Page 8 of The Duke’s Duet

A muscle ticked in his jaw, and Melody felt the colour drain from her face as she realised what she'd done. She had just argued with a Duke! Her father would be horrified.

But instead of the angry dismissal that she expected, something flickered in those grey eyes. Amusement? Surely not. And beneath it, something else — a flash of what might have been understanding, quickly suppressed?

"Perhaps," he said carefully, "we should attempt to play through the pieces. Time grows short."

She nodded gratefully at this offered escape.

"As you wish, Your Grace."

He seated himself at the pianoforte, and Melody took her position beside it, acutely aware of every minute movement as he adjusted the bench, positioned his hands, drew in a breath...

The first notes filled the room, precise and perfect and utterly lifeless. Melody's heart sank.

Here was technical mastery without passion, skill without soul — everything she had feared from a nobleman who viewed music as merely another accomplishment to be mastered rather than an art to be lived.

But then... there. As the introduction continued, something shifted. A slight hesitation here, a gentle rubato there, as if something within him fought against the rigid constraints he imposed upon himself. Melody found herself leaning forward, fascinated by the battle she could hear beneath the perfect surface of his playing.

The introduction approached the point where she would need to begin singing, and Melody drew in a deep breath, gathering herself. This evening would be a disaster if they could not find some way to bridge the gulf between their approaches. But as she prepared to sing, she caught sight of his face, and what she saw there gave her hope.

For just a moment, as his fingers moved across the keys, the marble mask had cracked, revealing a glimpse of the passion he tried so hard to hide. Perhaps, just perhaps, there was more to the Duke of Brightwood than she had assumed.

Now she just had to find a way to draw that hidden fire out into the light.