Reading through the new sheet music her father had bought for her, Elizabeth set herself to working on the first movement. She picked her way through the opening chords and carefully began to play. She sincerely hoped few of the staff were around, for she knew her playing did her no credit. After fifty long, tedious minutes of working on Mozart, she stretched her cramped back and flexed her fingers.

Just for fun, she began a lively jig she had often played at home for dances and that she knew from memory. The piece brought a smile to her face, especially since it was so much easier for her to play it now than it had been before, and she laughed freely and moved on to another, a lively Scottish air that she sang along with, attempting the brogue passably and cheering herself considerably in the process. After playing and singing two more songs, she realized she had gone over her self-imposed time limit and quickly jumped up, gathering her music together and dashing out of the room.

She nearly ran into two maids in the hall who seemed to have been listening near the door. Elizabeth excused herself and hurried upstairs.

Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, she had created quite a stir below stairs. The housekeeper had been angry to have the room used for such a purpose. Angry at the mistress for suggesting it and angry at the young lady for accepting. It would disrupt her staff and upset Mrs. Jenkinson, whom she would have to soothe later. But she eventually decided not to be upset about something she could not change and made herself scarce for the duration of the young lady’s visit.

Once Elizabeth had begun, the kitchen staff, busy preparing dinner, smiled to each other to hear the instrument being played. Of course, the practice was not very enjoyable to listen to. It wasn’t bad exactly, but neither was it pleasant, so they tried to ignore it and went on about their business. But once she got going and began playing jigs, two scullery maids grabbed each other by the arms and danced through the kitchen, Cook hollering at them to stay out of the way. One of the footmen came out of the silver room and danced a quick jig with the undercook, and for a good fifteen minutes, the kitchen of Rosings Park was a very happy place.

And so a new routine was set. Elizabeth began every morning with a walk through the park, then helped Charlotte in the kitchen, improving her own cooking skills in the process. She answered her letters and had tea with her friends, then went to Rosings for an hour of practice. She went over her time on several occasions, but not terribly, and she always ended every practice session with a few songs she knew, unknowingly creating regular afternoon dances for the servants.