Eternal Melody (16 page)

Daydreams of e
xtravagant dresses and standing
ovations had flooded her imagination since she was a little girl.  She had no right to scold Luke about being hoodwinked by society, when she herself was equally enamored with material gain.  Suddenly, Luke gave his reply, snapping her out of her musings.  “
Those are very provocative questions, Rebecca, and I don’t know how to answer them. 
I would like to think that I am immune to societal pressure, but it would be an outright lie.  The point remains, though, that as a musician in the very competitive world of classical music, I have little chance of moving beyond these four walls.”

“You don’t know that, Luke!  I’ve heard how you play the piano and the violin.  The sounds you produce through those instruments are not just beautiful, they’re miraculous!
  Someday, we may all prosper from doing what we love.  Remember everything that Mr. Graysen said.”

Luke regarded her intensely without blinking.
 
“You may be right.  But suppose the prosperity never comes?  Then I
will
be stuck in
the lower class that I am in right now.
” Luke inhaled and took a great pause.  “What you need is a man like that Brecht fellow.  He’s got everything to offer a woman.”

Rebecca had to suppress herself from exploding into hysterics at the thought of Gerhard Brecht having
any
thing to offer a woman.  He was as repuls
ive a creature as ever existed.

“Mr. Brecht is an illusion.  He has nothing worth offering a woman that can’t be found in his wallet.  I pity his wife, as a matter of fact.”

“Why do you pity her?”

“Because her husband is a lecherous oaf!  I don’t even want to tell you how he treated
me
yesterday when he saw me in that ridiculous costume that he passes off as a uniform.” Rebecca shuddered to recall the
depraved
glimmer in Gerhard Brecht’s eyes.

“
You mean he came on to you?  The creep! I’ll punch his lights out if he ever comes near you again!
You should ask Mrs. Denmaker for a transfer immediately if your employer is not respecting you.”

Surprised by his impassioned reaction
, Rebecca asked, “Why are we even discussing this, Luke?”

Luke pondered exactly what had prompted him to initiate such a personal, delicate discussion with Rebecca.  It was obvious to both of them that he felt inadequate
because of his financial portfolio
, but why would he share such feelings with her?  After his unpleasant exchange with Greta, Luke had juxta
posed the two women in his mind. 
Rebecca
shone like a
beacon.  Greta, conversely, was a dungeon of falsehoods and temptation. 
Perhaps he was afraid that Rebecca would turn out to be the same dungeon that Greta was and hurt him even more deeply.  He stood there in the cramped room, feeling foolish for having delved into such sensitive issues with Rebecca who, despite his intuitive connection with her, was still a virtual stranger.

“I don’t know why I’m discussing this with you.  But such matters need to be discussed, don’t you think?”

Yes, between two people who are betrothed
, Rebecca thought. 
“I don’t know what to say.”

“Never mind.  Clearly, I’ve made you uncomfortable.  Don’t feel as though you have to stay.”

Rebecca felt her heart plummet with the realization that she was being pushed away.  “Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?  You were the one who invited me in to see your chamber.”

“I’m not trying to hustle you out of here at all.  Please stay if you would like.”

“Would
you
like me to stay?”

Swiftly,
wordlessly responding to her inquiry
, Luke towered over Rebecca and bent his head to seize her lips, which still tasted of sweet marzipan. 
Shocked, Rebecca stood immobile for several
seconds, then
wrapped her arms around his neck and responded fervently
to
his kiss.  She was glad that he had finally shut up
and put his mouth to much more pleasurable use
.  Eagerly, she
demonstrated her feminine ardor by pressing her full length to his, fitting their bodies together like a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle that had finally been assembled
, each part fitting perfectly with
the next.

Breathlessly, Luke broke off the kiss to inhale the lily scent that still lingered on her hair
and muttered
, “Whatever you’re wearing, it smells delectable.  And that dress is stunning on you.  You are a real beauty
,
Becky
.”

Unskilled in the art of complimenting a lover, Rebecca murmured in reply, “Thank you…you look very handsome in y
our suit
.”

He sported a crooked expression and confessed, “I only have a few of these
fancy suits.  I splurged on them for our opening performance last autumn.  So, you’ll have to excuse me if I go around the rest of the while looking like a haggard hobo.”

“I don’t
care about such things, Luke. 
I’m earthy, remember?” She whispered as he laughed, his breath fanning her face while he reclaimed her lips.

They stood there in his room, dangerously close to the bed, kissing excitedly as a
strong, refreshing draft
wove through the fourth floor window, rustling Rebecca’s hair. 
Luke shoved his hands into that appealing, fragrant mane, tilting Rebecca’s head back so that he was in greater control of the kiss.

A
viol
a’s
so
m
ber melody wafted into the chamber, distracting Rebecca, but
remaining
entirely unnoticeable to Luke who would not have paid heed to an earthquake at that moment.  Rebecca knew that it was
one of their fellow orchestra members
practicing down the hall
,
and she thought
dazedly
how no one seemed to be getting any
rest
on the
sultry August night. 
It would have been sublime to pass the entire sleepless night in Luke’s soothing yet electrifying embrace, but reality
assailed
Rebecca as the viola
music became louder.  With an unpleasant mental nudging, she remembered how early she was expected to report to work tomorrow and how if she stayed in Luke’s room any longer, she
would likely succumb to whatever he asked of her
.

