Music Master

by Barbara Miller

  As Leighton exited, he heard only, “What the devil?” from Gifford, then Murray murmuring some soothing words. Perhaps being a music master in the house would strain his acting abilities more than he had thought. He could see himself planting his fist in Gifford’s face before many days had elapsed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Instead of going to the drawing room, Maddie went upstairs to get her fan. Lucy popped into her room.

  “Isn’t Mr. Stone handsome and Lieutenant Reid brave?” The girl collapsed on Maddie’s bed with a sigh. Maddie found herself smiling at Lucy’s immaturity.

  “Which do you like better?” she asked.

  “Both of them. I cannot decide.”

  “But you won’t be allowed to decide, will you?”

  Lucy sat up, the dreamy glitter gone from her eyes. “No, Mama wants me to marry Gifford. He is such a boor.”

  “What if you refuse?”

  “I can’t do that,” Lucy said with a pathetic look. “Can I?”

  “You could refuse him but not in a bout of tears. You would have to use logic. Point out what an embarrassment he is.”

  “I can’t call up logic and all argument deserts me when Papa is shouting at me.”

  “I know what you mean but if your Papa talks as much as mine, you have plenty of time to order your argument while he is chewing at you.”

  “He interrupts like Gifford.”

  “Then this will annoy him. When he interrupts, every single time ask politely if you may please finish your sentence.”

  “I could never dare do that to Papa.”

  “Well, practice on Gifford.”

  When they finally assembled in the hall, the gentlemen set out to walk to the assembly rooms, except for Gifford. He crowded Maddie and Lucy on one bench of the carriage, where they sat opposite the two older ladies. Maddie thought it would have been handsome of Gifford to give his seat to Reid, whose limp could not possibly be improved by the hike down the hill but she kept her peace about that. The carriage arrived before the gentlemen, so Maddie suggested the ladies wait for them in the anteroom. But Lady Haddon was too busy sizing up the occupants of the salons to notice. She moved forward to greet a distinguished gentleman.

  “Oh, good. Gifford’s gone to the card room,” Lucy said. “That’s a blessing. No broken feet for the ladies tonight.”

  Maddie and the grandmother laughed and Maddie hoped that Mrs. Marsden would not let Lucy’s parents force her into a match with the self-centered young man who had just abandoned them.

  When the gentlemen arrived, Leighton followed Mrs. Marsden and the girls to the dowager’s corner. Lucy’s grandmother introduced the party and Leighton delighted even the oldest ladies by insisting they should be dancing. Maddie sent him a rueful smile. He knew from experience that it took only a few compliments and jokes to get the goodwill of these senior ladies. Though several blushed and furled their fans, none accepted his invitation to dance, so he, Dr. Murray, Lucy and Maddie joined a set that was forming near their end of the room. Reid had somehow disappeared.

  Murray was a graceful dancer for such a big man. He never lost his place and was able to cover for any gaffe that Lucy made. When it was time for Leighton and Maddie to go down the line, Leighton stole the moment to say, “Can you forgive me?”

  Instead of saying, “For what?” as he had no doubt expected, she replied, “Which of your sins did you have in mind?”

  She was joking, of course but his thoughtfulness for the rest of the set made her feel sorry for him. Here he was ready to apologize and she was acting like a spoiled miss. If she had been an easy conquest for Leighton that was because she did love him. She should forgive him with a good grace rather than torture him.

  When the set ended, she walked with him toward the tea table.

  “I suppose I am in worse trouble than I thought.” He handed her a cup. “Could you speed things up by reading me a catalogue of my sins?”

  “Very well. Are we speaking of you ignoring me in the Pump Room, your intrusion into Marsden House, your inattention at dinner, or your keeping from me the fact that your life has been in constant danger these past six years?” She delivered this with a prim smile but Leighton was taking it all seriously.

