He referred, of course, to the grand opening of the ballroom to the public, in which he would dine in great state. Once the ballroom was open, there would be no opportunity for repairs. Jane would have to attend to the fish as soon as dinner had completed, lest they unravel farther.

‘Of course . . . and yet, one must call you something.’

‘Oh, as to that’ – Lord Lumley again disregarded his duties to his dinner partner to drawl – ‘we all call him “Prinny.” I dare say he would like you to do the same.’

‘Oh yes, would you do me that kindness?’

‘And you shall call me Skiffy.’ Lord Lumley leaned in close. ‘We are all terribly fond of you, for your husband’s sake.’

Not for her own, but this could hardly surprise Jane. She attempted a smile while trying to recall where the thread of glamour went. ‘Thank you for the honour. And have you known each other long?’ In this manner, she hoped to distract the gentlemen to talk between themselves. No matter how rude that might make Lord Lum – Skiffy to his dinner partner, it would grant her some brief span in which to puzzle out the fish. While Vincent had created glamurals this elaborate before, if perhaps on a smaller scale, it was the most intricate work which Jane had yet attempted, and the sheer number of threads, folds, weaves, and braids of glamour overwhelmed her memory.

‘Prinny had come down to Eaton for a fête back when your husband was still a Hamil—’ Skiffy cleared his throat, just avoiding pronouncing the name that Vincent had renounced. ‘Even in those days Vincent had the reputation of being a curmudgeon. Though we were all terribly fond of him.’

Jane’s attention was now split in two. On the one hand, she worried about the fish, for, if on their first commission together, she introduced a flaw into their work, it would not bode well for their future projects. And yet, Vincent so rarely talked about his life before giving up his family name to pursue his art that her curiosity was piqued beyond all else.

‘Your husband had glamoured the clock tower so it showed the time backwards!’ The Prince – Prinny – threw his head back and laughed.

Skiffy resumed the tale. ‘Oh, the deans were furious at that one, because he had managed to tie the glamour off so it did not show in the least. In any case, they could not conceive of how someone might have climbed the clock tower to weave one. Which showed your husband’s cleverness, for he did not ascend the tower at all.’