friend and she wouldn’t bother scrutinizing his behavior, not while she could revel in this brief respite of her nostalgia.
These thoughts and many more tumbled through her brain as she sang the Italian words before her on the music stand. She hit the highest note in her range, suspending it for the full required sixteen beats, imagining Dalton standing across from her, watching her sing. She closed her eyes and let the note trickle back down to an A-sharp before fading delicately away.
Steady applause caused her eyes to fly open, and they grew wider when she saw it came from Sarah.
“Bravo, Marlena,” she said with an excited grin. “I still have gooseflesh.” She rubbed her arms to demonstrate. “Keep singing like that and you will be famous before you know it.”
Marlena released an elated yelp and leapt into Sarah’s arms, laughing as she jumped up and down. Strange how she went from feeling utterly hopeless to feeling like things were finally falling into place.
“All right, all right,” Sarah said, pulling away.
Marlena stepped back and clasped her hands over her chest. “Do you really think I’ll be famous?”
Sarah tapped the air with her finger. “I said if you keep singing like that. Do something correctly once, and it may be a fluke. Do it repeatedly, and it is a skill. I’m quite pleased to see that you took my words to heart. Now, let’s try another aria, shall we, and prove this isn’t a fluke.”
Sarah pulled a piece of music and set it on Marlena’s music stand before setting a copy in front of the pianist. As the opening notes danced softly about the room, Marlena took a deep breath, filling her diaphragm. A knock sounded at the door and the music died as the butler entered.
“Begging your pardon, ma’am,” he addressed Sarah Jeanne. “But there is a gentleman in the parlor who wishes to see you and the young lady.”
A whirl of flutters went off in Marlena’s belly as her cheeks twitched around a grin, but Sarah’s eyes turned stormy. Her mouth was pursed into such a fine point that she looked like a woodpecker. The thought almost wrought a chuckle from Marlena, but she remained silent.
“Did he send a card?” she asked.
“No, ma’am.”
“Then, send him away. I will not indulge such insolence. What a presumptuous, ill-mannered fop to intrude without invitation or notice.”
Marlena stepped forward. “If I may?” She glanced nervously between the butler and Sarah. “I believe I know this man. Is he the same gentleman who called a few days ago, Winters?”
“Yes, Miss,” the butler said with a nod and Sarah gasped.
“You received a gentleman caller?”
Marlena held up a stalling hand. “It’s not what you think. He is my cousin, Dalton. He arrived from London and wanted to surprise me. He’s only here for a few weeks before he returns to New Mexico.”
“That does not excuse him from the rules of propriety.”
“He doesn’t know the rules of propriety,” Marlena inserted. “He has lived all of his life in the mountains and fields of the west.” She purposely left out “and brothels” but still took a deep swallow when Sarah scrutinized her. “He’s much like I was when I first arrived here. If not for all of your teachings I’d still be lost in all of the rules. He won’t have time to learn them in a fortnight. I hope your sensibilities will not be too offended by him, but I would love to spend time with him before he departs.”
She peered into Sarah’s eyes, pleading in silence until the woman’s frown relaxed and her shoulders returned to a more natural set.
“ Of course I won’t be offended,” Sarah finally said. “We cannot condemn those born and raised to ignorance. We are nothing if not charitable.” She turned to the butler. “Winters, please tell him we shall be down presently.”
The old man nodded and left the room. After a lengthy minute, the two women followed, with Marlena breaking into a wide grin when she entered the
These thoughts and many more tumbled through her brain as she sang the Italian words before her on the music stand. She hit the highest note in her range, suspending it for the full required sixteen beats, imagining Dalton standing across from her, watching her sing. She closed her eyes and let the note trickle back down to an A-sharp before fading delicately away.
Steady applause caused her eyes to fly open, and they grew wider when she saw it came from Sarah.
“Bravo, Marlena,” she said with an excited grin. “I still have gooseflesh.” She rubbed her arms to demonstrate. “Keep singing like that and you will be famous before you know it.”
Marlena released an elated yelp and leapt into Sarah’s arms, laughing as she jumped up and down. Strange how she went from feeling utterly hopeless to feeling like things were finally falling into place.
“All right, all right,” Sarah said, pulling away.
Marlena stepped back and clasped her hands over her chest. “Do you really think I’ll be famous?”
Sarah tapped the air with her finger. “I said if you keep singing like that. Do something correctly once, and it may be a fluke. Do it repeatedly, and it is a skill. I’m quite pleased to see that you took my words to heart. Now, let’s try another aria, shall we, and prove this isn’t a fluke.”
Sarah pulled a piece of music and set it on Marlena’s music stand before setting a copy in front of the pianist. As the opening notes danced softly about the room, Marlena took a deep breath, filling her diaphragm. A knock sounded at the door and the music died as the butler entered.
“Begging your pardon, ma’am,” he addressed Sarah Jeanne. “But there is a gentleman in the parlor who wishes to see you and the young lady.”
A whirl of flutters went off in Marlena’s belly as her cheeks twitched around a grin, but Sarah’s eyes turned stormy. Her mouth was pursed into such a fine point that she looked like a woodpecker. The thought almost wrought a chuckle from Marlena, but she remained silent.
“Did he send a card?” she asked.
“No, ma’am.”
“Then, send him away. I will not indulge such insolence. What a presumptuous, ill-mannered fop to intrude without invitation or notice.”
Marlena stepped forward. “If I may?” She glanced nervously between the butler and Sarah. “I believe I know this man. Is he the same gentleman who called a few days ago, Winters?”
“Yes, Miss,” the butler said with a nod and Sarah gasped.
“You received a gentleman caller?”
Marlena held up a stalling hand. “It’s not what you think. He is my cousin, Dalton. He arrived from London and wanted to surprise me. He’s only here for a few weeks before he returns to New Mexico.”
“That does not excuse him from the rules of propriety.”
“He doesn’t know the rules of propriety,” Marlena inserted. “He has lived all of his life in the mountains and fields of the west.” She purposely left out “and brothels” but still took a deep swallow when Sarah scrutinized her. “He’s much like I was when I first arrived here. If not for all of your teachings I’d still be lost in all of the rules. He won’t have time to learn them in a fortnight. I hope your sensibilities will not be too offended by him, but I would love to spend time with him before he departs.”
She peered into Sarah’s eyes, pleading in silence until the woman’s frown relaxed and her shoulders returned to a more natural set.
“ Of course I won’t be offended,” Sarah finally said. “We cannot condemn those born and raised to ignorance. We are nothing if not charitable.” She turned to the butler. “Winters, please tell him we shall be down presently.”
The old man nodded and left the room. After a lengthy minute, the two women followed, with Marlena breaking into a wide grin when she entered the
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