The Piano Tutor (4 page)
Authors: Anthea Lawson
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Short Stories & Anthologies, #Anthologies, #Romance, #Historical, #Regency, #One Hour (33-43 Pages), #Collections & Anthologies, #Historical Romance, #Regency Romance, #regency short story, #sexy regency
She fought to speak against the tightness in her throat. Nicholas reached for her and she pulled away. “I no longer need your services, Mr. Jameson. You are
fired
.”
Hot tears blurring her vision, she turned and ran. Dimly she heard Nicholas calling after her, Lucy remonstrating, but she did not pause. She rushed back to her carriage and flung herself inside, slamming the door before the footman could even approach.
It was far worse than she had suspected. And still a part of her had wanted to stay, to listen to his pleas. She was so unbearably weak. As the wheels rattled over the cobblestones, she dropped her head into her hands and abandoned herself to grief.
“Mama?” Samantha pushed open the parlor door. “Are you ill? I had cook make you some chocolate.”
She entered the room, carefully balancing a tray holding the silver chocolate pot and two cups. Diana mustered a smile for her stepdaughter and hoped her eyes were not too red from weeping.
“Thank you, dear. I am not unwell, just a bit tired.” Did heartsickness count as an illness? She did not think so. “Come, sit by me.” She patted the settee.
Samantha set the tray down and curled up close. Diana put her arm around the girl’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze—the reassurance as much for herself as for her stepdaughter.
“I have some unhappy news for you.” She heaved a breath. “Mr. Jameson will not be returning as your piano tutor.”
“Oh.” The girl’s shoulders slumped. “That is too bad. He was ever so charming—and smelled much better than Mr. Bent.”
Diana smiled—it was the only way to keep the tears from welling up again. “That he did.” She leaned over and rested her head against Samantha’s. All brightness was not gone from her life, no matter how dreary the day might feel.
“My lady.” The butler bowed at the parlor door. “Forgive me for interrupting. You have a caller. Are you at home?”
She straightened. Nicholas wouldn’t dare—not if he had a shred of sense. It had to be Lucy. One way or another, she would have to face her friend.
“Yes, I am receiving.”
“Very good.” He extended the silver salver, a vellum card centered on it. “Shall I show him in?”
“Him?” Her lips pressed tightly together she took the card. If it were Mr. Jameson…. “The Marquess of Somerton?” She stared at the unfamiliar name. “I don’t believe I know any such person. Please tell the gentleman I am not taking visitors today.” Particularly uninvited ones. She could not face another stranger in her house.
“Very good.” The butler departed.
“Thank you for the chocolate, Samantha.” Diana gave her stepdaughter another quick embrace. Really, she ought to bestir herself. There was no use sitting in the parlor when it held such memories of Nicholas.
“I’m glad it helped. Chocolate often does.” The girl jumped up and gathered the cups and tray, then paused and kissed Diana’s cheek before bustling out the door.
Voices filtered from the hallway, and then the butler was back.
“I am sorry, my lady, but the marquess insists he will see you. He vowed to toss me into the street if I stood in his way.”
Diana rose, then nearly folded back down on the settee when she saw who had followed the butler in.
Nicholas
. The breath squeezed from her lungs while a wild, giddy clamor started up in her blood.
“Please go,” she breathed. No matter how much she wanted to remain unmoved, the expression in his familiar grey eyes nearly undid her.
He was carrying an exuberant bouquet of roses, which he handed to the butler. “See to these.”
Clever man—if he had given her the flowers, she would have flung them back in his face. As soon as the butler departed, she turned on Nicholas. Piano tutor, marquess—whomever he claimed to be today.
“How dare you?” Her ribs felt as though a band of silk were wrapped around them, pulled too tight. “To think, what we did under Lucy’s very roof! And then you come here, bullying my servants, and—”
“Diana.” He closed the distance between them and took her by the shoulders. Fool that she was, she could not move away from his touch. “I don’t think my cousin begrudges the use of her library. She has done far worse in my best carriage, with never a word of apology.”
“Your… your cousin?” She blinked up at him, her heart catching with a wild, irrational hope. “Lady Pembroke is your cousin?”
“Yes.” A mischievous light sparked in his eyes. “Lucy. My meddling plague of a cousin. The one who bribed Mr. Bent to take an extended holiday, then suggested I pose as a piano tutor and tempt you out of hiding.” He shook his head. “But it didn’t work.”
“No?” She had been tempted, all too easily. Even now she felt breathless.
He smiled at her—rueful and amused all at once. “My plan was to slowly draw you out. To, as Lucy put it, ‘help ease you from your widowhood.’ But falling in love with you made things bloody awkward.”
Falling in love? Happy tears tingled at the back of her eyes. The Marquess of Somerton? “But…you make an excellent piano tutor.”
His hands tightened on her shoulders and he drew her forward. “I assure you, I make a far better suitor.”
She went willingly, lifting her face to his kiss. A kiss that swirled her senses, even as it anchored her fully to herself. A kiss full of passion. Delight. Life.
