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gave him a startled look as if to say what a silly question that was.
    ‘We are indeed,’ Sarah said, tapping her sister’s foot with her own under the table in an attempt to remind her of the importance of manners.
    ‘And you must be too?’ Mia said.
    ‘Well, of course,’ he said.
    ‘And what’s your favourite book?’ Mia asked, feeling the weight of Sarah’s foot on hers once again as if her sister knew she was testing him.
    ‘ Pride and Prejudice , of course,’ he said. ‘Isn’t that everybody’s favourite?’
    ‘Not at all,’ Mia said, her voice filled with annoyance. ‘ Our favourite is Sense and Sensibility .’
    Jackson Moore nodded sagely and Mia turned away from him to get on with her breakfast and he eventually stood up and left the room.
    ‘Mia!’ Sarah whispered. ‘Why were you so abrupt with him?’
    ‘Because I don’t like him,’ Mia said matter-of-factly.
    ‘But you were so rude,’ Sarah said.
    ‘I don’t care. He wasn’t–’ Mia paused.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Right. He wasn’t right!’
    ‘Because he was a man?’
    ‘No, not because he was a man. He’s just odd.’
    ‘Well, he doesn’t seem like your typical Janeite but who are we to say who can and can’t admire Jane Austen?’
    Mia shook her head. ‘I just didn’t believe him,’ she said.
    ‘Your trouble is you’re too judgemental. You jump to conclusions and don’t give people a chance. He’s probably some poor widower who might not be able to tell Captain Wentworth from General Tilney but is just as fascinated by the books as we are.’
    Mia made a funny sort of scoffing noise. ‘We’ll see,’ she said.
     
    In the West Drawing Room, Adam and Gemma were getting ready for their presentation.
    ‘Thank goodness you’re here!’ Adam told Gemma as she arranged her notes on the little table between their two chairs. ‘I was so worried about you last night.’
    ‘Worried that you’d have to do the talk on your own?’ she teased.
    Adam flushed red. ‘Well, yes,’ he said, ‘but worried that you were stuck somewhere too.’
    ‘I nearly did get stuck,’ she said, ‘and I’m guessing we’re all snowed in here for a while.’
    ‘I can think of worse fates,’ Adam said. ‘Did Rob not fancy coming with you?’ he asked, remembering Gemma’s new husband whom she’d met on the set of Persuasion .
    ‘Oh, this isn’t his sort of thing at all,’ Gemma said. ‘Anyway, he’s got one of his brothers over from Ireland. They’re going to sit and drink whiskey and talk into the small hours without any interruption from me.’
    ‘And how’s your mother?’ Adam asked, remembering Gemma’s famous actress mother, Kim Reilly, who’d been a big star in the seventies hit show Bandits .
    ‘Oh, she’s fine,’ Gemma said. ‘Actually, she’s working on her first screenplay.’
    ‘Really? I didn’t know your mother wrote. I mean, she doesn’t strike me as the writerly type.’
    ‘Well, she’s written the biggest part with herself in mind,’ Gemma said with a grin. ‘And she asked me if I’d give you a copy of the first draft. I said no, of course, but you know what she’s like. She absolutely insisted so I’ve brought it with me but don’t feel you have to, Adam. It’s really overstepping the mark.’
    ‘No, no,’ Adam assured her. ‘I’ll take a look at it.’
    ‘You will?’
    ‘Of course I will.’
    ‘And handle her with care?’ Gemma said.
    ‘Absolutely.’
    ‘Because you know what she can be like.’
    ‘Indeed I do,’ he said, remembering the affection-craving actress he’d met on the set of Persuasion and how she’d made poor Gemma’s life a total nightmare.
    ‘Thanks so much, Adam,’ Gemma said. ‘I really appreciate it.’
    ‘You’re welcome.’
    The drawing room door opened and the first of the guests walked in, taking their seats before Adam had the chance to run away.
    ‘Just keep breathing,’ Gemma whispered to him and he nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose like a