It was Midsummer’s Eve, the day of our performance, and also Charles’s twelfth birthday. At breakfast, we paid tribute to him with his favourite lemon cake. My mother gave Charles a very smart blue coat which she had remade from my brother Frank’s, and Cassandra and I presented him with a set of handkerchiefs embroidered with his initials. To my surprise, Edward Taylor also gave him a gift: his small silver folding knife, which Charles had seen and admired on a previous occasion. Charles was pleased to no end. Mr. and Mrs. Knight returned to Goodnestone that morning, happy and anxious to see our production. The remainder of the morning was a beehive of activity, as we endeavoured to get everything ready for the start time of two o’clock. The two Edwards oversaw the final placement of the chairs for the audience, which Lady Bridges made them rearrange twice. As it was to be a day-time performance, no candles were needed; the drapes and shutters on the tall windows were left open, flooding the room with summer light.
What do You think about Jane Austen’s First Love (2014)?
