"It's three reasons. I most earnestly implore you.”
A small sigh escaped his lips as he submitted. He lifted the piano lid, fingers hovering over the keys. "It's been years."
"It's like riding a horse."
“Play something cheerful,” Clara spoke quickly as she could sense his dark mood.
“I regret that I am not familiar with any cheerful melodies,”
“That, is indeed, a sad sentiment.”
"I'm a scarred duke hiding in his crumbling estate.”
"Play a waltz then."
"Why a waltz?"
"Because waltzes are inherently hopeful, with all that exhilarating round of dancing and its promise."
"That's the strangest description of a waltz I've ever heard."
«Please, proceed.”
He positioned his hands, paused, and then began to play. The melody that emerged was indeed a waltz, though played with a melancholy edge that turned it into something else, not quite sad, not quite happy, but somewhere in between. Like the player himself.
Clara found herself swaying slightly, unable to help it. The music filled the room, chasing out the shadows and silence, bringing it back to life in a way her cleaning couldn't.
"Dance with me," she said without thinking.
Gabriel's hands stilled. "What?"
"Dance with me. I'm already swaying. You're already playing. It seems efficient."
"I can't play and dance simultaneously."
"Then just dance."
"Clara…"
“A single dance. To put the spirits to rest and summon gaiety back to this desolate room.”
"We're two people in a dusty room who could use a moment of not being miserable."
Gabriel looked at her for a long moment, then stood from the bench. "I should warn you, I'm a terrible dancer."
"You were fine at fourteen."
"That was before…" He gestured vaguely at his face.
"Your feet weren't injured."
"No, but my sense of balance was along with my general ability to not be a disaster."
"One dance, Gabriel. I promise not to judge your disasters."
He moved toward her slowly, as if approaching a spooked animal. Or perhaps he was the spooked animal. When he finally stood before her, Clara realised how much taller he'd gotten, she had to look up now, when once they'd been nearly eye level.
"I don't remember how to do this," he said quietly.
