Miss Mayton came hurrying to the top of the stairs. “Goodness child, I am just up here, assisting Juliet in organizing her odes into a book.”
“Would you go to a house party with me?”
“A house party? Goodness, I’ve never been to a house party.”
“You will go, though? Lord Harveston is there.”
“Ah! I see. Of course we must go then.”
Having that confirmation in her pocket, Cordelia fled the house in search of her father.
*
Percival had supposedhe had not known what tired really was before coming to Hamill’s house.
How could so many activities take place on one estate? Why were the family all so active?
The duke and duchess rarely sat down. They were always off riding, or they played lawn tennis, or bowled, or sailed. They had all looked positively fidgety the day it had rained so hard it really had been impossible to do anything out of doors. After grimly staring out the windows, they had finally settled on a billiards tournament.
He should not lump them all into one basket, of course. Hamill’s sister, Theodora, was not at all like them. She could participate in whatever they were up to well enough, but she only did so when she felt like it. Very often, what she felt like doing was closeting herself in the library.
There was no such repose for Percival. He’d told Hamill he must be turned into a Corinthian and Hamill was doing his level best to accomplish it.
There was no hiding from the truth, though—it was slow going. Just this afternoon, Hamill had taken him down to the lake and attempted to teach him how to sail.
Oh, he got the gist of it, he supposed. But it was a rather confounded thing. When one wished to go right, one must push the tiller left, and vice versa. If one wished to change direction, one had best consider the swinging boom a deadly weapon. One was meant to be sailing close to the wind, but that also meant one was on the verge of tipping over.
Hamill had said that if he did tip over, he was to just hang on to the overturned hull until somebody rowed out to get him. It usually was not more than a half hour.
Percival had stuck his hand in the water, he knew how cold it was. That was to be a long half hour!
It seemed he would not be bound for the Royal Navy anytime soon.
If there was any rest to be had in Hamill’s house, it was at dinner. Even this energetic family must sit down to accomplish it.
Blessedly, that was where he found himself this moment. The duchess always arranged a very fine repast that would go many courses.
As far as Percival was concerned, the more courses the better, as those courses would all be had sitting down. He just hoped the duke was not set on bowling by candlelight afterward, as he had last evening. Every servant in the house had been out there, chasing balls with their lights.
“Castleton,” the duchess said to her duke as the first course came round, “the house party is all arranged for the fourteenth.”
House party? Percival glanced at Hamill, who only nodded. Lady Theodora sighed just the smallest sigh.
“Excellent!” the duke said.
“I will arrange for the ladies,” the duchess said, “and you will arrange for the gentlemen. As always, my dear, do not forget about us ladies. We will wish to observe you at your sport from time to time. I myself would prefer to be a part of it, but we must accommodate the more staid activities that a usual lady will like to do.”
“Are we to spend our time in the library, then?” Theodora asked.
“Certainly not,” the duchess said. In a kinder tone, she said, “Now I know a house party will not be one of your favored activities, but you are out next season. You must become accustomed to meeting people and making connections. I have invited a very suitable young lady for you to know.”
Percival examined his soup. Now he was to have an audience while he attempted to make himself a sportsman?
The duke said, “I am ahead of you on the planning, my dear. I’ve been thinking it over for months and have the thing all worked out. We’re to have a regatta!”
“Wonderful!” the duchess said. “You really are so clever. How did we not think of it before?”
“We did not have enough boats for the thing,” the duke said. “Now we do. Plenty of boats to go round, plenty of sails. I’ve even got different colored flags so the onlookers can easily identify who is who as we round the buoys. I’ve put our crest on Hamill’s.”
