HUGH
The little gasp of delight,the bright glance in my direction, it was more than enough of a reward for haranguing Tom into bringing the sheet music back with him from London.
Kate played a few, more familiar, pieces for us before Michael and Juliet took their leave. Tom kindly volunteered to check on Mother. He was unlikely to be successful in his efforts to get her to see sense, but if anyone could succeed, it would be him. His retreat left my wife and I alone in the music room.
She pulled the new pages from the music desk, flipping through them with interest. “Thank you, Hugh. This was entirely unnecessary,” she said, a smile in her voice.
“Well in that case I shall see them returned at once,” I held my hand out for the pages with a teasing grin.
“Oh no, they’re mine now,” she retorted. She shocked me then, wrapping her hand around my outstretched one, pulling me toward her with some force. I stumbled to her willingly, eagerly, until my knees brushed the bench. “Sit,” she commanded, dropping my hand to pat the space next to her.
Following her instructions with an overly enthusiastic keenness, I settled in beside her. Her shoulder brushed my upper arm through the thin fabric of my shirtsleeves. After several glasses of scotch, it was more than warm enough to excuse the removal of my coat, and the drink convinced me it was an excellent idea. Peering down at her, she met my gaze with ease. Her expression was the slightest bit fuzzy for sherry. “Did you ever learn to play?” She asked, tipping her head in the direction of the instrument.
“Not a single note. It was my grandmother’s instrument. I suspect my father feared the havoc three boys would wreak on it.”
“It is a magnificent instrument. The best I’ve ever played on.”
“I am glad of it, an incredible pianist deserves the best. Who taught you?”
“My mother. To a certain point. Eventually, I outpaced her skill and I taught myself.”
“You taught yourself?”
“Well, not the basics of course. But after those are mastered it’s really a matter of practice.”
“I hope those pieces will be enough of a challenge. I am afraid I do not know exactly what to seek out.”
“Mozart is perfect, thank you.” Kate bit her lip, watching me thoughtfully. I wanted to bite it for her. “Do you wish to learn?”
“What? Now?”
“Well, yes. If you would like.”
“You are to be my teacher?” She made a show of looking around the room for some imagined teacher. “A good teacher does not mock her students.”
“I never claimed to be a good teacher, merely yours. If you’ll have me.” She said it easily, freely, as if the mere idea of having her for my own was not everything my heart desired.
“I would have no one else.”
Her eyes shone a deeper, greener tone for the candlelight as she evaluated me with a pleased sort of smile. She took my hand in hers once more, resting her fingers atop mine, her palm against the back of my hand. I could not help but marvel at the diminutiveness of her hand. How could she reach the keys with such surety and efficiency with such a small spread. Together as one, she settled my hand across the ivory keys. She pressed down on my index finger and a note sounded, clear and rich in the silent house.
“Middle C,” she said, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat gently. “Now you can no longer say that you’ve never played a single note.” My huff of laughter against her cheek caused a curl to flutter by her ear. She directed my finger to the next key to the right, “D, right is higher.” She moved my finger past middle C once again to press the key to the left, “B, left is lower.” Without prompting I ran through the three keys I had been taught. “Top of the class.”
“What do the black keys do?”
“Sharps and flats, that is a lesson for another night.”
“And the pedals?”
“For a night even farther down the road.” Her answer was low and sensual, and her lips parted slightly. There was an interest in her eyes I was unfamiliar with but was surely reflected in my own. “Hugh…”
“Yes?”
She started for a moment then seemed to think better of it. Eventually settling on, “thank you, for tonight.”
“You don’t have to thank me for what I should have done all along.”
“Still, it must have been difficult.”
