”

Emily played the pieces without interruption, but during the middle of the Schubert, Silas slipped into the room and stood by the door during the rest of the performance.

When complete, Emily stood to acknowledge the applause coming from everyone but Sophie. Even the nurse beamed—her red face lit up with a large grin.

The Duchess waved her handkerchief, indicating she wanted Emily to come over.

“Darling Emily, how charming the children’s songs. That was totally unexpected but delightful. Thank you, dear.”

“My pleasure, Your Grace.”

Jacob reached out his hand from where he was propped up in the bed and beckoned for Emily to come to him.

“Child, how very lovely. You have no idea how starved I have become for music. My music box has become stale by now, so you can imagine what a treat this has been for me,” he said.

Emily had not met Mark’s father before, but she could see the family resemblance. “Is there anything else I can play for you?”

The old man blinked several times and let his hand drop to the bedcovers.

“I wish I could listen, but I tire easily, and I am afraid I must conclude this gathering. But thank you.”

Jacob waved for the nurse to come over and he whispered to her. Then she turned and announced. “His Grace needs to rest now. So if you would excuse him, he must ask you all to leave.”

Mark helped the Duchess stand and he then turned to Sophie and offered her his arm.

Emily stood before Sophie and said, “Thank you, Miss Sophie, for attending the performance. It was a pleasure to have you here.”

Sophie cast a quick glance to Mark, who was watching her closely and she said, “I can see why Mark takes such an interest in your work. It seems all he talks about these days is Emily this… Emily that. If I did not know better I might become jealous.” And she tightened her grip on his arm.

Mark said before he escorted Sophie away, “You said the children’s program was at four?”

“Yes, in the room where the recital was last night.”

“I will step in to hear a portion of it.”

Emily nodded to Jacob, but his eyes were already closed, so she followed the Duchess, Mark, and Sophie.

As she was leaving, Silas apprehended her. “What prompted the children’s songs?” he asked.

She told him of her encounter with the children that morning.

“I see. How charming. And might you consent to have tea with me before your next performance?”

Emily hesitated. She did not want to create a scene, but at the same time, she did not appreciate his constant attentions—with only one thought in mind.

“I will have tea with you on the sun porch if you like, but I promised to perform for the children at four o’clock.

Silas consulted his pocket watch. “Very well. Shall we go then? We have about twenty minutes.”

Emily could see Mark and Sophie disappear down the hallway as Silas led the way down the staircase and to the sun porch.

It was the time in the afternoon when many of the guests were having tea and it was difficult to find a free table.

“Here we are,” Silas said, as he secured a corner table at the back of the porch. “Would you like something to eat with your tea?” he asked, still standing after Emily was seated.

“Perhaps a tea cake or a few small sandwiches.”

The tea was buffet style, so Silas went to fetch the refreshments.

Returning, he served her and himself and sat opposite her.

Emily kept her eyes lowered, not wanting to invite one of his forceful conversations. However, it did not deter him and he said, “This has been a most successful weekend for you, has it not?”

“Yes, it has.”

“Mark told me about the meeting with the gentlemen this morning. Brava. It looks like you are about to achieve what you wished for.”

“It would seem to be so. But I still have a way to go, and there can always be upsets along the way.”

“But not for you, Miss Emily, with a benefactor such as me to guide you.”

Emily did not like his use of the word benefactor—especially when she considered Mark to be her champion in building her career, not Silas. But she needed to remind herself that Mr. Skeffington had helped her family considerably, and he had been the benefactor of the trio and had facilitated her removal from the trio by finding Linton to replace her.

Linton… she thought and realized that in the scurry of preparing for this weekend’s recital, she had given him little thought. But it was a comfort to know that he would, most certainly, be there for her when she returned home to London.

Then, coming out of her thoughts, she realized that Silas had been talking to her, but she had not been listening.

“Emily, what do you think about that? Emily?”

She blinked and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “I beg your pardon,” she said, “My mind wandered, and I missed what you just said.”

“I was telling you about the exquisite marquetry inlay on the fine spinet at my home in Chipping Ongar, and I was asking if you might like to see it? It is a very fine harpsichord and I have not heard you play on such an instrument. Do you think you might like to try it out? It truly is quite magnificent.”

The idea of going along with Silas to his house did not appeal to her one bit, so she responded, “That would be charming. And I know Alice would love to see it and maybe even try the instrument herself. When were you thinking of taking us to your home?”

Silas was silent. She had been correct; he had other intentions besides the harpsichord and was stymied by the thought of Alice coming with them.

He leaned forward and said softly. “It was not my intention to invite Mrs. Savoy. There is something else I want to show you and I am afraid Alice might feel excluded as it is solely for you.”

Emily placed both of her hands on the edge of the table and said politely, but also firmly. “Mr. Skeffington, you have been most gracious in your support of my family—and most especially, my sisters, by helping the trio to continue without my participation. However, somewhere in that process, you have gotten it into your mind that I have some sort of obligation to you that, to me, is unwarranted and unwelcome.”

Silas sat back in his chair and studied Emily before speaking, but then said, “Ah, Miss Emily… how little you understand of the way things work in the hard cruel world of professional music. It is one thing to be a talented amateur, but quite another to be a top class professional performer. To get to where you want to go, you incur obligations. Obligations that one may not dismiss so lightly.

