.
“This isn’t right,” Ellen Boyd whispered from behind the great door that led into the music hall.
The air in Lady Charles’ house was cool, which Alex usually would have been grateful for, but tonight was different.
There was an eerie quietness in the music room where the sponsors had taken their seats in the darkened rows of chairs. Usually, laughter and noise could be heard from the women and men who came to see the boys and girls they’d given their funds to, but not tonight.
Tonight, Alex could feel the tension and how unsettled the people were. She and some of the older children who were helping in the kitchens came up when no music could be heard floating down below. In the past, since the music room was not far from the kitchen and dining area, one could hear either a pianist or the children’s voices lifted in song.
“I knew this would happen.” Alicia huddled a group of singers into a space farther down the hall. She instructed one of the older girls to take charge before pulling Ellen, Rose, Alex, and a few of the other helpers to a corner. “The donors are thinking of leaving.”
Alex’s stomach fell. “What do you mean?”
“Cutting out?” Phillip Bones said with a frown. He’d grown up at Best Homes like the rest of them and was now one of the teachers at Best Homes while saving his money to go to school. “Do you mean they’re thinking of leaving before the music starts?”
“It’s not just that.” Alicia’s expression became worried. “One or two have hinted at taking their donations elsewhere, to other homes.”
Alex knew that was what Alicia had meant, yet still the comment surprised her. Without the donors, Best Homes would not survive. “It’s because of me, isn’t it?” She’d thought about not coming. The scandal surrounding her was still the only thing everyone spoke of. It had been a week since she’d moved into Justin’s home, and in that time she’d barely left the house. Though her story was no longer on the front page, it was still printed somewhere. Daily.
This was the first time Alex had left Justin’s property, taking two guards with her after they’d had a slight falling out.
He’d not wanted her to leave, believing it to be unsafe, but she’d been charged with the food and could not let the Home down. So he’d come along with the guards but had made his displeasure known the entire time.
Reuben, who’d had the audacity to take Justin’s side, had come as well. So had Nash, which was not unusual since Lord Iverstone was one of the donors and also attended the musical. Chris never came and was not present. Alex thought he was dealing with the store tonight, since her lack of help would have obviously put a strain on his time.
Everyone was upset, it seemed.
“I’ve ruined everything,” she whispered.
Alicia grabbed her shoulder. “You didn’t print that article, Alex. You cannot be blamed for what others have done.”
Still, she was beginning to feel that everyone would have been in a better position had she gone to Scotland. Lady Charles had given Alex a hesitant look when she’d arrived early to see that all the supplies for the meal had been delivered. After an awkward conversation, the lady had all but told Alex to keep herself hidden.
That alone should have warned Alex of what was to come, but never had she thought it would come to this.
“Oliver will play first,” Ellen said as she stared over Alex’s shoulder.
Alex didn’t turn around. She knew the woman was looking at Oliver and knew that Justin was also in that direction. He’d decided to remain in the hall with her even after Lady Charles had invited him to sit in the music room. Alex wished he had, but instead he’d become like Reuben, a shadow, as though she didn’t already have one of her own.
She’d made little progress where her concerns for him rested. He avoided any talk of his mother, clinging to his secret with iron hands. They’d spoken, however, about her own life as he showed her the gardens at his home. They’d been breathtaking, and Alex had imagined setting a table for two and preparing an elaborate meal that could be enjoyed amongst the beds of irises and lilies.
She planned to do just that if she didn’t strangle him first.
She glanced over at him and was surprised to find that he was not looking at her. Neither was he glaring. Instead, he was hunched over, talking to Oliver and wearing a smile on his face. Oliver was grinning as well, but his chin was tucked and his cheeks were red, obviously nervous about speaking to an earl. It was the closest many of the children would ever get to royalty, but definitely for a crippled lad like Oliver.
There was no way one could fail to miss the unusual bend in Oliver’s right leg. It had been purposefully done by his mother as a way to gain more money while begging. Best Home was made up of three homes to help with space and access. Oliver lived in the home in St. Giles, which was one of the worst places anyone could. The children in St. Giles were also very different than the ones usually delivered to the Paddington home, where Alex had grown up. St. Giles was a rough neighborhood and children often disappeared, leaving and returning at their parents’ whim, and there were those who were like Oliver—deformed.
