Halfway through, as the sweat pooled on my brow and my fingers nearly slipped from the strings during a particularly difficult bar, I realized this was a test. A kind of Manderley initiation. But something else occurred to me that made a smile play on my face.
I’m playing with Elena Nicolescu.TheElena Nicolescu, daughter of the Romanian fairies, who will one day become the greatest Classical musician of our age. Life goal, realized.
As we played, I snuck glances at her, admiring the way her graceful neck drew up as she threw her whole body into the performance, the placement of her fingers on the keys, every movement perfection. Elenalivedthe music in a way that awed and slightly terrified me.
We reached the final movement – a crushed A major chord on the piano, and then we soared together, ending on a jubilant flourish of contrast and light. I threw down my bow in triumph. Elena’s hands slid from the keys. I beamed at her. A faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips, its momentum broken by the tears streaming down her face.
“Elena, are you okay?” I slid onto the end of the bench. There was something about her – that innocence, those pixie eyes, that made me instantly want to care for her.
She shook her head, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her fingers. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I—”
“If you want to talk about something, I’m listening.” I glanced toward the door, wondering about the significance of the lock. She always locked the door when she came to watch me. Was it to keep someone out? Her brother, perhaps?
I remembered their harsh conversation on the steps.Is something going on between them?
Elena sniffed. She must have sensed my inquiry, because she said, “Ivan likes you very much. I can see why.”
“Is that why you’ve been coming to see me?”
She nodded. “He has never shown interest in another girl. Not ever. I wanted to make sure you were good enough for him. But now I’m wondering if he is good enough for you.”
A knock sounded at the door. “Elena?” It was Master Radcliffe. “Are you in there? I wish you to go over the Brahms again.”
Graceful as a cat, Elena rose. She wiped her face on the hem of her sundress, and when she lowered the cloth, her expression was blank, serene. I recognized it for what it was – a mask.
We all wore masks at Manderley. It seemed the only time we stripped ourselves bare was when we played. Elena didn’t need to tell me what was wrong, because she’d just played her sorrow for me to hear.
“I must go,” Elena whispered. She swept from the room as gracefully as she did everything else, but there was a fragility to her movement that betrayed her terror.
What is she so afraid of?
Chapter Fifty-Three
Faye
After that, Elena started coming to more of my practices. We played together – Beethoven, Brahms, and a Romanian composer she loved named George Enescu. At mealtimes, she saved the seat next to her at the table, even going so far as to ask Heather to move over for me. Heather’s face could have boiled an egg, but she moved. I found that interesting.
Elena rarely spoke to me, but each gesture spoke of a desire to break the silence Dorien had imposed. I wondered if he’d made some official lifting of his ban on interacting with me, or if everyone had sensed the shift in dynamics between us.
I knew better than to hope this was the start of a friendship, but I hoped anyway. Loneliness has a way of seeping into your bones.
Two days before the parental recital, Elena swept into our practice room (how quickly I’d started thinking of it as ours, even going so far as to write both our names down on the reservations board). Her cheeks flushed with happiness and she practically glided to the piano. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her so happy.
“You must come with us next Saturday,” she announced.
The weekend after the party, Dorien, Elena, and Ivan were booked to play a recital in New York City. They didn’t want to drive back to Manderley in the dark, so they’d obtained special permission to stay over in a hotel. It sounded like an excuse to party to me, and I’d secretly been seething with jealousy about it, but I never imagined I’d be able to go.
I shook my head. “I have to clean the rehearsal rooms top to bottom. It’s easier while you’re all away as there will be fewer people using them. Besides, even if I wanted to, Madame Usher would never let me go.”
“She will listen to me.” Elena took my hand. I could practically feel her excitement sizzling through her veins. “I have already called ahead, requested you be added to the billing. We shall perform our Beethoven together. And I’ve booked us a suite. Please, say you’ll come. I am tired of doing everything with Ivan. I want to have some girl time.”
Aside from the fact that a night away from Manderley with my three Muses meant all kinds of delicious possibilities, no way could I say no to Elena. It would be like kicking a puppy.
Besides… I rubbed my bloodshot eyes. Another sleepless night listening to snatches of that music filtering from the room next door made me dream of a decent night’s sleep in a non-haunted bed. If this was a horror film, Freddy Kreuger would have sucked me into the dream world by now.
Maybe Iamin a dream world – that would explain why three muses want to share me.
The rest of the week sailed by in a blur. I was so excited for the recital that even cleaning the bathrooms and serving food to spoiled rich kids didn’t seem so bad. Dr. Nelson called to say the preliminary tests on Mom had been extremely promising, and they were stepping up the treatment. I’d know in a few days if she’d be able to come off life support.
