Celia had standards. I had a growling stomach and didn't care where I ate. I buttered a piece of toast and took two eggs from the sideboard and joined her at the table.
"What did he want?" she asked.
I filled her in and her interest piqued at the mention of George Culvert. "I wonder what he's like," she said more to herself than me.
"He went to Eton," I said, rapping the knife on the eggshell. "With Jacob."
I'd thought it impossible for her eyes to light up even more but they did. "Oh! He must be a gentleman then. I'm so glad you're wearing that dress, it's perfect. But you can't go alone. I'll accompany you." "I'll be all right."
"Emily," she said on a sigh.
"Please, Celia, I'm old enough." Because our lives were so thoroughly interconnected, my sister and I usually went everywhere together. We just had no need to be separate. But of late I found I wanted to go out more and more without her. It would be nice to have people deal with me as an individual and a woman rather than as Celia's little sister. The visit to George Culvert was a perfect opportunity to do so and I wasn't going to let it pass me by.
She paused with her fork in the air, a piece of buttered toast only inches from her mouth.
"Jacob will be with me," I added before she could protest. "That's all the protection I need. Besides, you've got to go to the Clerkenwell school and hire another maid."
She seemed to struggle between the two options. "It's not seemly for a young lady to pay calls on a young gentleman alone. You know that."
"His mother will probably be in at this early hour," I said hopefully. "And besides, I could be there all day studying his books." Celia's eyes went blank at the thought, just as I'd hoped. My sister had never been a great reader. Whereas I'd devoured all of her father's books, even the dull ones, she'd not been in his study for a long time. "Besides, if you don't find another maid today you'll have to cook supper. I'm sure I won't be home in time. And of course there's all the cleaning..."
Celia sighed. "You're right."
I ate the toast and one of the eggs and left the other. It was too dry. When we'd finished, Celia collected our plates. "You'd better go or Jacob will be back demanding to know why you haven't left yet."
She didn't need to tell me a second time. I'd avoided both the cooking and the cleaning so far but I wasn't about to test my luck by staying home any longer.