“Make him proud.” I sang these words like a melody, like the song that wouldn’t leave my head.
Sitting at the pianoforte, I began to play the notes I envisioned, that had imprinted before my eyes.
I added runs. My fingers sailed across the keys.
Shutting my lids, I added bits of me, of Mama and Papa, to this melody. Then I realized my thumbs touched the same ivory that Mark had.
In my soul, I played the tune that he struggled with. I found a new way to end it. I built a crescendo, and then banged out the last triumphant note.
Anya House seemed quiet. I thought I’d disgraced myself until I heard the clapping. Thunderous applause filled the drawing room.
The earl came back, took my hand, and helped me stand.
The joyous reception to my performance continued.
Mark stood with the duke and Mr. Carew in the doorway.
They all smiled.
The duke came to me, clapping. “This is Miss Georgina Wilcox. She has been working with Lord Mark on a special piece of music to be debuted. It has been a secret. Their work has been shrouded in mystery and even intrigue. Yet this sonata is an example of unity. Please congratulate them again.”
Mark didn’t come to share the applause, though it continued for more than five minutes. He’d stepped away.
Then the duke had the musicians play and he waltzed me about the room. “All eyes are on you, my dear, as they should be.”
“Your Grace is generous, but the man whose attention I want is not here.”
“A man in love never takes his eyes from his heart for very long. He’ll lose what he most desires. And there is Mr. Carew.”
Over the duke’s shoulder, I saw the handsome man now dancing with Katherine. “Ah, someone has finally danced with her.”
The duke spun me and probably saw for himself the two enjoying the waltz.
“Why don’t you go dance with Katherine, Your Grace? Fix the disagreement. You both will not win the bet tonight. Mr. Carew is nice. If I marry, it needs to be with someone more than nice. It should be to the man I love.”
“Well, for me to dance with Lady Hampton, it might have to mean more than dancing. Miss Wilcox, I do intend to win the bet, but that was why I put in the caveat about our mutual friend as a draw. You found Lord Mark Sebastian in the garden. I suggest you go find him there once more before he leaves.”
“Is he that hurt?”
“The feeling will return in his fingers.”
“What?”
“Calm. Quiet. It was a little accident. But you played his sonata. Now that it’s been performed in public, he can’t enter it in the Harlbert’s Prize.”
I couldn’t breathe. I’d stolen Mark’s opportunity.
“Run, Georgina Wilcox. Go get the happiness you want.”
That’s what I did. As fast as I could, I charged into the garden, hoping to catch the perfect match to my soul.
Chapter 43
MARK—BY THELIGHT OF THESTARS
On the bench, where my adventure began, I looked up into the stars. What a night. I’d lost my father, my song, and my girl. Searching the stars that I used to guide me through the maze, I hoped for a nightingale to sing to me, to lull my pathetic soul.
My hands were still too numb to grip the reins of my gig. Probably couldn’t get a good hold on it, or the heart that had been ripped out of my chest.
