Beckham entered five minutes later in a dark morning coat with perfectly brushed shoulders and the confidence of a man who believed every room contained either a patron or an employee. He was perhaps forty-five, handsome in a polished way, with silver beginning at his temples and a smile that never appeared to cost him anything.
He bowed deeply to Robert, warmly to Hester, and barely to Matilda. "Miss Dracott. Still saving us all from illegible parts, I trust?"
"When necessary," Matilda said.
"And necessary remarkably often," Hester added with a laugh.
Beckham smiled. "The invisible labor behind great art. One must be grateful for such reliable hands."
Matilda felt Robert look at her. She kept her expression still.
Beckham accepted coffee and began discussing the York concert. The Fantasia, he explained, had already attracted interest among subscribers; several copies could be sold before the first public performance. Hester listened with satisfaction concealed beneath false modesty. Robert listened with the appearance of mild distraction. Matilda knew better now: he was watching.
"I confess I am curious," Robert said at last.
Beckham turned toward him eagerly. "About the publication, Your Grace?"
"About the composition."
Hester placed her cup down.
Robert continued: "Mrs. Dracott, which movement was most difficult to write?"
There was nothing improper in the question, nothing accusatory. Hester smiled. "The second, undoubtedly."
Matilda's fingers tightened beneath the table. The second movement had been the easiest; she had written most of it in one afternoon.
Robert nodded. "Because of the change in key before the second variation?"
Hester's pause lasted only a moment. "Precisely."
Matilda looked at him. Robert did not look back.
"Interesting," he said. "I had thought the modulation occurred after the variation."
Beckham cleared his throat. "Musical terminology can be quite fluid in conversation."
Robert smiled. "How fortunate. Accuracy is so often inconvenient."
The gentleman from Leeds laughed, believing it a joke. Hester did not.
Robert turned to Beckham. "You have the earliest draft, I suppose?"