Eternal Melody (6 page)

Moved in!
  Rebecca nearly
gasped. 
He couldn’t mean that he lived there!

In a breathless whisper she asked, “Are you saying that you live here?”

Luke grinned and retorted, “Yes, is that quite all right with you?”

Rebecca realized that her tone must have sounded accusing, as though he had no right to live there.  Mr. Graysen had said that many of the orchestra members lived in these apartments, but Rebecca had not thought that Luke could be one of them.  Somehow, she envisioned him living somewhere rustic and isolated,
in a log cabin
buried in
the foothills of the Alps
.  Or
near a lake where he could tap away on the piano all day long
while the
music
echoed
over
softly
rippling
waters. Regaining her composure, Rebecca began to walk down the stairs so that she was standing directly in front of him.

“Yes, of course it’s all right that you live here.  I must apologize for my impoliteness.  I just hadn’t expected to see you here.”

“You hadn’t expected to or you hadn’t wanted to?” Luke asked with a frown and raised eyebrows.

Realizing that she could not delicately evade Luke’s question, she endeavored to change the subject.  “I really must bring my belongings upstairs.  It’s been such a terribly long day, and I would like to retire to my room.”  She feigned a yawn, placing her hand over her mouth.

He looked intently at her, not entirely convinced that fatigue was the primary reason for her desire to take leave of him so abruptly. 
“You know, I heard your audition this morning and thought it was riveting.  I must offer my congratulations on your attaining the understudy role.  Even those are very competitive in Vienna.”

“Thank you, but how did you hear my audition?  The room you were playing piano in was quite far from where I sang for Mr. Graysen.”

Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and admitted awkwardly, “I was standing in the doorway, but you were so immersed in the music that
I guess
you didn’t notice.”

Rebecca resisted the urge to gasp and launch into a theatrical display that was as natural to her as singing.  The man had just confessed to being a voyeur, and she was blushing a boiling shade of vermilion at this knowledge. 
If she were honest with herself, though, the blush derived from exhilarating
attraction
rather th
an
ladylike modesty.  Something in the way Luke spoke to her stirred dormant sensations deep within her and made her long to tell him how she had felt watching him at the piano.  But then he would think that she was some kind of common harlot, and she would not have that.  Ladies of her era were forced to subdue such passionate inclinations and
act coy, and for now, Rebecca knew she had to conform.

“My goodness, Mr. Springwell.  You do shock me!  I had no idea that you were ravishing me with your eyes while I sang.”

“Ravishing you with my eyes?” Luke chuckled.  “If that’s what you’d like to call it, Miss Meadow, but I’m afraid you’re exaggerating.”

She tried to look through him, instinctively knowing that he was protecting his ego with that nonsense about her exaggerating.
“Very well, Mr. Springwell.  Pardon my exaggeration.  I assure you, though, that I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I am in dire need of slumber.  My brother and I only arrived here yesterday
.
Since then, I’ve
had barely a moment’s rest.”

“If you’ve only just arrived, then you must also be in dire need of a tour guide.  As I told you earlier, I’ve been here for the better part of a year.  You’ll find me a most knowledgeable guide, especially if you have any interest at all in seeing Salzburg.  I make regular trips there to
pay homage to Mozart.”

Had Luke read her mind?  She was astounded that the one place in all Austria-Hungary that she really wanted to see was one of Luke’s haunts.  Ryan was protective, but also liberal and probably would not mind if she went with Luke, especially since he was to be a colleague of theirs.

“It so happens that Salzburg is a place I am very eager to visit.  I’ll consider your offer and let you know at a later time.” She stalled, wanting the pursuit to continue before she agreed to anything.

Luke smiled broadly, revealing his pleasure at her response.  “I do hope you’ll
take me up on
my offer.  They have delightful restaurants in Salzburg.  There’s one in particular that serves
an excellent
goulash.  Are you familiar?”

“Yes, goulash is a Hungarian dish, isn’t it?” Rebecca asked.
  She had never sampled it personally, but knew that it was a hearty stew consisting of a blend of meat and vegetables
spiced with paprika
.

“Indeed
, it is a Hungarian dish
. It makes a hearty meal for a hungry bachelor.” He grinned.  “
Their desserts are very Austrian, though, which translates as decadent.  They make the richest
Sacher Torte
I have ever tasted.”

Rebecca suddenly felt her stomach rumble and mouth water, aware that she had bypassed lunch amid the day’s activities.  She had no idea what a
Sacher Torte
was, but
if i
t was a dessert, then she wanted to taste it
.

“What is that dessert you just mentioned?”

“Dark chocolate cake with apricot jam.  It’s sinful.” Luke smiled enticingly at her, and she felt for a moment as though he were trying to lure her with more than just a torte.

Collecting her composure, she said primly, “Sounds lovely.  As I said, I’ll think about it.  For now, I must bid you good day.” She gave him a definitive nod that meant she was really going to leave this time, and he tipped his hat in response.

“Good day, Miss Meadow.”
  As he disappeared down the hallway, she could hear him say, “See you soon, neighbor.”

She stifled an amused giggle and headed upstairs to finally see her new living quarters.

*****

The following morning, Rebecca awoke with stiff shoulders and a neck
horribly
out of alignment.  Still, i
t had been a luxury to sleep in a room that was stationary, not rocking
nauseatingly
on the ocean or thumping
incessantly
over train tracks.  Add to that the fact that she did not have another audition to face, and Rebecca felt quite felicitous…until she remembered what she had to do that morning. 
Look for a job.

