Ever After by Elswyth Thane

Author:Elswyth Thane [Elswyth Thane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780719813511
Publisher: Robert Hale
Published: 2013-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

6

GWEN shied a little when he turned her up the steps of Cabot’s house a few afternoons later.

“Are you sure this is the place?” she asked nervously.

“Yep, this is the place. People named Murray. Friends of my mother’s when she used to live up North,” he added, improvising again, as the door was opened by Eden’s English butler, who greeted Fitz with visible pleasure. “’Afternoon, Benson, we want to use the ballroom piano. You might tell Mrs. Murray we’re here.”

Gwen looked curiously around the dust-sheeted, gilded spaces of the ballroom with its shining waxed floor. There was a small platform at one end in front of a velvet curtain, and a piano and music-racks and gilt chairs were grouped at its foot.

“How many people does this hold?” she wanted to know.

“’Bout a hundred couples, at a pinch.”

“Have you ever seen it full?”

“Once or twice.”

“What’s this Mrs. Murray like?”

“Nice. You scared?”

“It’s not what I’m used to,” she admitted with her half smile. “I can see now why the dress went with the job. She knows I wouldn’t know what to wear here.”

“It’ll be just a dress, I reckon, like the rest of ’em,” he said unconcernedly, and opened the lid of the piano. His fingers melted lovingly into the keys, the way he had, and harmony stole out into the room.

“Say, you can play! Where did you learn?”

“Dunno. Just came by it naturally or somethin’. Did you think I was one of those one-finger songwriters? Let’s try this one here on the rack first—thing called Tidewater Rose. I’ll run through it once, and then you come in huh?”

Gwen stood by the piano looking over his shoulder and sang obediently, giving the best she had. For an hour or so they worked absorbedly, while he interpolated low-voiced, diffident suggestions—“Take it easy, honey, these customers will be fairly sober,” he would say. “Hey, hey, don’t plug that line, it won’t stand it—here we go, now, let it out big—”

Then the door opened behind him and Eden and Sue came in. Fitz rose from the piano bench and made the introductions blandly. Eden was wearing her hat.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but I’m going round to my dressmaker’s and I thought if I had some idea of your size and your preference in colours—” Her eyes, friendly but searching, rested on Fitz’s girl.

Gwen said the right thing, leaving it all to Eden, who observed that she and Virginia were almost of a size, which was convenient as the dressmaker could use Virginia’s patterns to start with. They made an appointment for a fitting, and Fitz said:

“Since you’re going out, Mrs. Murray, perhaps Miss Day would like to sit down and hear what we’ve decided on.” His eyelid farthest from Gwen drooped briefly at Sue as he spoke. He could never resist showing off for Sue, and he was proud of Gwen and the way she sang his songs. So when Eden had rustled away, Sue settled into an armchair drawn up to the piano and listened while Gwen went on with her singing lesson.

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