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Chapter Ten
When Carmen arrived at the Davenport manor the next day, she was surprised to see the Duke standing at the threshold with a rather painful expression on his face. He didn’t even look up to greet her.
She approached him, wary, but he hardly seemed to be aware of her presence. It wasn’t till she cleared her throat that he noticed her, and his expression changed. A cold, flat expression replaced the misery, and he strode out of the door with his walking stick thumping against the hardwood floor.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” Carmen called out to be polite. She neither wanted to wish him morning nor good.
The Duke didn’t return her greeting. “You’ll find Nora in her lesson room,” he said.
She frowned after him. He seemed to be rather in a hurry to get away from her. She watched as the driver brought his carriage to the gates and he got in, not even sparing her a single glance. It was as if he was appalled at her presence.
Carmen shook her head. She had no intention to be in his company, either. She entered the great foyer of the mansion and she couldn’t help but marvel at the stunning interior that was decorated tastefully with furniture and sculptures. It reminded her of a different house, years ago. She wasn’t a stranger to that one.
A servant approached her, breaking her out of her thoughts. He was a middle-aged man, in his late forties with a severe mustache and hair gelled back. “Madam, my name is Ramon,” he said. “I’m the master’s valet.”
“Nice to meet you, Ramon. My name is Carmen.”
“I’m aware,” he said. “You made quite a spectacle showing up at the door yesterday.”
Carmen blushed. “Oh, well, it was very important for me to see the Duke.”
“I see,” he said in a tone that seemed to suggest otherwise. Carmen rolled her eyes mentally, but she knew that she needed to maintain civility with the man for her employment to last her for more than a few days.
“Where is Lady Nora?” she asked.
“She is expecting you in the lesson room,” he said. Carmen started to move past him but stopped when he frowned. “Is there an issue here?”
“I will escort you,” he said.
Carmen shook her head. “I’ve been there yesterday. I can find my way there on my own, thank you!”
“I insist,” the man said. Carmen nodded. Lily had reminded her that she needed to be subservient when in the Duke’s household. She absolutely hated the thought of it, nevertheless, she had no choice but to follow Ramon towards the lesson room.
As soon as they walked in, Nora, who had been sitting on a chair and reading a verse of a poem aloud, stood up with the biggest smile on her face. Carmen smiled, knowing everything was worth it for a glimpse of her. Even Mrs. Cooper turned to look at them. “Miss Black! We were just expecting you.”
Carmen smiled at her in greeting. Nora clapped both of her hands in glee. “Can we begin right away?”
“Certainly,” Carmen said. She stepped towards the table to take the violin out of its casing. When she held the bow to it, three pairs of expectant eyes turned to her. She raised a brow at Ramon. Why was he still here?
“I would like to sit in on the lesson. I adore music,” he said with enthusiasm, but Carmen saw through him right away. The Duke had sent him to spy on her, Carmen thought to herself. Very well, then. She wasn’t going to let that faze her.
“The first and foremost thing that we need to learn is the technique and we need to stick to it,” Carmen explained. “We shall learn the first stanza of a song today but before that—” She handed the violin and the bow to Nora. “Let me see how much you know.”
“Not much, I’m afraid, Miss Black,” Nora said sheepishly.
“It doesn’t matter,” Carmen said. “We’re here to learn. Even great maestros began from somewhere. Let’s hear it.”
Nora nodded and ran the bow over the violin’s body. Her technique was way off-track, but she was trying to correct herself by changing the rhythm herself. That was a good sign.
Carmen held up a hand, indicating her to stop. “You have a sense of music, which is very good, but we need to work on the technique itself.” She walked up to the little girl and gripped the violin under Nora’s hands. With the other, she steadied Nora’s fingers with her own and moved the bow over the violin’s body. After a few minutes of trying, Nora got the hang of it. Carmen stepped away and let Nora take over. Her arms were still unsteady as she tried to find her tune along the violin’s body. She was still off-key, but Carmen didn’t hope to change that in a day.
Carmen stood by her side, humming a soft melody under her breath. Nora looked up at her. “What song is that?”
“It’s a lullaby that my mother used to sing to me when I was a child,” she said. And she in turn used to hum it to her own daughter even before she was born.
“It’s beautiful,” Nora said. “Will you teach it to me?”
“I certainly will,” she answered with a smile. She looked at Nora and felt a pang in her heart. If her own daughter were here, she would have been able to teach her music, too.