  “As for the first three, I am playing a role. If I spend all my moments mooning over you, Lady Haddon will get suspicious and tell Patience I am here.” He picked up a cup of tea himself and almost choked on the bitterness.

  Maddie pursed her lips. “As I am sure you have guessed, it is ultimately your fault I have been dumped at Marsden House.” She watched over the rim of her tea cup what the addition of this crime would do to him. He got a wild, puzzled look in his eyes.

  “I had not thought Patience absolutely against my suit.”

  “I think there is more to it than that. She is perfectly able to cope with you but Papa may be coming.” As this sank in, Maddie studied his finely chiseled face, browned she now realized from this time in Spain. She could understand Lucy’s fascination.

  “Because she wrote to him?” He looked intense in the stark white shirt and black coat.

  “Be serious, Leighton. Would anyone willingly bring Papa down on herself for a visit?”

  He wiped one hand across his forehead. “Good point. Of course not. But he might come here to check up on you and by putting you beyond my reach she also keeps him away from you.”

  “And perhaps she knew you would get an entree to Marsden House.” She set down her cup. “She is on to your clever wiles.”

  “I do not feel very clever. I see now how I have neglected you. Are you absolutely finished with me or will you forgive me all these things?”

  She studied his dear face full of abject worry. “Yes, of course.”

  “Uh…”

  “Of course I forgive you, even for not sharing the danger with me during the war.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief and got rid of the teacup. “I need time to explain that. The piano lesson is scheduled for three o’clock tomorrow. If you came down early we might be able to—”

  “What are you two doing?” Lady Haddon asked. “You are going to miss the next set.”

  Maddie had not danced so much in years, not since she and Leighton had taken turns playing for both their sisters to learn the steps. Those had been merry parties, with the vicar never knowing the purpose. Maddie had been a child then but she still remembered the feel of Leighton’s hands, so strong and competent and she went through the steps of the country dance as easily as though she had done it every day since.

  By the end of the second set of dances, the room had heated up.

  “Let me get you something cool to drink this time,” Leighton suggested.

  While he went for cups of punch, Maddie noticed Lady Haddon watching him with a puzzled frown. Leighton began to laugh when he got back to her.

  “What is so funny?” she asked as he handed her the cup.

  “Lady Haddon seemed to think I meant to ravish her daughter, so she cannot figure out why I have not even partnered her.”

  “Lucy has every young man in the room panting after her. Besides, with that innocent air of yours, no one would suspect you of having any designs on anyone.”

  “Thanks—I think. So Patience wasn’t at all worried about us eloping.”

  “I told you, she may have heard from Papa. She did get a letter and was so adamant I come here that I…gave in.”

  “Just like you always gave in to your father.”

  She took a step back from him. “Which does not mean I cannot think for myself or make a plan on my own. I had to trick him many times just to take care of your tenants.”

  “I realize that now. I am going to figure out what Patience is up to. Even though I have not the slightest wish to call on her tomorrow, I will do so anyway at the usual time.”

  Maddie thought for a moment. “Perhaps Lucy and I should call too. In some ways this situation could make it easier for us to meet, now that I have decided I want to t
alk to you.”

  “Maddie, I swear, I would have told you about my work if I could have.”

  “You did not trust me,” she whispered.

  “That’s not true. It was the post I did not trust. That’s why I had to go to Spain in the first place. Too many of Wellington’s dispatches home were getting opened. The French always knew our plans those first few years.”

  “Really? In that case I truly do forgive you. But do not let it happen again.”

  “I should hope not. An entire war?” Leighton tossed his punch off in one gulp, then gave a cough. “Are you sure you want to go to Patience’s house? I don’t think they will let you two go alone and you might meet your father there.”

  “You think I do not have the courage to face him but I do.”

  “What are you two chatting about?” Lucy’s grandmother demanded. “You missed getting a place in the next set.”

  “It’s his lungs,” Maddie lied. “He isn’t sure so much dancing is good for him.”

