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“That’s good,” was all he said, and Julia forbore to ask the obvious question of him. Perhaps she did not want to hear the answer.
By the time they went back inside, everyone had vanished, but girlish voices were still audible from the parlour. Inside, Rosie was sitting stiffly in a chair so ornate it might as well be a throne, while Angie was twirling light-footed around the room.
“There you are, Jules! We are going on a tour of the house, since it is too wet to go outside. Rosie is going to test every chair for comfort and I am going to dance in every room. What will you do?”
“Look at the view from each window, to see if there is any sign it will stop raining soon,” Julia said with a laugh. “Pa? Are you coming with us? What will you do?”
“Keep an eye on you three mischiefs, that’s what I’ll do. But I shall look out for a snug little room to make my own. I miss my office, and there must be a quiet corner somewhere in this barn of a place where I can set up my desk.”
“Excellent,” Angie said, with a final spin. “Come on. Breakfast parlour next.”
Keeble and a footman were busy clearing the table, but they stood to attention, and made respectful bows. Julia thought the butler was eyeing her warily.
The room was already familiar to them, and was in addition too cluttered with furniture for satisfactory twirling, so they moved quickly on to the dining room. This, too, was not interesting to Angie, but the music room was far more appealing. Rosie played a little, while Angie danced and Pa applauded. Julia was not minded to dance, not unless it was absolutely unavoidable, so she sat on a wide window seat and watched the merciless rain washing down the panes in slithering rivulets.
After the music room was one of the principal saloons, and here Angie was thrown into paroxysms of excitement.
“The doors to the next saloon fold away,” she cried. “Shall we try it? These three big rooms can be thrown into one to make a ballroom. Oh, Pa, we must try it! Can you make it open up?”
“I don’t see a way, but the servants will know. Rosie, ring the bell for Keeble will you?”
“Heavens, Pa, we could find hammers and knock the walls down ourselves before anyone will come,” Angie said, but Rosie obediently rang the bell and sat down expectantly to wait.
Julia pulled out her pocket watch. “It will be twenty minutes, that is my guess.”
But she was wrong. Keeble arrived after a mere three minutes. “You rang, sir?”
“We did. We should like these rooms opened up to make a ballroom — my daughters want to see what it will look like.”
“Very good, sir. I shall just summon a pair of footmen.”
He left the room, but Julia held the watch ostentatiously in front of her, and the butler returned in moments. “Anthony has just gone to fetch Paul. They will be here very shortly. The release mechanism is hidden inside this false pillar, if you will observe, sir.”
“Very ingenious,” Pa said, bending to see.
Sighing, Julia stationed herself by the window again. She wished she had Angie’s enthusiasm for dancing, but without her sister’s delicate frame and gracefulness, there was no enjoyment in the exercise. Julia was just too large and clumsy for elegance.
The footmen arrived, the doors and a part of the wall were folded away into the pillars, and then the two men willingly knelt down and rolled up rugs, while Keeble moved chairs and small tables aside.
“That is rather a good ballroom, I believe,” Pa said. “What do you lasses think?”
“Oh yes!” Rosie said, eyes shining. “It is almost as big as the assembly room at the King’s Head.”
“So it is. What about you, Julia? How many couples could stand up here?”
Julia tipped her head to one side, assessing. “Perhaps thirty, at a pinch. But where is Angie? She was the one who wanted the room opened up, after all. Why is she not here, trying it out?”
“Aye, she’s vanished,” Pa said. “I suppose she got bored waiting.”
“It didn’t take very long,” Julia said.
“No, indeed, Mr Keeble has been very efficient,” Rosie said.
Just then, the furthest door opened, and Angie slipped in.
“There you are, flower,” Pa said. “What do you think of your ballroom, now that you see it?”
Angie spun round in pure excitement. “Oh, Pa! It is wonderful! This whole house is wonderful! I love it. I amsoglad we moved here. How soon can we hold a ball?”
