Page 28 of The Earl’s Marriage of Convenience

“And where is my elusive brother-in-law?” Henley asked.

“On his way,” Pere said. “He and Eliza required a moment’s privacy.”

Edwin’s gaze sharpened slightly at that.

He did not need to speculate long. The conversation between Eliza and Gabriel would almost certainly concern the same matter discussed between Langshire and Gabriel the night before.

It was efficient—remarkably so—and he could not help but note how quickly she had moved to secure her position.

He had scarcely finished the thought when Eliza entered the room, Gabriel just behind her.

Edwin’s attention fixed upon her at once.

Her posture was impeccable, her gaze quick and discerning as it moved across each person in the room, taking their measure before settling. There was nothing hesitant in the way she assessed her surroundings; everything about her suggested decisiveness and practiced awareness.

And yet—

She did not look at him.

Not once.

Instead, her attention shifted immediately toward the pianoforte in the corner.

After offering a brief greeting to the room, she moved toward it without hesitation and took her seat.

“Oh, how lovely,” Anna said, leaning forward. “Will you play for us?”

“If you would not mind,” Eliza replied, already arranging her music.

“Mind? I insist.”

Eliza smiled, then began.

Edwin leaned back in his chair, watching her with a focus that had, he realized, become increasingly familiar where she was concerned.

He observed her carefully, noting the precision of her movements and the control she maintained over each element of her performance. It was not simply that she played well—though she did—but that she approached the instrument with the same deliberate care he had seen her apply to every social interaction.

The parallel was difficult to ignore.

Before he had quite decided to do so, he found himself rising from his seat and crossing the room. Henley and Gabriel were engaged in conversation, and the others were occupied enough that his movement drew little notice. An opportunity, then—one he took without allowing himself to consider it too closely.

“You play very well,” Edwin said as he approached the pianoforte.

Her gaze flicked briefly toward him before returning to the music.

“Thank you, my lord. I must confess, it is the result of many hours of practice.”

“Then they were well spent.”

He rested a hand lightly upon the instrument, his attention fixed upon her as he continued. “One might say that the pianoforte and society share a number of similarities.”

Her fingers did not falter, though her awareness of him sharpened. “How so, my lord?”

Edwin glanced at the sheet music, noting her place, and turned the page for her with careful timing.

“Thank you,” she said with the smallest hint of surprise. “Your timing was impeccable.”

“I might say the same of yours,” he replied, his tone lowering slightly as he added, “particularly last evening.”