He leaned forward and said softly. “It was not my intention to invite Mrs. Savoy. There is something else I want to show you and I am afraid Alice might feel excluded as it is solely foryou.”
Emily placed both of her hands on the edge of the table and said politely, but also firmly. “Mr. Skeffington, you have been most gracious in your support of my family—and most especially, my sisters, by helping the trio to continue without my participation. However, somewhere in that process, you have gotten it into your mind that I have some sort of obligation to you that, to me, is unwarranted andunwelcome.”
Silas sat back in his chair and studied Emily before speaking, but then said, “Ah, Miss Emily… how little you understand of the way things work in the hard cruel world of professional music. It is one thing to be a talented amateur, but quite another to be a top class professional performer. To get to where you want to go, you incur obligations. Obligations that one may not dismiss solightly.
“Not everyone is as open and generous as His Grace. What he does, he does out of the kindness of his heart, and you might see him as your protector, but do not delude yourself, Miss Emily. Mark is--or will shortly be--engaged to be married. Once he turns his attention to marriage and family, he will abandon you and you shall be on your own. And who is the one person you can count on to shepherd you to success? Why, me, of course. But at aprice.”
He leaned forward across the table and took one of Emily’s hands and squeezed ittightly.
“Do we understand one another now, MissEmily?”
Emily withdrew her hand and stoodup.
“How dare you, Mr. Skeffington. You are a vile and disgusting human being. I shall never have anything further to do with you in any capacity. Let me make that perfectly clear—neither professionally nor personally. You can be quite certain of that fact. And now, I have a concert toperform.”
She turned to leave, but was stopped by Silas saying, “Miss Emily, you are forgetting just onething.”
She turned back. “What?”
“I made the London Trio and I can unmake it. It is entirely up to you. By all means go play your little children’s songs, but remember you are now also playing in the grownup world. And if you wish to play successfully, you must also play by the rules—my rules. I shall expect you to be ready to accompany me to my house for the rest of the afternoon after your concert—unaccompanied by Mrs. Savoy. Am I perfectlyclear?”
* * *
Emily was greatly agitated as she headed to play for the children. She stopped outside the door to the room where the concert was to be held. Parents and children were already seated waiting for her to play. Several of the children were still running around and had not yet settled down. Emily calmed herself, took a deep breath, and went inside to thepiano.
Her hand shook slightly as she pulled her list of songs out of her dresspocket.
“Good afternoon,” she said, as the children settled. “I hope you will enjoy the songs I shall play for you this afternoon. And, please, if you feel so inclined, sing along with any of the songs you know and want to bellowout.”
The children seemed to like that and applauded or jumped up and down excited for the concert tobegin.
Emily wasted no time and started right up. And, as she played, her spirits were lifted by the response of the children who were most responsive—singing and even dancing to themusic.
At the end of the concert, the children swarmed around her and parents congratulated her and said what a marvelous idea it had been to prepare a concert for just thechildren.
Emily had almost completely forgotten about her encounter with Silas, until she left the room and was headed toward her own room, and saw Silas waiting for her in the entryhall.
Seeing her, he started toward her, but he was interrupted by Wesley coming forward and presenting Emily with a letter on a silversalver.
“Miss Dunn, this came for you while you were playing. It was hand delivered and the messenger said it was mosturgent.”
Emily picked up the letter and opened it. It was fromRuth.
DearestEmily,
I am so sorry to interrupt your wonderful weekend at Linfield Hall, but we have a situation that demands your immediateattention.
Oh, Emily, I am so desperate because Mother and Papa have found out about Spencer and me. And now Papa is in an uproar and is forbidding me to see him any longer. He is threatening to practically lock me up in my room and I do not know what todo.
Teresa is, of course, useless and I cannot count on her for any support, whatsoever. All she cares about these days is how she looks, and she spends all morning primping. And when we go to rehearsal, she spends half her time trying to snare Linton. I have told her repeatedly that he is courting you, but she pays me no attention, but only has eyes for ourpianist.
I desperately need you to come home and help me with Papa. I shall be absolutely devastated if I am forbidden to marry Spence. Please come as quickly as youcan.
Your DESPERATEsister,
Ruth
P.S. Linton says he misses you and wishes to be remembered toyou.