As gently as she could, she pulled away from Luke, who
released her
reluctantly.

“Is something wrong, Rebecca?” He asked hoarsely, seeming slightly disoriented.

“No, Luke, but I do think I should be going up to my room now.” She explained softly, feeling a rush of vertigo
under his intent gaze
.

Luke merely nodded his head and
strode
over to his desk.  Rebecca thought that he was going to offer her another piece of marzipan, but instead he picked a thick volume out of the bookends and wiped a coating of dust off the cover.

“I haven’t read this for quite some time, as you can see.” He said, his throat going dry from the dust
particles
that floated through the air.  “I’d like you to borrow this and read it.  Tell me what you think of it when you’re done.”

“I will read this, Luke.”
Rebecca glanced down at the title, mildly shocked.  It read:
Shuddering Rose Petals: 50 Poems of Passion and Nature
.

“From cover to cover,
agreed
?”

“Agreed.  Thank you.  I only brought one book from home and this will keep me company on sleepless nights such as this.” She held the book against her bosom,
wetting her lips nervously as she did not know how to say good night.  If he kissed her again, it would surely stir up
inescapable passion
.

“Indeed, this will be a sleepless night.” Luke agreed, as Rebecca lowered her eyes in a sudden onslaught of modesty.

“Good night, Luke.” She said simply.  To her relief, he merely clasped her hand and touched his lips to it.

“Good night, sweet Becky.”
His voice dr
opped to baritone level with tho
se final words of the evening.

*****

At the Brecht mansion for
her
third consecutive morning of cleaning duty, Rebecca experienced the odd sensation of being physically present, but emotionally adrift. 
After finally retiring to her chamber last night, she had expected exhaustion to settle in and drag her into slumber, but instead she had read the book of poems until the sun illuminated her room with a halo of gold light. 
She did not know if it was from lack of sleep or from Luke’s kisses, but she accomplished her tasks in a trance, not even aware that the butler was speaking to her.

“Miss Meadow?  Pardon me, Miss Meadow?” The wooden man uncharacteristically raised his voice in an increasingly impatient effort to gain Rebecca’s attention.

Startled, the duster fell like a
windblown
feather to the parquet floor as Rebecca intoned, “Yes?”

“At last you respond.  I have instructions for you from Mr. Brecht.  You are to launder all the sheets and coverlets by hand
before you leave today.  There is
soap on the third floor.”

Stiffly, he turned away as Rebecca impulsively stuck her tongue out at him.  The mansion contained an astonishing eight bedrooms, and washing all the sheets and coverlets would be a formidable task
even
if
shared between
several maids
, let alone delegated to one person
.

With indignantly flaming cheeks, Rebecca flounced over to the master bedroom and began yanking the
black
satin sheets off the enormous curtained bed. 
Without warning,
Gerhard Brecht jumped out from behind the door with a resounding chuckle as Rebecca squealed with fright.

“Oh my!  Mr. Brecht, I had no idea you were in here.  I’m very sorry.  I’ll come back to clean the master bedroom when it’s unoccupied.” She sprinted towards the door as he caught her by the material of her skirt, pulling
violently
and exposing her bloomers.

“You’ll do no such thing, Rebecca.  This is exactly where I want you.” He spun her around and lunged towards her, extending meat hooks to pinch her rump and press her against him while she struggled furiously.

“Get your hands off me!” She screamed in outrage.  “
Halt
! 
Hilfe
!” Taking advantage of her strong vocal
chords she shouted the German words for “stop” and “help” as Gerhard Brecht merely laughed.

“No one will hear you.  You and I are all alone.”

“That’s not true!  The butler is here!” Why in the world hadn’t she learned that butler’s name?  It had seemed comical not to know his name, but now it
was
dreadful.

“He’s not going to help you.  I pay him richly, and he will not betray me.  I will pay you richly too, much more than Alice Denmaker will ever offer.  Just stop squirming, do as I say, and you will never have to worry about money again.” He gave a mighty tug on her top, splitting the lace with an obscene ripping sound as Rebecca struggled more desperately.

“I don’t want your money!” She cried.  “I just want you to take your hands off me!”

For a stout older man, he was unbelievably strong
,
and Rebecca was beginning to feel that fighting him might be futile.  But she would not surrender to him; she wo
uld have to trick him instead.

Suddenly, she went limp in his grasp, pretending to submit and heaving an exaggerated sigh.
“
You win. 
How much money will you give me?” She asked, as he
immediately
slackened
his grip on her just as she had anticipated.

Before he could realize that she had bluffed, Rebecca jerked her knee up and struck a
painful blow against the
dastardly man, causing him to eject her from his arms and double over
,
groaning. 
Without looking behind her, Rebecca fled the room, racing down the winding staircase,
and
nearly tripping over several steps in her haste.  As she caught her balance, she grabbed onto the brass banister and slid her hand down while
continuing to
descend as though she were being stalked by a madman, which she essentially was.  Distantly, she heard Gerhard grumbling
expletives
upstairs
, pounding towards the staircase.