By the time Emily arrived home, it was nearly eleven o’clock and everyone, except her mother, was already in bed.

Mother was a light sleeper and often got up during the night to make a cup of tea or hot chocolate. She was seated at the kitchen table when Emily came in

Mother was startled, not expecting anyone, and she called out, “Who is there?”

“It is just me, Mother,” Emily said, as she came into the kitchen and sat down opposite her mother.

“Oh, I am surprised to see you. Is the weekend over already? I did not expect to see you until tomorrow or the day after.”

“I got a rather urgent letter from Ruth, pleading with me to come home and support her.”

Mother sighed. “Oh, yes. That.”

Emily’s mother looked very tired. Her nightcap was askew and strands of her hair were falling around her face.

“Why are you still up? It is very late.”

“You know me. I am a restless sleeper. I just made some hot chocolate, would you like some?”

“I would not say no.”

Mother stood and went to the stove and poured Emily a cup from the still warm pan.

“How did Papa find out about Ruth’s beau?” Emily asked.

“Your Papa went out to deliver an expensive violin to a customer and he saw them strolling down Kensington High Street, holding hands.

“Oh, my…”

“He nearly dropped the valuable instrument, he told me later, but he went to confront Ruth because he did not know this gentleman. All of this took place on High Street in front of passersby and Ruth was just devastated. He grabbed her by the hand and dragged her home; despite her saying they were engaged. He thrust her into her room and forbade her to come out until he returned that evening.

“You should have heard the screaming and wailing. You would have thought there had been a death in the family.”

“Poor Ruth.”

“Did you know about this engagement?”

“I did. In fact, I met the young man and advised them to hold off until the trio was firmly established. They wanted to get married this autumn. And she was planning to move to Bristol when he finished his studies in London.”

“Yes, we heard all of that from her when she attempted to explain herself.”

“And what happens now? I cannot imagine father is taking this at all well.”

“Ruth convinced him to, at least, meet the young man here at the house, and he is expected tomorrow evening.”

Emily sipped her chocolate. She was tired. It had been a long day and an eventful weekend.

Then Mother asked, “And your weekend? Was it successful? Did you accomplish what you needed?”

“Yes, Mother, I did. However, there are a lot of details yet to be worked out and I do not have a definitive picture of how it will all fall into place, just yet.” Emily patted her mother’s cheek. “Mother, I am exhausted. I must rest or I shall be useless tomorrow in negotiating between Papa and Ruth.”

“Good-night, my dear, and sleep well.”

* * *

Father had relented, when Ruth explained that she must go to rehearsal, and had allowed her to leave her room for breakfast the next morning.

Those gathered at the breakfast table were very tense. Mother and Papa were eating in silence. Emily had come down early, hoping to intercede on Ruth’s behalf when she appeared. And Mother said that Teresa would be down much later as she had taken to spending a good portion of the morning in the washroom to make herself beautiful. And as a result, she had been banished to the end of the line for the use of the washroom each morning.

Ruth finally came in to the breakfast room and sat meekly at her place at the table.

“Good morning, Ruth,” Emily said.

Ruth looked up with a deeply sorrowful expression and replied. “Oh, Emily, I am so happy you have returned. Thank you.”

Papa looked up and stared at them both, finally asking, “Emily, what news do you have from Linfield?”

Ruth seemed to be greatly relieved to have her father’s attention removed from her and focused on Emily.

Emily explained the entire series of events and what it would mean for her career. Her father listened with rapt attention and, when she was finished, he asked, “So, you are entirely set on this course?”

“I am Papa. It is right for me and I believe, ultimately, it is in the best interests of the trio.”

Papa shot a stern glance at Ruth, before he said, “And what do you make of this mess Ruth has created?”

“Papa…” Ruth pleaded, but stopped when he glowered at her again.

Emily remained calm and was determined not to be inciteful. “We have discussed this before, Papa. You must expect your daughters to have personal lives outside of their careers.” She turned to her mother. “And I know that you and Papa want happily married daughters and grandchildren. Is that not so?”

Mother locked eyes with her husband and said quite firmly. “Absolutely.”

Ruth nibbled at her breakfast. It was clear she had no appetite after her recent ordeal.

“Papa, I want to go to the rehearsal with Ruth and Teresa,” Emily announced. “I have not seen Linton in a while and I want to see how the trio is doing. Have you heard them play recently?”

“I stopped by a rehearsal last week. They are working on some new pieces, and it seems to be going well. But it is not the same without you.”

