“I beg your pardon?”
“The face,” she said calmly. “I had wondered where you misplaced it.”
Marcus felt the smile vanish almost instantly.
“I have misplaced nothing.”
“Have you not?” Bessie leaned back in her chair. “Because for half a second just now you looked exactly like the man who used to charm half the ladies in this house and three-quarters of the gentlemen.”
“That man,” Marcus said evenly, “was an idiot.”
“Undoubtedly,” Bessie agreed. “But he was a lively idiot.”
Marcus exhaled and glanced toward the door where Henry had disappeared.
“The boy played,” he said quietly.
“Yes,” Bessie replied. “And for one moment you looked alive again.”
Marcus did not answer.
After a moment, he reached for his gloves.
“It will not happen again.”
Bessie only smiled.
“Oh, my dear boy,” she said gently.
“I very much hope it does.”
Marcus swallowed. “He tries.”
“He succeeds,” she said, as though it were not a matter of opinion.
Bessie watched from across the room, her expression thoughtful and unreadable.
Lila returned her attention to Henry. “May I play something for you?”
Henry’s fingers tightened on the blanket, then loosened. He nodded.
She took her place at the pianoforte. The first notes emerged carefully, as though feeling their way into the room. Light. Measured. Soft enough not to startle.
Henry’s shoulders eased almost at once.
Marcus stood behind him, holding himself utterly still, as though any movement might break the fragile line of sound Henry was following.
The melody was simple. A child’s tune. Grace had once hummed something like it when she needed steadiness more than distraction. Marcus let the memory pass through him without resistance.
When the final note faded, Henry whispered, “Again?”
Lila smiled. “If you wish.”
She played it once more. This time, Henry’s fingers loosened on the blanket. A small, tentative breath escaped him.
Hope rose sharp and unfamiliar in Marcus’s throat. He forced himself to breathe past it.
When Lila finished, she stood. “That’s all for today,” she said. “Tomorrow, we’ll play more, if you like.”