~THE END~
Find all Anthea’s books on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/Anthea-Lawson/e/B002BM4O2K
~NEWEST RELEASE - SONATA for a SCOUNDREL~
Read on for a sample
HERE
!
http://amzn.com/B00FJNPJMW
The Muse...
Clara Becker is a supremely gifted composer--a talent of little to use to a woman in 1830s Europe. Her compositions only have worth when they are published under her brother's name, yet this deception barely enables them to scrape out a living in the poorest quarter of London.
Meets the Master...
Darien Reynard, the most celebrated musician in Europe, pursues success with a single-minded intensity. When he comes across Becker's compositions, he knows that this music will secure his place in history. Darien tracks the composer down and, with some difficulty, convinces the man to tour with him. Mr. Becker agrees, but with the most unusual condition that he bring along his sister...
Set against the glittering backdrop of 19th century celebrity, Sonata for a Scoundrel is the newest full-length historical romance novel from RITA-nominated author Anthea Lawson. “Mesmerizing and addictive...”
-Library Journal, Starred Review
Want more Regency stories & novellas from Anthea Lawson?
Maid for Scandal
–
A light Regency short story that skirts the edge of impropriety... Miss Anna Harcourt foolishly disguises herself as a maid to be near the man she thinks she loves, but little does she know how far this charade will lead her - or how close to scandal.
~Two months on Amazon’s Top 100 Regency Romance Bestseller list~
http://amzn.com/B00CEOVRJ8
Five Wicked Kisses
—
To pay a debt, Juliana Tate must accept five kisses from the Earl of Eastbrook ... but she never suspects how wicked each kiss will be.
Sensuality level:
Medium Hot - suggestive situations, kisses.
http://amzn.com/B006V7WODC
To Wed The Earl
– Miss Miranda Price detests her neighbor Edward Havens, the rakish Earl of Edgerton, but when he catches her breaking into his library at midnight,
secrets are revealed that will change the course of their lives… forever.
http://amzn.com/B008RHJGTE
The Worth of Rubies
– A Victorian Short Mystery -- Noble ladies are falling victim to a string of brazen public jewelry robberies, but the inquisitive Miss Isabelle Strathmore suspects more is afoot than mere theft…
http://amzn.com/B00B3OWCOE
A Countess for Christmas
- Miss Cecilia Fairfax dreads the upcoming holidays. Between caring for her elderly father and managing a household barely out of mourning, she has no time for the softer things in life.
Of all the blessings of the season, sometimes the most unexpected is love...
http://amzn.com/B00H3ATVV4
COLLECTIONS:
Kisses and Rogues
– Anthea’s first four short stories and novellas , together in one sweet-to-spicy collection.
NOVELS:
In the mood for a novel? Victorian-set romantic adventure awaits!
SONATA for a SCOUNDREL
(see above)
http://amzn.com/B00FJNPJMW
PASSIONATE
A finalist for the prestigious RWA RITA award, this Victorian-set novel takes the reader on a romantic adventure from the ballrooms and parlors of London through the Mediterranean to the exotic valleys of Tunisia. Fans of Julia Quinn and Connie Broc
kway will enjoy this witty foray into the outer edges of civilization — and propriety
"A lush, exotic tale of romance and adventure."
- Sally MacKenzie, USA Today bestselling author
ALL HE DESIRES
Self-exiled on the Isle of Crete, an English doctor with a troubled past meets the one woman who can bring him out of the shadows and into the light.
“…deftly combines danger, desire, and a deliciously different Victorian setting into a sexy version of Victoria Holt’s classic gothic romances.” - Booklist Reviews
Anthea Lawson, called "a new star of Historical Romance" by Booklist, has won readers with her combination of spicy love scenes and elegant prose. Her first novel, PASSIONATE, was a Best First Book finalist in the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA awards.
Anthea also writes award-winning YA Urban Fantasy under the pen name Anthea Sharp.
http://antheasharp.com/
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Or read on for an excerpt from Anthea’s newest novel!
Excerpt of SONATA for a SCOUNDREL
Set against the glittering backdrop of 19th century celebrity, Sonata for a Scoundrel is the newest full-length historical romance novel from RITA-nominated author Anthea Lawson. “Mesmerising and addicitive.”
-Library Journal Starred Review
CHAPTER ONE
The Maestro Arrives!
In a mere two days, that pre-eminent virtuoso of the violin, Master Darien Reynard, will grace the stage at King’s Theatre. Ladies, keep your smelling salts close to hand, for Master Reynard is renowned for leaving a swath of swooning in the wake of his performances…
-The London Engager, November 1830
The melody threading through Clara Becker’s mind stopped, snipped by the angry voices penetrating the study door. She sat back in the cracked leather chair and put down her pen, the musical notes wavering on the page before her tired eyes. The ache in her shoulders and hand—distant when she was caught up in composing—now pulsed distractingly, vying with the landlady’s shrill tone to fragment her concentration.
“If you don’t deliver the rent tomorrow, you’re on the street. Out, I say!” The landlady’s voice was nearly a shriek. “You’ve been late one too many times, Mr. Becker. I’ve a mind to send my sons over tonight to pitch you out!”
