“Maybe your brother has guided you as well,” Blythe said. “You were a captain in the army, yes? And you have the look of a man at ease in physical pursuits.”
Audrey found herself trying to imagine what Blythe saw. Audrey knew something of men after all, even though she’d only had a wedding night before her husband had abandoned her. At first she’d thought herself lacking when he’d so quickly fled, but after a time, she’d realized he’d been a selfish man who cared little for her or making her feel at ease on their wedding night. She’d been a virgin, after all.
But she remembered what he’d felt like through his nightshirt, thin and bony, awkward with his hands on her body. He could not be a representation of all men. Lord Knightsbridge must look quite the dashing figure in comparison, if Blythe’s reaction was any indication.
Not that she cared. The earl could be a hunched troll and it wouldn’t matter, as long as he helped her. And then he could go away, because she was done with men, done with being under their control.
“I do enjoy outdoor pursuits now,” Lord Knightsbridge admitted. “And I’ve been known to be an accurate shot. I imagine some of you here should fear my abilities.”
There was laughter and answering challenges, so … manly to Audrey, thrilling in a new way. It was wonderful to participate like this, all because of his lordship.
As conversations began again, Lord Collins asked Blythe to play the piano, and soon her cheerful melody provided background.
Lord Knightsbridge murmured, “I do believe I must speak to others now, Mrs. Blake, or be accused of monopolizing you.”
“I understand, my lord, but you are patronizing me. We both know all believeI’mmonopolizingyou.”
“And we know it untrue,” he murmured.
To her surprise, he lifted her gloved hand and brought it briefly to his mouth, so briefly she might have imagined it. Her fingers started to tremble, and she berated herself for a silly fool.
“You are a flatterer, my lord,” she said, shaking her head. “I give you permission to go flatter someone else.”
She heard his chuckle, felt the rush of warm air as he rose, and then she was alone at her end of the sofa. Listening to Blythe play, she heard the occasional wrong note that came from not enough practice, but overall, she thought her sister had improved. Blythe joined her voice to the music, and it was sweet and pretty. Audrey hoped many of the men looked upon her sister with interest.
Soon Audrey deemed it time for refreshments, so she walked to the bell pull and rang it, waiting patiently for the footman to appear. She ordered coffee and tea for her brother’s guests.
“No, no, I can play no more,” she heard Blythe say in a teasing voice. “My fingers will need time to recover.”
“Then let us hear your sister play,” Lord Knightsbridge said, his deep voice once again bringing all conversation to a standstill.
Audrey was caught standing alone, feeling almost adrift in surprise. She could sense their eyes on her, and her imagination made them all look wide-eyed with shock or revulsion or morbid curiosity.
“I don’t think …” her father began in his big blustery voice.
“But I heard her this afternoon when I arrived,” Lord Knightsbridge smoothly interrupted. “Mrs. Blake plays as beautifully as her sister. You have very talented daughters, Collins.”
Audrey couldn’t refuse the earl, for it would be poor manners, but she wasn’t so certain this was a good idea. When she hesitated, not knowing who was between her and the piano, someone took her arm. She stiffened.
“It is only your proud brother,” Edwin said, speaking tightly as if between gritted teeth.
Did he think she was ruining his shooting party? Or distracting attention from Blythe? Audrey straightened in anger, allowing him to lead her to the piano. Sitting down on the bench, she tried to clear her mind, the better to choose a selection. She panicked for a moment, never having been asked to perform for guests. At last one of Chopin’s romantic piano ballades came to mind. As she hesitated, she remembered how long it had taken her to memorize it, note by note, with help from her mother. Those were such good memories.
She began to play, and let the pleasure of the music soothe her nerves and quench her unease. Only when she was done did she realize that everyone had remained silent throughout. A burst of warm applause made her bow her head with happiness.
She almost felt like a normal woman. But she wasn’t—not yet.
4
The next morning, Robert walked the fields with the other men toward the marsh at the far end of the park, where they were supposed to find plenty of birds to shoot. The grass crunched beneath their feet from the frozen damp overnight. The sun was just rising, casting its rays through the brilliant foliage of a copse of trees ahead. A half dozen beaters had already gone in front, waiting for a signal to drive the birds toward them.
Robert couldn’t keep his mind on what he was about to do, though he held his gun with well-trained caution. He was remembering Mrs. Blake’s performance last night, and he still could not forget how impressed and awed he’d been. His bookish youth had made him familiar with the works of Chopin, and he knew the ballade she’d chosen to play was considered one of the most technically difficult. And yet she’d memorized it without ever reading the sheet music.
Seeing her with her eyes closed and her expression suffused with peaceful joy, one could almost forget she was blind. He’d looked around and seen the other men’s faces show surprise and reluctant delight. Lord Collins’s expression was far more inscrutable, and his son’s simply impassive. But Miss Collins?She did not like to be upstaged and surely knew she had been. Perhaps that was why Mrs. Blake chose not to sing. It would have only pointed out even more strongly who was the more talented of the sisters.
Robert hoped his request for Mrs. Blake to play hadn’t further distanced her from her family. It was simply that he’d been annoyed at seeing her relegated to a corner alone, like a dotty old lady.
If she had wanted to show him her family situation, it was working. In less than twenty-four hours, he was already defensive on her behalf.