“And that is one reason I want to go. I believe Linton is very talented and I might be able to give him and my sisters some pointers for improving.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” he said, as he finished off his kipper and eggs and drained the last of his cup of tea.

Emily stood up from the table.

“Have you finished your breakfast?” he asked.

“Yes, Papa, I have. And I need some time to organize my thoughts from the weekend.” She turned to Ruth. “Sister, when you and Teresa are ready to leave for rehearsal, let me know and I shall be ready to go with you.”

Ruth nodded.

Papa asked, “And will you be in attendance this evening when we meet Ruth’s young gentlemen? Mother tells me this morning that you have had some previous interaction with him. I should value your input.”

“I most certainly shall.”

* * *

Giles had been excited to see Emily again since she was no longer with the trio. She had not worked with him as her teacher for a few weeks with all of her other activities.

Emily sat quietly through the rehearsal and, along with Giles, gave her comments and suggestions about their performance when the rehearsal ended. Linton came over to where Emily was chatting with Giles and said, “It has been so long since I have seen you. I thought perhaps you had given up on me.”

Emily took his hand. “Oh, not at all. But I was preparing day and night, it seemed, to be ready with my audition for Monsieur Bellieu, and then, when that failed, I needed to work even harder for my recital at Linfield Hall.”

“And it was successful?” he asked since they had not had the opportunity to discuss the results of her visit before the rehearsal.

“Very much so,” she said with a smile.

“I should very much like to hear all the details. Might we have tea at our favorite teashop?”

Emily cast a quick glance at Teresa, but said, “Yes, that would be nice. But might we also include my sisters, as Teresa has not yet heard me tell my full story?”

Linton looked a little disappointed but said, “Of course.”

“Not me,” Ruth said. “Papa insisted I return home immediately after rehearsal. So sorry.”

Teresa looked like she was desperate to join them, but she, too, declined. “Papa insisted I accompany Ruth home. He does not want Ruth escaping to Bristol before this evening.”

Emily laughed. “I think that is hardly likely—is it Ruth?”

“Do not be too certain of that,” Ruth said with a wry smile.

“But you will still have tea with me?” Linton asked Emily.

“Of course.”

* * *

Linton was fascinated with Emily’s story of her looming European tour as they sat at tea. It was clear he had similar aspirations for himself.

Emily asked, “Have you been back to our café? I had such a good time there playing with you.”

“Only once. But it was not the same without you. And the owner insisted I bring you back again as soon as possible.”

“That was fun. We should plan another visit soon. And maybe we could work up some material together.”

“Yes, I would like that. But will you have time? It sounds as though you will be very busy with both local and international tours coming up.”

“That may be so, but a young lady needs to let her hair down occasionally.”

Linton seemed to hesitate but shyly said, “Emily, it cannot be a mystery to you that I have deep feelings for you.”

Emily felt a comforting warmth surge through her body. “Yes, Linton, I known. And I have a lot of affection for you as well. But it is not a good time for me to be thinking about any sort of an extended romance or even friendship. My whole life’s dream is unfolding before me and I have no idea where it will lead, or even how long it will take me to get there.”

“And what does that mean for us?” he asked.

“For me, it means that I value your friendship and company and, whenever I can, I am happy to spend time with you, but I do not feel it is fair to lead you into thinking that anything can come of it for now. My life is too uncertain.”

Linton was clearly disappointed. “But eventually? Might there be a future down the road?”

“Perhaps. But you know that my burning priority has always been my career. And now, I am on the brink of accomplishing that.”

Linton sat silently for several minutes and focused on his tea, before asking, “Might I ask you a favor?”

“Of course,” Emily said, hoping it would not be something embarrassing that she could not grant.”

“Your sister, Teresa…”

“Oh.” Emily expected she knew what he wanted. “I think you will find she is infatuated with you.”

“Exactly. And while I enjoy working with her, she is starting to become a nuisance with her constant pleading for my attention. It is beginning to become a problem for me. Do you think you might have a word with her? I know it is asking a lot, but I fear it might jeopardize our work eventually.”

Emily gave that some thought and said, “I might have an idea about how to redirect her interest elsewhere.”

“Thank you. Anything you can do to help the situation would be greatly appreciated.”

He signaled to the waitress that he wanted the bill.

“I should let you go,” he said. “I know how busy you are. And thank you for coming to tea with me.”

Emily took his hand. “It has been lovely. Thank you.”

“Then you will consent to see me again?”

“Of course, why ever would I not? You promised me another visit to the café and we still need to put together what we will play.”

Linton smiled broadly. “Oh, excellent. Then there is hope for me yet.”