A Deceptive Composition (A LADY DARBY MYSTERY #12) by Anna Lee Huber EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Anna Lee Huber
- Language: English
- Genre: Historical Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Everything that deceives may be said to enchant.
—plato
OCTOBER 1832
WARWICKSHIRE, ENGLAND
“Come see who I found wandering the corridors.”
I looked up from the sheet music at the sound of my father-inlaw’s voice, my fingers trailing to a stop along the pianoforte keys. I
couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Lord Gage ambling toward me, still
favoring his recently injured right leg, with the warm and wriggling bundle
of my daughter cradled in his arms.
“Wandering, was she?” I countered in amusement. Given the fact that
she was all of nearly seven months old and unable to crawl yet, the idea of
her wandering anywhere was absurd. It seemed far more likely he’d
liberated her from her nanny’s care in the nursery.
“Well…I could tell she was thinking it. If only she’d been able to work
out the mechanics of this thing called walking first.” Lord Gage grinned
down at Emma, and she squealed happily in response before returning her
gaze to the object which had captured her attention.
Truth be told, it was the same object that had caught my attention when
I’d first entered the drawing room at Bevington Park upon our arrival two
months prior. The Broadwood grand pianoforte had gleamed in the sunlight
streaming through the tall western-facing windows, practically beckoning to
be played. One might have been forgiven for believing that the manor’s
owner was an accomplished pianist, such was the pride of place the
instrument held, but I knew this to be untrue. In fact, the next day when I’d
sat upon the bench, I’d suspected I was the first person to do so since the
pianoforte had been delivered and tuned.
The instrument was purely part of
the chamber’s aesthetic, for Lord Gage decorated his homes for effect rather
than to suit his comfort and taste. But given the enjoyment I’d received
from playing the magnificent instrument, this was one matter in which it
would be disingenuous for me to complain.
I ran my fingers lightly over the keys, repeating the last phrase of music
I’d played from one of Schubert’s impromptus. My husband, Sebastian
Gage, had gifted me the sheet music of the set of impromptus for my
birthday that spring, but I’d had little time to practice them in earnest until
our arrival in Warwickshire. Some of the pieces were beyond my ability,
and I would never be able to play them with great skill, but I had become
determined to master the others. Or at least to do a credible job in
performing them for my own pleasure.
Emma cooed in response, tipping forward in her grandfather’s arms and
reaching toward me. I sat her on my lap and predictably she lurched toward
the keys, slamming her open palms down with relish as the pianoforte
issued a series of discordant notes. There was nothing for it but to smile and
hold fast to her little body lest she tumble forward in her unrestrained
efforts.
“A veritable prodigy,” Lord Gage proclaimed even as he winced at one
particularly strident chord.
For More Read Download This Book
EPUB