“Not everyone is as open and generous as His Grace. What he does, he does out of the kindness of his heart, and you might see him as your protector, but do not delude yourself, Miss Emily. Mark is--or will shortly be--engaged to be married. Once he turns his attention to marriage and family, he will abandon you and you shall be on your own. And who is the one person you can count on to shepherd you to success? Why, me, of course. But at a price.”

He leaned forward across the table and took one of Emily’s hands and squeezed it tightly.

“Do we understand one another now, Miss Emily?”

Emily withdrew her hand and stood up.

“How dare you, Mr. Skeffington. You are a vile and disgusting human being. I shall never have anything further to do with you in any capacity. Let me make that perfectly clear—neither professionally nor personally. You can be quite certain of that fact. And now, I have a concert to perform.”

She turned to leave, but was stopped by Silas saying, “Miss Emily, you are forgetting just one thing.”

She turned back. “What?”

“I made the London Trio and I can unmake it. It is entirely up to you. By all means go play your little children’s songs, but remember you are now also playing in the grownup world. And if you wish to play successfully, you must also play by the rules—my rules. I shall expect you to be ready to accompany me to my house for the rest of the afternoon after your concert—unaccompanied by Mrs. Savoy. Am I perfectly clear?”

* * *

Emily was greatly agitated as she headed to play for the children. She stopped outside the door to the room where the concert was to be held. Parents and children were already seated waiting for her to play. Several of the children were still running around and had not yet settled down. Emily calmed herself, took a deep breath, and went inside to the piano.

Her hand shook slightly as she pulled her list of songs out of her dress pocket.

“Good afternoon,” she said, as the children settled. “I hope you will enjoy the songs I shall play for you this afternoon. And, please, if you feel so inclined, sing along with any of the songs you know and want to bellow out.”

The children seemed to like that and applauded or jumped up and down excited for the concert to begin.

Emily wasted no time and started right up. And, as she played, her spirits were lifted by the response of the children who were most responsive—singing and even dancing to the music.

At the end of the concert, the children swarmed around her and parents congratulated her and said what a marvelous idea it had been to prepare a concert for just the children.

Emily had almost completely forgotten about her encounter with Silas, until she left the room and was headed toward her own room, and saw Silas waiting for her in the entry hall.

Seeing her, he started toward her, but he was interrupted by Wesley coming forward and presenting Emily with a letter on a silver salver.

“Miss Dunn, this came for you while you were playing. It was hand delivered and the messenger said it was most urgent.”

Emily picked up the letter and opened it. It was from Ruth.

Dearest Emily,

I am so sorry to interrupt your wonderful weekend at Linfield Hall, but we have a situation that demands your immediate attention.

Oh, Emily, I am so desperate because Mother and Papa have found out about Spencer and me. And now Papa is in an uproar and is forbidding me to see him any longer. He is threatening to practically lock me up in my room and I do not know what to do.

Teresa is, of course, useless and I cannot count on her for any support, whatsoever. All she cares about these days is how she looks, and she spends all morning primping. And when we go to rehearsal, she spends half her time trying to snare Linton. I have told her repeatedly that he is courting you, but she pays me no attention, but only has eyes for our pianist.

I desperately need you to come home and help me with Papa. I shall be absolutely devastated if I am forbidden to marry Spence. Please come as quickly as you can.

Your DESPERATE sister,

Ruth

P.S. Linton says he misses you and wishes to be remembered to you.

Emily, after reading the letter through a second time, let her arms drop to her side in exasperation. What a time for this letter to come. Her first thought was that she must find Mark and tell him of her plight and plead for the use of his carriage to take her home. But before she could act Silas approached.

“Not bad news I trust?” he asked.

“Bad enough. I must return home immediately.”

Silas’s expression hardened. “This is not some ploy to avoid me, is it?”

Emily was exasperated. “How highly you regard yourself. Why would a letter from my family have anything to do with you? Excuse me.” And she pushed past him and went looking for Mark. But she had neglected to see him slip into the back of the room during her concert and he came out and called to her as she was headed toward the library.

“Miss Emily?”

She stopped and turned toward him. Silas was standing next to Mark and she hesitated to go back but she did.

“I have had a most distressing letter from my sister on a family matter and she requests I return home immediately.”

“Might I offer you my carriage to take you home?” Silas spoke up before Mark could answer.

Emily was immediately stricken by the offer, for how could she now ask Mark for the use of his carriage?

“Is someone ill?” Mark asked her.

“Not ill, but it is serious enough for me to agree to the request. Will I be missing any important business matters regarding the tour?”

Mark considered that. “I do not believe so. If anything arises, I believe I can handle it. And, if not, we can correspond until I am next in London.

“Remember that Mr. Butler will be contacting you regarding your representation. But he will do that directly. However, I am sorry you will be missing the rest of the weekend. You shall be missed. And let me know if there is anything you need.”

Emily was about to ask Mark about his carriage when Silas said, “Miss Emily, once you gather your belongings, I will be happy to personally escort you to London.”

“Excellent. Then that is taken care of,” Mark said, turning to leave and got halfway across the hallway before he turned back. “Oh, Uncle, it will not be necessary to take Miss Emily to London. I just realized the Turners are returning to London directly after supper. And I am certain they would be happy to take Miss Emily home. There is absolutely no need for you to bother yourself.”

Emily smiled broadly as Silas scowled.