The song was stirring, filling his heart with a warmth that he’d been without for far too long. When it wound to a close, she opened her eyes and stared at the keys.
“You may think to avoid the question, but I shan’t be put off. As I was made to bear the brunt of your fury, surely you should divulge the cause,” he said.
Miss Leigh huffed and turned an arch brow to him, and David couldn’t help but grin at the sight of her tartness sparking there. “Ah, I owe you, do I?”
Holding a hand to his heart, David nodded. “You have wounded me grievously, my lady. Surely that has earned me a bit of honesty.”
Her expression fell, and he cursed his wayward tongue.
“Ignore me if I am making matters worse, Miss Leigh.”
Shaking her head, she met his gaze, her eyes so full of sadness that David’s ribs squeezed his heart. “No, Mr. Archer. I apologize for how I have behaved of late. It has been quite unfair of me. And though I appreciate your offer of assistance, I fear I cannot accept.”
David’s brows pulled low. “Surely there is something I might do to help.”
“You have your family’s mill to oversee in secret, your mother and sisters all demanding your attention, your father constantly causing megrims, and do not think for one moment that I do not recognize just how much my own brother relies on your wisdom. And that is all without even considering your own personal troubles. That is quite enough for one person, Mr. Archer,” she said, straightening. “I assure you I can manage on my own.”
“I know you can, which is precisely why I enjoy assisting you, Miss Leigh,” he said with a wan smile. “You are quite capable of managing alone, so it isn’t an obligation. I am simply allowed the pleasure of doing so because I can. Am I making sense?” David wasn’t sure, for in many ways it was insensible. However, it was true. Helping Miss Leigh was never a burden.
“That is kind of you,” she said, turning back to the keys and striking a few chords. “And I assure you, the offer of your piano has done more to help than anything else.”
Straightening, David watched her. “Truly?”
Miss Leigh’s gaze rose to his as her hands moved across the keys, her eyes bright, though he knew all too well that she would not allow those tears to fall.
“Truly,” she whispered. “I feel as though I can breathe again.”
“Good,” he said with a nod. Far from the imagined burden Miss Leigh believed she was, it felt as though one had lifted, leaving him all the lighter. “You are free to come as often as you want. My mother and sisters enjoy music, and I suspect Flora will enlist you to accompany her often, if you will allow it.”
“As often as she wishes,” she replied.
They lapsed into silence, though Miss Leigh’s music filled the void. David didn’t recognize the song, but then, with his limited understanding of music, it wasn’t surprising. Resting his right arm against the instrument, he watched Miss Leigh as she slipped back into serenity, and a flicker of anger flared to life within him at the thought that Mr. and Mrs. Leigh had stolen this away from their daughter.
But it was quickly followed by another squeeze of his heart at the thought that he had been able to return it to her. Whatever other burdens she may bear, David swore she would never be made to bear the loss of her instrument again.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to offer up my thanks,” he said.
Miss Leigh’s eyes popped open, though her fingers didn’t pause as they ran along the keys. “For refusing to see you?”
David smiled at that, though it had less to do with the jest itself as it did the fact that she was making any lighthearted remark. In truth, the past few days had not been pleasant ones, and it would be some time before he could laugh at them. If ever.
“For your assistance with Flora at the concert. She did a fine job, but I know she would’ve only remembered her mistakes. However, you guaranteed that no one, including herself, could.”
Miss Leigh’s gaze dropped to her keys, and though her complexion showed no signs of it, David was certain that if she were wont to blush, she would be quite red at present.
“How do you know it wasn’t a mistake?” she asked.
“I am surprised anyone else believed it was an earnest performance,” he replied with a chuckle. “I’ve heard you play many times, and even at your worst, you could never do that by accident. Besides, it is just like you to sacrifice your own dignity to help someone else. You are a good friend to me, Miss Leigh.”
Miss Leigh’s hands stilled on the keys, her brows furrowing. “That is kind of you to say, but I didn't do it for you, Mr. Archer.”
David straightened, but before he could say a word, she waved it away and returned to her playing.
“Not that I did not wish to help your sister, but every performer following Mrs. Turley felt the strain of following that impossibly high standard and was bound to flounder because of it,” she said with a shake of her head.
“And so, you set an impossibly low standard to counteract it,” he said with a chuckle.
“I wanted to make certain no one could do worse than me; thus, there would be no need for them to fret,” she said with a lift of a single shoulder. “A concert is entertainment, both for the performers and listeners, and it was thoughtless of Mrs. Garrison to do what she did.”
