She nodded, trying to quell her tears of guilt.
“As it turns out, it is only because you saw the handwritten sheets in my home and then sent them to London that I can prove prior ownership. It would be better if you had declared me the composer when you gave it to Boosey & Co., but at least you gave him my name and address as the owner.”
“And I can vouch that I took the music from you. I didn’t even know what it sounded like.”
“Which brings me to this.” Vincent released her hand, which was a shame because she was enjoying his touch very much. He withdrew folded pages from his pocket. “I brought the music, which I call ‘Il Rinnovo’ and you called ‘The Starling.’”
“And which Mr. Castern called ‘An Enchanting Dream.’”
Ignoring that, he asked, “Do you have a piano?”
“Why, yes.” Jumping up, Brilliance said, “Follow me.” And as she took him through the house, she realized she ought to have had a chaperone instead of speaking alone with him, but it was too late for that. If one of her parents were home, it would be a different matter.
“In here, Lord Hewitt. It’s not really a conservatory, but my mother occasionally still tries her hand at the piano, so she keeps it. My sister, Purity, is quite good and used to play it often before she married and moved out.”
Looking at the instrument now, always dusted and polished by their household staff, Brilliance hoped he didn’t find it too inferior.
“It is unlikely to be in tune,” she added.
“That is no matter. You will recognize the piece, I think.”
He spread the first two pages out on the piano’s music cradle and without hesitation began to play.
She remained silent through the piece, realizing he hadn’t turned the pages, but finished the movement from memory as he had at his parents’ home.
“Yes, that is what Mr. Castern played,” she said, feeling morose at having had a part in the nefarious pianist getting his hands on Vincent’s work.
“I know. I went to his concert last night after I had already been to see him. I told him in no uncertain terms that he must stop playing this piece. It is too late for the rest of my work but —”
“Why do you say that? I think you should use this latest act of plagiarism to force him to admit to the rest of it.”
He shrugged. “I think people will always believe my work is his because they have heard him play it on the stage. That goes a long way to validating his ownership. It made you think so.”
Guilt pinched her again. “Then you must play it, too,” she declared.
He started to shake his head. Losing her temper, she stomped her foot. “I won’t let him get away with this. I shall demand he confess.”
To her surprise, Vincent smiled. “I only want him to cease playing this latest piece. ‘Il Rinnovo’ is important to me. That is why I came today. Although I demanded he remove it from his repertoire, he played it anyway. I am hopeful you will accompany me to consult with a solicitor. I believe you can swear to a statement about what you know, and then we’ll present it to Castern. If he knows what’s good for him, he will listen and do as I have asked before I take him to court.”
“It is infuriating,” Brilliance said. “Butyourmusic, ‘Il Rinnovo’ and ‘The Hummingbird,’ —”
“It isnot‘The Hummingbird,’” he protested.
“Very well, your ‘Sonata in the Hay.’”
“Sonata in A,” he corrected. “That means I wrote it in the key of A.”
She blinked and smiled sheepishly. “I thought it was a romantic piece about two lovers in the hay. I could tell you a story about my eldest sister —” Brilliance broke off, clamping her teeth on whatever she was saying, knowing her cheeks were turning bright red.
“What were we talking about?” She frowned. “Oh, yes. You cannot let him keep the rest. All the music Mr. Castern plays, all of it has a certain similar quality.”
“Because it all came from my brain,” he reminded her. “Similarly, you can tell a piece by Beethoven or Mozart or Haydn just as easily.”
Brilliance bit her lip, then released it with a squeaky sound. “You perhaps can tell them apart, and many other learned people, too, I am sure. But I cannot.” She wished it wasn’t another failing to add to her list, right after fishing. “And do you have more music?”
“Nothing transcribed. I am ashamed to say I destroyed the few pieces that I found still in my home. Burned them in the hearth.”
She shook her head at the horror.
