glanced at the clock on the mantel.
"Hadn't you better go up to give the girls their music lesson?"
"I suppose." Juliet wondered how she could instruct the girls in the proper technique to accompany themselves on the piano when her thoughts were consumed by this new plan of hers.
When Miranda looked up at her and tilted her head in surprise that she had not yet moved, Juliet rose. Her plan would work, she could sense it. Only she could not go alone. Hero might have done except she had returned to her estate yesterday — who had ever heard of calling a home Camelot? Of course, it did suit both Hero and Arthur. She sighed and for a moment considered trying to persuade Miranda before accepting the fact that her first assessment had been accurate. Miranda would forbid her.
As she climbed the stairs to the schoolroom, she realized the answer was literally right in front of her. Rosaline and Helena were the perfect companions for her scheme. They were not to be brought out in society until next year, but they were not too young to accompany her upon a call to the Americans.
She smiled to herself. Surely Miss Hopkins would not refuse to offer wise counsel to two girls who would be in her very same situation next year.
Trying not to show her impatience with the tedious details of the day's music lesson, Juliet just barely managed to keep her temper under control as she corrected Helena's fingerings, counseled Kate not to bellow her words, and forbade Rosaline ever again to sing the bawdy ditty she had gleaned from eavesdropping on the servants.
As she suspected, the girls were willing enough to be taken from their lessons, though Katherine, the governess, objected at first. "This time of day is for the improvement of the mind, Juliet."
"I do understand the schedule," Juliet, without a moment to consider, blurted out quickly. "I thought a visit to the museum would qualify as an improving exercise for the mind. Don't you?" She held her breath, awaiting the governess's answer.
Katherine agreed, after a moment's consideration and a glance that suggested she knew a visit to the museum was not Juliet's true objective.
Another moment of uneasiness passed as she noticed Kate and Betsey paying close attention to the conversation. It would be a tricky proposition should the youngest girls wish to go along.
Fortunately, Kate and Betsy both made faces at the suggestion. Apparently they thought the museum a most boring outing and quite willingly agreed to return themselves to their geometry lesson.
Everything worked out well until they came to the steps of the Hopkins's residence. There their card was accepted, but they were told, with only the most cursory delay, that the lady in question was not at home.
Juliet wanted to argue. There was a cold air about the footman's message that made her suspect that Miranda might very well be right in saying Miss Hopkins had been forbidden her company. But then she dismissed the urge. If she was considered an unsuitable influence, she was not likely to change that perception by demanding to be admitted to the residence.
"What shall we do now?" Rosaline asked, her hands on her hips. "I have no intention of going home before I must. I am dreadfully tired of conjugating Latin verbs."
"We can try again tomorrow, Juliet. Perhaps she will be at home then." Helena had always been the kinder twin.
"I must think of something." Juliet began to walk hesitantly toward home. For one foolish moment she considered calling upon Pendrake's mother. Even as she imagined it, she realized that would not serve at all.
In the end, her sisters persuaded her to go to the museum, as they had told the governess they would do. Rosaline always enjoyed the exhibition of swords and weapons of war; Helena, the sculpture and paintings.
There, to her great delight, Juliet spotted Miss Hopkins. The girl stood before a large marble sculpture, examining the work as if she intended to duplicate the lines and form once she
"Hadn't you better go up to give the girls their music lesson?"
"I suppose." Juliet wondered how she could instruct the girls in the proper technique to accompany themselves on the piano when her thoughts were consumed by this new plan of hers.
When Miranda looked up at her and tilted her head in surprise that she had not yet moved, Juliet rose. Her plan would work, she could sense it. Only she could not go alone. Hero might have done except she had returned to her estate yesterday — who had ever heard of calling a home Camelot? Of course, it did suit both Hero and Arthur. She sighed and for a moment considered trying to persuade Miranda before accepting the fact that her first assessment had been accurate. Miranda would forbid her.
As she climbed the stairs to the schoolroom, she realized the answer was literally right in front of her. Rosaline and Helena were the perfect companions for her scheme. They were not to be brought out in society until next year, but they were not too young to accompany her upon a call to the Americans.
She smiled to herself. Surely Miss Hopkins would not refuse to offer wise counsel to two girls who would be in her very same situation next year.
Trying not to show her impatience with the tedious details of the day's music lesson, Juliet just barely managed to keep her temper under control as she corrected Helena's fingerings, counseled Kate not to bellow her words, and forbade Rosaline ever again to sing the bawdy ditty she had gleaned from eavesdropping on the servants.
As she suspected, the girls were willing enough to be taken from their lessons, though Katherine, the governess, objected at first. "This time of day is for the improvement of the mind, Juliet."
"I do understand the schedule," Juliet, without a moment to consider, blurted out quickly. "I thought a visit to the museum would qualify as an improving exercise for the mind. Don't you?" She held her breath, awaiting the governess's answer.
Katherine agreed, after a moment's consideration and a glance that suggested she knew a visit to the museum was not Juliet's true objective.
Another moment of uneasiness passed as she noticed Kate and Betsey paying close attention to the conversation. It would be a tricky proposition should the youngest girls wish to go along.
Fortunately, Kate and Betsy both made faces at the suggestion. Apparently they thought the museum a most boring outing and quite willingly agreed to return themselves to their geometry lesson.
Everything worked out well until they came to the steps of the Hopkins's residence. There their card was accepted, but they were told, with only the most cursory delay, that the lady in question was not at home.
Juliet wanted to argue. There was a cold air about the footman's message that made her suspect that Miranda might very well be right in saying Miss Hopkins had been forbidden her company. But then she dismissed the urge. If she was considered an unsuitable influence, she was not likely to change that perception by demanding to be admitted to the residence.
"What shall we do now?" Rosaline asked, her hands on her hips. "I have no intention of going home before I must. I am dreadfully tired of conjugating Latin verbs."
"We can try again tomorrow, Juliet. Perhaps she will be at home then." Helena had always been the kinder twin.
"I must think of something." Juliet began to walk hesitantly toward home. For one foolish moment she considered calling upon Pendrake's mother. Even as she imagined it, she realized that would not serve at all.
In the end, her sisters persuaded her to go to the museum, as they had told the governess they would do. Rosaline always enjoyed the exhibition of swords and weapons of war; Helena, the sculpture and paintings.
There, to her great delight, Juliet spotted Miss Hopkins. The girl stood before a large marble sculpture, examining the work as if she intended to duplicate the lines and form once she
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