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O tannenbaum, O Christmas Tree
How lovely are thy branches!
Let us all remember in our gift giving andmerriment
With our family and friends and lovedones
The real and true meaning of Christmas.
The birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Their sweet voices rose, and Bella’s heart soared withthem.
O tannenbaum, o tannenbaum
How lovely are thy branches!
The singers’ voices died away into silence to be followed by enthusiastic clapping.
Bella, clapping vigorously, was caught again by his blue eyes, which twinkled with fascinating depths. “What does Tannenbaum mean?”
“It is German for fir tree, but also Christmas tree. You enjoyed the carol?”
“Oh yes, very much.”
Baron Holstein nodded with a soft smile.
As the choral group broke into a more conventional Christmas carol, he bowed. “You must excuse me, I believe my sister is beckoning.” The countess stood on the other side of the ballroom, smiling at them. “I wait with impatience for your performance.”
His husky tone sent a thrill through her. Was Carrie right? Would Bella’s soft heart and desire for love undermine her plans for her future? She steeled herself to resist any such attractions.
Despite herself, she watched him walk away, his shoulders upright and broad in the silk coat. He was a head taller than most of the male guests.
“Miss Leeming?”
Crispin Waldermere appeared at her elbow, and it struck her how young he seemed in contrast to the baron, although there would not be so many years difference between them. But he was too officious and lacked the baron’s charming manner. “I shall return to claim a dance later.”
Bella would never allow herself to be persuaded to marry him. And it was likely he would ask her, for his overbearing mother had just such a plan in mind. The thought made her sympathetic toward him, and she smiled. “I should like that.”
Nicholas emerged from the crush. He offered her his arm with an encouraging smile. “You must excuse us, Lord Waldermere. It is time for Bella’s performance. The musicians are tuning their instruments.”
Could she perform at her best before these people? Many had seen the finest musicians in the world. Would they view her as a young nobody? At the sudden surge of panic, her hand trembled when she took his arm and mounted the dais.
Nicholas placed his hand over hers, where her fingers dug into his sleeve and gently squeezed. “You will stun them and soon be the toast of London. Enjoy it, Bella.”
Bella removed her gloves and handed them to him as she searched for Carrie. With an encouraging smile, her sister stood near the front of the crowded ballroom. It was Carrie and Nicholas’s support and praise that had brought her to this moment. Even though Nicholas was firm in his opinion she should put marriage before a musical career, which he considered would not bring her the joy of a husband and children, he admitted to being proud as punch.
After a quickword with the conductor, Nicholas left the stage. Nervously aware she now had the full attention of the hard-to-pleasetonin their elegant clothes and glittering jewels, Bella stood in the forefront with the flautist and the string orchestra. Her heart thumping, she walked over to the majestic harp, intricately carved and garbed in gold leaf.
The conductor cleared his throat. “Miss Leeming will play Mozart’s Concerto in C Major.”
She seated herself at the harp, arranging her skirts decorously around her. The conductor tapped his baton, and she began. Bella forgot the audience. She was alone with the beautiful music that flowed from her fingers.
At the conclusion of the concerto, Bella dropped her hands into her lap, her head bowed, wrung out emotionally. Then she rose and dared turn to face the audience, a sea of smiling faces. They enjoyed it! Enthusiastic applause broke out across the ballroom. She sought Carrie in the crowd and found her, beaming. Nicholas mounted the dais and offered her his arm. He lowered his head and whispered, “Well done. You had them in the palm of your hand.”
Bella, her legs trembling slightly, negotiated the few steps to the ballroom floor. People crowding around, halting her progress to offer their congratulations, and at that moment, any doubts that might have crept in to dismay her vanished. This was what her life was meant to be.
“You were just wonderful, Miss Leeming.” Crispin Waldermere had waited at the dais steps, looking proud, as if they were engaged.
