Honor blushed.
"Do they, by the way?"Sedgeworthasked. "You probably read sermons each night to improve your mind, do you?"
She giggled. "I do assure you I do not," she said."Not sermons, anyway."
"Shall I take you to see the Constable?" he asked. "It is best seen by daylight, of course, but if we take a branch of candles, we should be able to see it quite well."
"Very well," she said. "But do not expect me to go into rhapsodies over the books."
Fairfax came to the end of his piece of music and looked up to smile at Jane, who had stood quite still to one side of the instrument throughout.
"Men do have one advantage when they play," she said. "You have so much more power in your fingers than I do. I have never heard Bach sound quite so exciting. Please, will you play again?"
"Miss Jamieson and I are going to view the Constable in the library,"Sedgeworthcalled. "She thinks this one very pretty, Fairfax. We will see you later in the drawing room for supper?"
"In half an hour," Fairfax agreed.
Jane smiled at her betrothed.
"Bach sounds quite splendid played on the harpsichord," Fairfax said, getting to his feet. "Do you play the instrument?"
"I have only played it once," she said, walking by his side across the room, "when we visited my great-aunt years ago. I have never had another chance."
"See if you agree with me," he said, seating himself at the harpsichord and beginning to play. He stopped after a couple of minutes. "Do you like the sound?"
"Yes, for bright, sprightly music it is perfect," Jane said. "May I try?"
She played Bach and appeared to have forgotten Fairfax after a few minutes. He crossed back to the pianoforte and picked up the same melody on its keys. He finished the piece with her.
She looked up and laughed. "We finished together anyway," she said. "The tones of the two instruments blend well together. Can we try something else?"
They agreed on a tune and played it through together, first one and then the other stumbling in the effort to keep in time with each other.
"I have another idea," Fairfax said after they had finished. "Have you ever played a duet on the pianoforte?"
"Goodness, no," she said. "Is it possible?"
"Come," he said. "You sit on this side of me and play the higher keys." He turned to pick a sheet of music from the pile on the table beside the instrument. "I shall play the lower part. It is not difficult most of the time. Just occasionally you have to encroach on my keys and I on yours. Shall we see if it can be done?"
Jane examined the music carefully. "It does not look difficult," she said. "I am ready."
He got to his feet suddenly. "I am not sure I would want this overheard by anyone but us two," he said, crossing the room. "I see that Sedge left the door ajar. And I know why. One has to almost wrestle with it to close it and then is never sure it will open again."
He slammed the door shut, applying his shoulder to it as he did so, and turned back to the pianoforte with a grin. "Now for the performance of a lifetime," he said. He seated himself on the bench beside Jane.
They both kept their eyes on the music, playing carefully and without any finesse, concentrating merely on playing the right notes and staying in time with each other. Then they came to the parts where Jane had to slip her left arm beneath his to reach higher notes. By the time they arrived at the end of the music more than ten minutes later, they were both laughing helplessly.
"I do not believe we would find a place on anyone's concert bill yet, do you?" Fairfax asked.
"Perhaps as a comedy team?" she suggested.
"Actually," he said, holding up his hands before his face, fingers spread, "I think we did remarkably well. I ended up with four fingers and one thumb on each hand.How about you?"
She held her hands up also. "Remarkable," she said. "I do believe they are the same Fingers and thumbs as I began with, too."
"Let me see," he said, leaning toward her and examining her hands. "Yes, you are right. At least I hope you are. I would not wish to lay claim to such slender, feminine fingers for my own."
He turned to laugh into her face, only inches away from his own. Jane.Jane with her eyebrows raised and her eyes dancing with merriment.Jane with her mouth curved into a smile.Jane flushing, the smile fading.As he could feel his fade too.
