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He heard Mrs. Cooper gasp and when he looked at Nora she looked almost askance. “You’ve never heard me play?”
“No,” Arthur said. He was almost ashamed to admit it. He desperately wanted to tell her the truth, but he didn’t want to give her the pain that would come with that knowledge. Nora knew that her mother had passed away in an accident, but she didn’t know the details of it.
After Lydia had died, Nora used to wet her bed often and had persistent nightmares, as Arthur did. She was only four when that had happened, and it had taken her a long time to overcome that trauma. He didn’t want to push her back into it.
“Am I that bad?” Nora asked, in a small, dismayed voice.
“No, my dear, you’re quite good.”
“How can you know when you’ve never even heard me play” Nora asked.
“Well, we can rectify this situation right away,” Mrs. Cooper said smiling at him kindly. She wanted to fix the situation, but she was about to make it much worse. “I was about to take Nora for her clarinet practice. You can come with us.”
“Where did she get the instrument?” Arthur asked sharply. He had forbidden any instruments in his home.
“Well, it’s mine of course, but Lady Nora insisted that she wanted to play on it, and I couldn’t very well say no to the little girl,” Mrs. Cooper explained.
“And I’m quite good at it, too!” Nora said.
“Maybe when she grows up, she will get to play at her own concert,” Mrs. Cooper said, beaming down at the child.
“No,” Arthur said shaking his head. The very thought of it made him recoil from inside. “I allowed her to learn music, but only because I wanted her to be accomplished in everything. I’ve no desire to see her become a musician, of all things.” His mouth turned bitter at the words.
“But she’s really good at it. It will be a crime if she doesn’t get to play,” Mrs. Cooper said.
Arthur looked at his daughter, who looked quite sad. “Why can’t I play, Papa?”
“I don’t like music.”
“Not even mine?” Nora asked, a deep sadness in her voice.
“I don’t like it,” he said again, firmer this time. His throat dried and he knew that he was causing her great pain. Nora loved music, after all. “You can still continue with your lessons with Mrs. Cooper.”
He turned away from her so that he didn’t have to face her anymore. Arthur thought that was the last discussion they would have on this topic, but he grew worried when she didn’t show up for dinner that night. When Arthur took his place at the head of the table, he turned to Ramon. “Where is Nora?”
“She said she’s feeling under the weather, so she decided to have dinner in her room.”
Arthur sighed. He had unwittingly caused her great hurt. He got up from his chair and made his way to Nora’s room where he found her reading a book. She looked up when he entered and kept her book away. “Yes, Papa?” Even when she was angry at him, she was perfectly polite.
“I’m sorry about what happened in the afternoon,” he said. He took a deep breath. He couldn’t tell her the truth, but he could explain himself. “I don’t like music because it doesn’t make me feel good. In fact, I get ill when I hear something unexpected and it startles me.”
Nora’s eyes widened but she caught on quickly. “So, that’s what happened in the afternoon, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he said.
“It’s okay, Papa,” Nora said, patting his arms. “I understand. When you feel better, I will play for you.”
Arthur couldn’t wait for that day. He sat down on the bed next to her. “How can I make it up to you?” he said.
Her eyes lit up immediately as if she was waiting for him to ask that question. “Can I please go down to the music hall after it opens? You don’t have to go with me. Mrs. Cooper will accompany me.”
Arthur knew that he would make things worse if he said no right away, so he nodded. Nora squealed and threw her arms around him, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Papa.”
Arthur left her room already thinking of ways to let her down softly. He couldn’t help but think back to the afternoon’s events and that woman…
She had warm brown eyes and she had come up to him not to demand money but acknowledge what he had done to her. Add the fact that she had dared to address a duke without any hesitation, the fire in her eyes when she spoke to him unafraid!
She was different than most women that he knew of her class, and maybe that was why he found it quite difficult to tear his eyes off her. She was successful because he wouldn’t forget her anytime soon.