  When Maddie elbowed Leighton in the side, he produced another creditable cough. Mrs. Marsden left them with a curt nod and an admonition to rest himself.

  “That was close,” Maddie said, as she watched Leighton feeling his side.

  “I’ll say. You almost broke my rib.”

  “Don’t be an idiot. What do we do now?”

  “Hold out for two more weeks. By then you will be twenty-one and we can get married without anyone’s permission.”

  “Do you think you can stay out of trouble that long?”

  “Maddie, this is Bath, an old woman’s town. Other than having my room plundered, nothing exciting ever happens.”

  “I meant stay out of trouble with me. Your room was robbed?”

  “No, searched. The only thing taken was a packet of music.”

  “Oh come now, who would steal such a thing? You probably mislaid it.”

  “No, it is gone, except for one sheet. That is what I want to consult with you about. Also I have the oddest feeling I’ve been watched ever since I came into the city.”

  She stared at him. “But the war in the Peninsula is over. Unless my father hired someone to follow you, I cannot imagine why anyone would spy on you.”

  “Neither can I.”

  “You miss it,” she accused. “You miss being important and deciphering codes and going to Spain and Portugal.”

  “I do not. I would far rather be home now than having to chase off to Bath.”

  “Need I remind you that it is your fault I was shipped off to Bath in the first place?” She thrust the cup into his hand so forcefully he flinched. Then she left him by the potted palm, holding two empty punch cups and biting his lower lip as though he could not figure out why she was upset. She would forgive him again, of course but if he expected to marry her, he was going to have to stop taking her for granted.

  They left the ball when the carriage arrived. The gentlemen did not accompany them but went to their respective hotels, except for Gifford, who had disappeared. On the way home in the carriage, Maddie tried to define what she wanted from Leighton, how she wanted him to treat her. At the same time that she wanted him to flatter her and compliment her as he did other women, she still treasured those moments when they spoke as frankly to each other as though they were still children. She was not sure what she wanted from him, except that she wanted him to herself.

  She tossed around in her mind Leighton’s suspicion he was being watched. True, she had seen Lieutenant Reid observing him from the perimeter of the room but with his leg, what had he to do but watch people. For all she knew, he might have been watching Lucy or her. Yet Leighton was usually so sensible, even in his trust of her to take care of things in his stead. Why did she resent that trust? Because he had depended on her for the lesser work and kept for himself the important things, encrypting and decrypting intelligence for the war. He was going to have to take her more seriously from now on.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next day Leighton slept late and missed breakfast. Indeed he woke at all only because Tibbs dropped a boot he’d been polishing. Certainly that had been deliberate but he was grateful for it. After dressing he went down to the courtyard with the fountain and had his lunch, then sat enjoying his customary brandy and water as he worked on “Maddie’s Song” in the garden. He was adding the left hand accompaniment and meant to try it out that afternoon when he gave Lucy her lesson. If he turned up early, she might still be dressing and he would have access to the piano while he waited. So intense was his absorption that when a shadow loomed over his table, without looking for the waiter, he held up his glass. “I’d like another brandy, please.”

  The glass was silently removed from his hand and deposited on the table without any reply.

  Leighton hesitated, then looked up. The tall gray-haired man who glared down at him was a stranger. “I am sorry. I thought you were the waiter.” This caused the stiff face above him to turn an alarming shade of red and the salt-and-pepper moustache to bristle.

  “Are you Leighton Stone?” a gravelly voice demanded.

  “Yes.” Leighton stood up. “Do I know you?”

  “I believe you are acquainted with my daughter.”

  “Daughter?”

  “I am Sir Phillip Haddon.”

  “Haddon?” So much for first impressions. But it would not do to be obsequious. “Oh, Mrs. Marsden’s son-in-law.” Leighton could sense a fuming from the stiff figure.

  “Yes and my wife’s husband. But the matter at hand is my daughter.”

