And the Miss Ran Away With the Rake: Rhymes With Love by Boyle Elizabeth

Author:Boyle, Elizabeth [Boyle, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Historical Romance, Fiction, Historical, General
ISBN: 9780062089083
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2013-03-26T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

I’m ever so glad. I try to be above such things, but I will confess a longing for silk gowns and a handsome partner in life.

Found in a letter from Miss Spooner to Mr. Dishforth

Somewhere in Owle Park, someone was playing a piano. Not the distinct tinkling of a lady at the pianoforte, but a grand piano being played with passion. The music—full of longing and desire—lured Daphne from her determined course to find a copy of Debrett’s.

Whoever could play with such fire?

She wandered through the maze of halls and wings with Mr. Muggins at her heels. The terrier cast more than one glance at her that said very clearly that she was going in the wrong direction for sausages.

When eventually the notes grew louder, Daphne found herself filled with both the exhilaration of the music and the thrill of discovery as she approached an open doorway. Since she didn’t want the music to end, she stopped just short of entering and instead took a furtive peek inside. Immediately she reeled back.

She gaped down at Mr. Muggins, who had planted himself at her feet.

No! It couldn’t be.

Taking a deep breath and realizing she didn’t trust her eyes, she took another longer look, and there it was, Lord Henry sitting alongside his ancient relation, Lady Zillah, at a grand piano.

He stopped abruptly and turned to his great-aunt. “That is how it is played,” he said to her.

“You still have a knack, Henry,” Lady Zillah replied.

“I should,” he laughed. “It was you who taught me my first notes. So I don’t mind helping you with this piece.”

“I find it keeps my mind sharp,” the lady said, nudging him aside a bit and taking up the keys herself. “But this one has been bedeviling me for months.” As she played—with surprising skill—Lord Henry turned the pages for her.

Daphne knew she should leave them to their practice, but the music was so lovely, and the scene so curious and intimate. It was as if she was seeing not only Lord Henry but also the entire Seldon family for the first time.

The music didn’t stop Lady Zillah from nattering on. Loudly. “Henry, you could be out shooting or riding, whatever are you doing hanging about with an old lady like me?”

He smiled at her. “I was lured from my duties when I heard you playing. You don’t play all that often anymore, so it is a treat to hear you.”

Daphne thought the real treat was hearing Lord Henry play. Zillah was good, but Lord Henry played with such a hidden passion.

Rather like the way he kissed.

“My goodness, I never knew you’d inherited your father’s flair for flattery,” Lady Zillah teased back. “Always thought you more an Oscroft than a Seldon.”

“Thank you, Cousin Zillah,” he replied. “My mother despaired that neither of her children appeared to hold any of her family’s traits.”

“I hardly meant it as a compliment,” she shot back. “You are too nice by half. Respectable and kindhearted; look how you’ve managed Preston’s estates all these years, kept the entire family afloat—and nary a scandal to your name.

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