AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 11
––––––––
I did not know which was more chilling—the deafening silence or the feelings of the woman creating that silence. My sister-in-law, Sophia De Loutherbergh, sat quietly in the chair nearest to the fireplace, drinking wine and holding us all hostage with the weight of her grief.
Since the end of dinner, all of us tried to do what Pašrévaka was meant for, hold a conversation. However, each time any of us would begin to lighten the mood, Sophia would speak ever so softly and yet ever so coldly, chilling everything over again. Odette had managed a few lighter moments, but in the end, we all ended up as we were now. Quietly drinking and waiting for this portion of the night to be over. My sister was now distracting herself with Persephone, though the dog clearly wished to go back to her owner, Sophia. I did not like the spoiled creature, and yet even I pitied it as she sniffed and whimpered at Sophia’s skirt only to be outright ignored. Unable to take much more of it, Eliza gathered her into her arms and began feeding the dog treats, clearly seeking to distract it and herself from the present reality.
This was not how I wished to welcome Odette.
Nor was it what I wanted for my family. We were grieving, yes, but I did not want them to sit in this pain. Yet I did not know what to do. I could not leave, nor could I make Sophia leave. If Arthur came back from the grave for anything, it would be to terrorize me for dishonoring his beloved wife.
So, we sat in deafening silence, drinking.
I glanced over at Odette, who was turned away from our family and glancing back at the family den where the piano sat next to the window.
I opened my mouth to ask her if she wished to play, but she spoke first before I could.
“Do you mind if play?” Odette questioned, turning back to us.
“Not at all,” my mother replied gently. “Someone should, as that piano has been preserved for only gross neglect whenever the queen dowager is away.”
“The queen dowager? As in Queen Arabella,” Odette asked to my surprise, rising from her seat.
“Yes, my grandmother,” I answered, happy to speak again. “She is fond of the piano and tried to make us all learn, but none of us were any good.”
“You were all plenty good, simply not good enough for the queen mother,” my mother said, and I glanced at her, trying to see if there would be any resentment on her face.
Everyone knew my grandmother was not fond of Mother and vice versa, which was why my grandmother preferred to spend her time in Donaè Castle in the north. However, my mother let nothing away.
“It is the most beautiful piano I have ever seen,” Odette said, and when I looked back, she was beside it, running her hands over the golden engravings for a moment. Then without any reservation or thought, she stepped out of her heels, placing them carefully under the bench before taking a seat.
She pressed one key.
Then another.
And then smiled, stretching her fingers before they touched the keys, and in the blink of an eye, a dozen notes flew by. The room filled with soft notes, and it was as if the sun had appeared, the heavy cloud of sorrow and pain vanishing. She had everyone’s attention, my mother, my sister, the butlers who stood not to be seen, Persephone, and even that of Sophia, though I could not read the expression on her face.
The more I listened, the more words came to my mind to speak. When her brown eyes glanced up and met mine, the rest of the world fell away. I watched until I could no longer be so far away. Placing my glass down onto the table beside me, I rose from my seat, going to her, so she looked away. Beside her, my hand trembled as I fought my desire to touch her, my fading reason urging me to remember we were not alone. So, I stood there only for a second longer before taking the seat beside her. The notes she played flooded my mind, and the words I wanted to say became clearer. I did not have the talent for singing, but I could speak over her melody, and I wanted to, so I did.
––––––––
“It is not by a ray, which the sun rises and falls.
But by my memories of you.
Words I revised a thousand times,
The walls of my heart disallowed me to speak.
What I feel only treasuries can keep.
