They were in the middle of a lesson in geography when the sound of a carriage arriving rose to the schoolroom windows. Pip thought both girls stopped breathing for a moment.
“Shall we have a look?” she said.
They went to the windows and peered down at the courtyard three stories below.
It wasn’t one carriage, but three. Two curricles, and a traveling chaise for the servants and the luggage. Pip looked down at the milling figures. “Would you like to practice your curtsies and greetings again?”
The summons came ten minutes later. The girls, who’d been jittery with anxious excitement, went quiet. They clung to Pip’s hands as they made their way downstairs. She could feel them trembling with nervousness.
The three guests were in the drawing room with Baron Rumpole. The rumble of male voic
