Diana halted a few paces behind the children, and Toby halted beside her. They watched as Roland chatted to the stallholder, a white-haired, kindly-looking man who was holding a recorder.
Bryce had been drawn to a miniature lute, while Evelyn had gravitated toward a small tambourine.
The man handed the recorder to Roland and, crouching before the boy, showed him how to set his fingers on the holes and blow into the mouthpiece. The first note was more blast than music, but then Roland controlled his breath, and the next few, tentative notes were surprisingly sweet.
Beside Diana, Toby sighed, but without her prompting him, he walked forward to join the children.
She followed, both amused and touched. She wasn’t at all musical and had never had the chance to learn any instrument, but she appreciated music and was keen to encourage the children to follow in their mother’s footsteps.
She crouched beside Evelyn, who had been too shy to do more than run the tips of her fingers over the shining discs. When the little girl looked her way, Diana smiled and nodded. “You can pick it up if you like.”
A glorious smile broke over Evelyn’s face. Eagerly, she used both hands to lift the tambourine and gave it an experimental jiggle. When the cymbals chimed sweetly, she laughed and gave the circlet a more definite shake, transparently thrilled by the sound.
Toby had been talking to Bryce, who was now lightly strumming the lute and listening to an old woman—the stallholder’s wife—who had come up and, smiling, was teaching the boy the rudiments of how to produce music on the strings.
Meanwhile, Roland was growing more and more confident with the recorder.
Toby nodded to the stallholder. “We’ll take these three instruments.”
The children were thrilled and promptly crowded about Toby. He grinned and rested his hands on Roland’s and Bryce’s shoulders.
The stallholder beamed at them. “A nice selection. I have boxes for each. Let me find them.”
While the old man rummaged beneath the counter, the children kept to their charade and thanked their papa for buying them the instruments.
Toby paid the stallholder’s wife while the man boxed the instruments and handed the correct one to each eager child.
As the stallholder handed the recorder to Roland, he glanced at Toby. “I don’t believe we’ve seen your family here before. Are you just passing through?”
Before Toby could reply, Roland said, “We’re on our way to Salzburg.” He waved the recorder. “We want to go to the concerts there.”
“Ah, indeed.” The stallholder nodded sagely. “Lots of lovely music in Salzburg.” He dipped his head at the children. “You have music in your hearts—I can tell. You’ll enjoy yourselves in Salzburg.”
Roland’s smile turned wistful. “Papa told me about the conservatory there where they teach music, and Mama taught me how to play the piano a bit…”
His words died away.
Diana’s heart clenched; he was speaking of Adrian and Alicia, not Toby and herself.
Toby lightly gripped Roland’s shoulder and, when the boy, momentarily lost, looked up at him, smiled and said, “You’ll be able to practice with your recorder in the carriage as we go along.”
Roland managed a weak smile. “Yes. I will.”
Beside Evelyn, Diana straightened and thanked the stallholders, effectively distracting them, giving Roland a moment to return to the here and now.
Bryce and Evelyn, too, effusively thanked the couple, then Roland, having recovered his equilibrium, added his voice to theirs.
By the time they turned away from the stall, leaving the man and his wife beaming, they once again had three happy children skipping ahead of them.
Regarding the trio, Diana said, “You do realize that by buying them the instruments, you’ve committed us to hours of freeform musical improvisation.”
He grinned and shrugged. “As they’re all so drawn to music, that will be a pleasurable distraction for them, and our sacrifice will, therefore, be worth it.”
She smiled and, inwardly, shook her head. Toby Cynster was proving to be far more insightful and caring than she’d expected him to be.
The children ran ahead and clambered into the waiting carriage. Bruno and Helga were already inside, and Gunter was on the box.
Toby gave Diana his hand, and she gripped it and climbed the steps.
