Page 17 of A Virgin for the Duke of Thorns

Colin smiled a little at that.

Most fortunate indeed.

* * *

Merciful Lord in heaven, that is awful!

Alice winced as the discordant note resounded all over the parlor, the one deviant thread in an otherwise elegant tapestry. This was only followed by several more errant notes that would make squawking chickens sound far more melodious. She caught the sympathetic glance of her mama, who had since then discarded her embroidery.

“Oh dear, I do think that is enough for one day,” Beatrice Barkley, the Marchioness of Brandon, sighed despondently. She reached out and patted Alice’s shoulder. “I am certain that with time, you will improve, my dearest.”

Alice could only hang her head miserably. “Of course, Mama.”

Lady Brandon managed to eke out a helpless smile and patted her daughter’s head reassuringly once more before exiting the parlor with a downcast expression.

It could not be helped—Alice was simply terrible at the pianoforte, turning even the simplest song into an auditory nightmare. Her mama had always asserted that a young lady should be proficient in the musical arts, but her eldest daughter simply did not have the talent for it.

Alice pressed her lips into a thin line as she started to play the tune again with renewed vigor, each note that reverberated from her fingers more ghastly than the last. Still, she pressed on, if only so that her abominable pianoforte skills could drown out her thoughts.

“Alice, please, have mercy,” Phoebe finally pleaded with her.

Alice looked at her younger sister morosely. “Mama always said I needed to put more effort into my music.”

“Mama has also given you leave to stop,” her younger sister reminded her. “Your music?—”

“Is far more abominable than in the past?” Alice supplied weakly.

Phoebe nodded. “You seem distracted, Sister dear.”

Alice dropped her hands from the keys. “Is it that obvious?”

Her younger sister nodded again and smiled just a little. “That and the fact that you are blushing.”

Her hands immediately flew to her warm cheeks. Horror of horrors—she truly was blushing! And on account of that beastly man at that!

“It is nothing,” Alice said quickly, looking away from Phoebe’s probing gaze. “It is just an unusually hot day, that is all.”

Phoebe did not deign to reply. She merely stood up and sat beside Alice, sharing the seat on the pianoforte as they had when they were much younger, pounding away at the keys, much to their mama’s consternation. Those days seemed so very far away now with Alice in her third Season and Phoebe about to make her bow.

“Do you remember how we used to play together?” she said softly.

Alice nodded. “Mama used to fly up into the boughs in despair.” She giggled. She wrinkled her nose wryly. “Fortunately, you managed to excel at it. At the very least, one of us can hold her own mettle in a concert.”

“Perhaps if we play together like we did back then, some improvements could be made,” Phoebe suggested gently.

“I seem to recall that when we played together, we brought Mr. Lawrence to tears,” Alice pointed out. “And not the good kind either.”

Mr. Lawrence had been the first to conclude that Alice’s dismal skills in the pianoforte could not be improved. He had stayed long enough as their music tutor only because the Marchioness paid him handsomely to suffer through her daughter’s playing. In the end, even he could no longer endure it and left.

Alice had refused any other tutor since then.

“Mr. Lawrence was already old, and his ears were failing him,” Phoebe sighed despondently through a decidedly impish smile. “I say we play together and not mind at all what comes of it. At the very least, we will get some enjoyment out of it.”

“A capital idea,” Alice agreed.

After all, there was no better release from one’s worries than pounding away at the hapless keys. If the result was an abomination, then so be it.

Together, they played, their fingers flying over the keys in varying degrees of grace—well, Phoebe played, while Alice hopelessly bludgeoned out of the poor pianoforte whatever song it was that she intended to play.

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