As she stretched in h
er bed, she felt assaulted by sharp
sensation
s
of dehydration and hunger.  There was no choice.  Before she sought work, she would have to eat breakfast or she would be completely useless.  Rebecca flung herself out of bed and walked over to her unpacked luggage.  Inside the suitcase, she found an ankle-length chartreuse dress with mandatory high collar buttoned all the way to the chin.  Rebecca felt like such a frump in these garments and wished that just once in her life
she could
own a high fashion gown that would not make her look like someone’s staid
great-aunt. 
This thought infused her with even more motivation to rise from the
mediocre
role of understudy to veritable operatic diva.  Snatching her parasol and key, Rebecca dashed out of the room and down the stairs, stopping on the fourth floor to notify Ryan where she was going.

As she paused in front of his room, she was surprised to see that the door was ajar.  “Ryan?  Are you in here?” She called from the doorway.

Luke Springwell
strutted over
to the door
, dressed to the nines in a black suit that made him look completely out o
f place in the grimy apartment.  He
greeted
her
with a smirk
, “
Guten Morgen
.  Wie geht’s
?”

Flustered by his presence as well as by his arrestingly handsome appearance in the black finery, Rebecca spun her head around.  “Do I have the wrong room?  I was looking for my brother, Ryan.”

“Yes, I’m right here.” Ryan hollered, walking to the door.  “Luke introduced himself to me yesterday and came by this morning so we could walk together to the rehearsal hall.”

“There’s a dress rehearsal for a symphony we’re performing tomorrow night.” Luke explained.  “That’s the reason for my
elaborate
attire.  Ryan won’t be performing in the symphony, but I thought it would be useful for him to attend a dress rehearsal and see how we do things.  Next week, we’ll all begin rehearsing for
The Magic Flute
.  Then you’ll need to be there as well, Rebecca.”

She
flinched, scandalized that he had called her by her first name in front of her brother.  Only yesterday he had referred to her as Miss Meadow, and she did not know
where he had gotten the idea that he could chat with her so familiarly
.  Perhaps she had given him too much encouragement.

“I’m glad you two have had a chance to become acquainted.  Have a goo
d time at the rehearsal, Ryan.  A
nd you too Mr. Springwell.”
She nodded curtly toward Luke.

“We don’t have to be formal with each other now, Rebecca.  We’re all going to be colleagues and hopefully great friends.” Luke said boldly.

“He’s right, Becky.
You can relax a little.  Your
shoulders look all bunched up.” Ryan commented, infuriating Rebecca.

“Yes, Becky, you should relax.” Luke teased
.

“First of a
ll, you may call me Rebecca,
not Becky.  Second of all,
Ryan
,”
she gritted the name, “if your
bed is anything like mine, then you’ll know how I feel this morning.  The mattress was so hard
and lumpy
, it was like sleeping on a pile of rocks!”

To her outrage, both men burst into laughter, causing her cheeks to flame hotter than her blazing hair
.

“The beds are rather harsh.” Luke admitted.  “I suppose it’s easier for a man to bear than a woman.”

“How’s
that?” She
asked
indignantly
.

“Men have stronger muscles and
can withstand discomfort more easily than women.” He reasoned, as Ryan traitorously nodded in agreement.

Now that her brother was a
chum
of Luke, she did not know if she still wanted to take that day trip to Salzburg. 
Upon returning, Luke and Ryan
would likely fall into uproarious laughter behind her back like two insolent little boys.

“I regret that I haven’t the time to engage in debate about the subtle differences between the genders and what their muscles can withstand, but I must be on my way.  Ryan, I believe you know what that means.” She looked desperately at her brother, hoping that he would allow for a graceful exit.

He furrowed his brow for a moment,
not sure what she meant.  Then
a glimmer of understanding came over his face and he replied, “Yes, Becky, I know you want to search for work, but do you really want to go on your own?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed impatiently
.
“I’ll be quite fine on my own and will let you know how things go.”

When Luke would have opened his big mouth to say something, Rebecca glided down the stairs and out into the sun
-kissed
morning.

*****

The streets of Vienna were peopled with businessmen walking briskly to their offices and young mothers pushing babies in carriages.  Rebecca immediately spotted a street vendor selling breakfast breads, which she hastened to purchase in a larger quantity than she normally would.  From the first nibble of sweet roll, she realized just how famished she had been. 
She gobbled down the rolls
quickly and continued along the main street, not quite sure what she was expecting to find. 
All the signs were written in German and, though Rebecca could understand the writing, she was too bashful in that language to saunter in and
ask for work
.  With her rudimentary vocabulary, any employer would probably laugh her right out of the building.  And Rebecca had endured enough mocking for one day.

She recalled with cheeks flaming afresh how impudent Luke Springwell had been to call her Becky and tease her so mercilessly right in front of her brother.  The worst
part was not that he had enjoyed the mockery, but that a part of her had as well. 
However she might like to pretend that he repelled her, she knew that they were opposite magnetic poles
inexorably
drawn to one another.  Even a morsel of mocking attention from him was better than none. 
But if he continued to treat her that way, she would not hesitate to shove it right back to him.  Growing up with two older brothers had taught her how to hold her own in any situation.