The children from St. Giles did not participate in the musical. Though a few in Society lent their hands the impoverished, most were not ready to see children like Oliver. He was not even the worst of them. Oliver had only come because he’d wanted to hear the music. Since life already made it impossible for him to do what other children did, Alicia had allowed it.
But to have him play before Lady Charles and her friends?
And to go first?
Alex looked at Ellen, but it was Alicia who spoke. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Ellen’s pale blue eyes left Oliver and settled on Alicia; her face was set in determination. “Let them see just who they’d be affecting the most.” Ellen Boyd had grown up in St. Giles, so Alex hadn’t met her until she had nearly grown out of the house. Ellen had come to perform for a musical— which again, rarely happened— but when Alex had heard Ellen sing, she’d been swept away. It was like listening to an angel lift the burdens of life from her shoulders, bathing you in light, and welcoming you to paradise. Since then, Ellen had led the musical. She was married to the captain of a merchant ship and, by all accounts, they were happy.
Alicia looked at Oliver again then nodded with a shrug. “Very well. The sponsors are already in a fuss. What harm can it do?”
Alex returned to her charges as Ellen went over to speak to Oliver.
The boy’s face lit up but then worry pulled at his brow. Whatever Ellen said must have worked, though, because a moment later the lad jutted out his chin and nodded.
Usually, Ellen would introduce the children and give details as to what the crowd could expect that night. Tonight, however, she’d decided to hold off on the introduction as well. It seemed Oliver’s performance would be the prelude for the night.
He grabbed his wooden crutch from the wall with one hand and pointed with the other. Justin moved, bending over to give the boy his violin. Justin said something that made the boy laugh. Then Oliver turned and started for the door with a determination that Alex had never seen before.
The door was opened, and Oliver was engulfed by the music room’s darkness.
From the hallway, Alex heard the gasp, even over the high whispers of the children around her.
Alicia hushed them and then there was the faint sound of a chair being dragged, followed by silence.
The next sound to disturb the silence was a breathtaking collection of notes that covered Alex in gooseflesh. The melody was ethereal, ghostly but without fear. It was airy and seemed to brush the scenes with a calm that could only come from a celestial being. The delicate music made Alex think of life at its barest elements. Air, earth, and abundant light.
She didn’t recognize the melody, but she never wanted it to end.
When it did, Alex was wiping tears from her eyes, as were a few of the other teachers in the hall. Phillip had looked pensive and sad, as though the music had made him think of something he’d forgotten. Justin was… he was staring at her.
And he was at her side.
His hands came up with a handkerchief and wiped her tears, which was indecent, but so had many of Justin’s touches been of late. When they were together, he was touching her unless he was upset.
He was never upset for long.
“That boy plays at a master’s level,” he said.
Alex sniffed and took the handkerchief from him so they’d stop making a scene. “What song was that? I’ve never heard it before.” He dabbed under her eyes.
“He wrote it. We’d been discussing music. I told him to play it. I told him it may be his only chance for it and not to be offended if the crowd didn’t appreciate it. Aristocrats are known to be dull.” His pale green eyes glittered savagely.
She smiled and laughed. “You’re an aristocrat. Am I to believe you to be dull?”
He moved closer and whispered, “You tell me.”
She looked away just as Oliver came back into the hall, followed by the sounds of cheering.
His eyes seemed to be searching for someone and then they found Justin and smiled.
“I’ll be right back,” Justin said before going over to the lad, not waiting for Alex’s word of agreement.
Had someone told her a man like Justin existed, she’d not have believed them. No lord whose beauty one could say had been crafted from the tales of magical princes wished to court a girl without a drop of blue blood or cared to make a young orphan boy smile. He was beautiful in spite of what had always been told to him. In Alex’s eyes, he was untarnished, boy and heart.
She choked as more tears came to her eyes.
“Mary Francis was right,” Alicia whispered at her side. “Justin is a fine catch.”
“I didn’t catch him,” Alex whispered. He’d not proposed again, not since that day they’d been interrupted. She wondered why.
Alicia giggled and said, “Oh, he’s very much caught on your hook, Alexandra, and without a doubt you are on his.”
The last of her words were true. She was well and truly caught, and it hadn’t taken her long to fall for him. Never had there been a man easier to love. Despite what stood between them, there was no going back for her heart.