  “I know,” Leighton said as though consulting a faulty memory. “Music lessons. I don’t think she really has a particle of interest in music but her grandmother insists.”

  “And you areinterested in music.”

  Leighton could hear the skepticism in his voice and wondered if he dared try to win this lion over. At least he could disarm him. “Of course. Please, have a seat and join me. Do you read music?”

  “I—no, I do not. What has that to do with anything?” Haddon remained standing. Of necessity, so did Leighton.

  He fell back on his ruse during the Peninsular Wars, that of an obtuse young scholar trying to make what he could of his grand tour with most of the continent in ruins. “I have been torn between an eighth and a sixteenth note for the end of this measure. I suppose you cannot advise me.”

  “What? No! I do not wish to discuss your music.”

  “Oh, what did you want?”

  “I want to make it abundantly clear that my daughter is off limits.”

  “Off limits?” Leighton thought he effectively switched his face from and expression of confusion to one of glee. “You mean I don’t have to give her music lessons?” The relief in Leighton’s voice should have been convincing enough for anyone.

  “I mean there is no chance I would ever approve a match between her and—and an itinerant musician.”

  “Oh that.” Leighton allowed himself a chuckle as he tossed his score into the table, causing Haddon’s complexion to darken even further. “But your wife has already warned me about that. Don’t the two of you talk?”

  Haddon’s eyes bulged as though he wondered if he were dealing with a maniac. “Having Mrs. Haddon say not to concern myself over something causes me to immediately concern myself.”

  “Well, if you don’t want Lucy to have lessons, I am off the hook.”

  The man swayed on his feet, looking Leighton up and down and gnawing his lip. “The lessons will be fine but you are not to be falling in love with her.”

  “Not likely.”

  Haddon leaned on the table with both fists curled. “What do you mean by that? Lucy is the most sought-after heiress in Bath.”

  Leighton toyed with the notion of resorting to the truth but he hated to waste it on such an unpromising inquisitor. “My affections are already engaged.”

  Haddon looked down at the pages of music on the table. “Oh, I see. Your muse.”

  Leighton thought a moment and nodded
vigorously. “If it would make you feel any better, you could stay for the lesson. It won’t take above an hour.”

  The man looked away, then back at Leighton. “We shall see.”

  After Haddon stalked away, Leighton expelled an anxious breath and sat down. He closed his eyes for a moment and took out his handkerchief to mop his brow. The salon was likely to be a bit crowded this afternoon. That did not bode well for getting any private conversation with Maddie. And he recalled that she was angry with him again. What was that about? Oh, his complaint at being dragged to Bath when he’d been so desperate to find her. What a fool he was. How could courting one woman have gotten so complicated?

  * * * * *

  Leighton wondered if Maddie was angry enough not keep her appointment to call on her sister. But at one o’clock he called on Patience and Maddie was there with Lucy. It was a stilted visit, no one being able to say anything to the point because of Lucy’s presence.

  It was during one of the awkward pauses that he figured out what he’d said wrong last night. He had made it sound as though coming to Bath for Maddie was a bother, when it was the most important thing in his life. Anything else he did, even his work during the war, should never have been as important as Maddie. But he was fighting an uphill battle to convince her of that now.

  Throughout the half hour, Leighton had again the distinct feeling that he was being watched. It was a relief when the girls took their leave. An unexpected benefit was being able to walk them to Marsden Hall.

  “What did you say to Father?” Lucy demanded. “He came home raging about you.”

  Leighton grimaced. “Oh, that. I was sitting in the courtyard absorbed in my music, so when he loomed over my table I mistook him for a waiter.”

  There was a stunned silence. Maddie’s eyes grew round but Lucy went off into a trill of laughter. “No wonder he came home like a wounded bear.”

  Leighton looked at Maddie. After her initial shock, she seemed on the point of some emotion and he did not want it to be anger again.

  “I asked him to get me another brandy and water.”