Mrs. Dove-Lyon noticed them first.
“Wolfton. Good.” She tapped her cane. “Bring the boy.”
Henry stepped forward. Lila’s attention shifted at once.
“Master Henry,” she said gently. “Come. Let me show you the room.”
He hesitated at the threshold.
“It is larger than I expected,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she murmured. “But the piano is still only one instrument. And you are only one boy. The room will not change your music unless you let it.”
The words struck Marcus.
Lila spoke to Henry and reached far beyond him.
Henry crossed the threshold.
She crouched beside him. “Listen to the room first,” she said. “Before you play. Let the space settle.”
Henry closed his eyes, earnest concentration smoothing his features. Something shifted.
Mrs. Dove-Lyon leaned toward him. “The boy trusts her.”
“Yes.”
“And what of you?” Her cane tapped again. Gentle. Pointed.
Marcus’s jaw tightened. “She teaches my son. I trust her.”
“Mm.” The sound held both understanding and what he was not yet prepared to admit.
Voices approached from the corridor.
Mrs. Dove-Lyon straightened. “Ah. The earlier guests arrive.”
Three well-dressed, well-perfumed women entered, the sort whose favor could buoy or bruise a reputation with a tilt of a fan. Lady Harbrook. Lady Newton. And Miss Lyle, young enough that her eyes darted everywhere, already gathering stories.
Henry stiffened.
Lila rose and shifted a fraction closer to him. Not protection. Presence.
“Ladies,” she said with practiced courtesy. “The music is not yet begun, but you are welcome to listen as we prepare.”
Murmured greetings followed. Eyes flicked toward Marcus with interest. Toward Lila with something sharper.
Miss Lyle whispered behind her glove. Lady Newton laughed softly.
Marcus felt his shoulders tighten.
Mrs. Dove-Lyon rapped her cane once. “My guests. Miss Edgewood is here to provide music, not amusement. If you wish to enjoy the evening, behave as though you remember your upbringing.”
Silence fell.
Lila did not look relieved. She looked composed, as if composure were a garment she had learned to hold fast no matter how the room shifted.
A shadow crossed the doorway.