Page 1 of A Song in the Dark

The melody inside Chaisley fought with the excited butterflies in her stomach. Which would be released first?

Light shimmered on the shiny black and white keys.

Her birthday present.

The golden letters spelled out Steinway.

Chaisley Frappier’s heart leapt. It was all hers. She slid her hand along each of the eighty-eight keys, counting them again as she went. Their surface reminded her of touching Grandmother’s silver serving dishes. Polished and smooth.

“Go on, darling.” Mother stood in the circle of Father’s arms. “Try it out.”

Chaisley nodded. Couldn’t keep the grin from her face.

Father had indulged her initial curiosity by giving her an old, dusty text on musical theory.

The binding was falling apart—and if she didn’t hold it just right, pages would fall out—but oh, how she loved that book.

The music room had been commissioned not long after she’d read the entire text and shared with them at every meal each new piece of information that fascinated her.

She’d riddled her private tutor with questions about everything she didn’t understand.

And soaked in every bit of knowledge as she waited the long months for her very own pianoforte.

Until one day, her teacher informed her parents that she needed a specialized music tutor because he no longer had answers for all her questions.

Another thing to wait for... but to finally have the explanation for the music that seeped from her bones? It was glorious to think about. Grandmother told her such words made her sound much older than her ten years. But all of her time was spent with adults so what other words would she use?

As she sat on the padded bench, she let her legs dangle for a moment, relishing the beauty of the instrument before her. She reached out her right hand to stroke the silky keys again.

The notes resonated within her. Her left hand joined her right.

Touching, caressing, feeling each key as she pressed them to hear the individual sounds.

Each tone.

Her eyes couldn’t leave the piano. She closed the cover with the pretty gold letters over the keys and walked around the instrument. While she understood the basics—the keys made the hammers hit the strings, and they resonated with the sound—it still amazed her. She had so many questions!

“That’s called the fallboard.” Father pointed to the cover and followed her around.

When she stopped in the big curve on the right side, he lifted the massive lid and placed a leg-looking stick into a rounded upside-down cup on the underside. The lid stayed open and her eyes widened at the glorious construction inside.

“That’s the lid prop. And look. If we want it open, but a bit lower, we simply use the shorter leg.” He smiled, and his eyes danced.

Like she imagined her own must look as she took in her new treasure.

Giggles escaped, and she couldn’t stop them—nor did she wish to.

She ran another circle around the piano, twirled around twice when she reached the bench, and then sat down again with a flounce.

She lifted the fallboard and slid her index finger over the lettering and then tested out every one of the keys over and over again.

Watching the hammers hit the strings, the reflection of her hands in the ebony mirror of the lid, and the precision of movement—she was in heaven. For a whole year, she’d waited.

And it had finally come.

Music radiated within her. Soon she’d be able to transfer the music from her heart to the keys.

She just knew it. Everything was mathematical—and she adored math.

Measured in half steps, the keyboard was laid out in a pattern.

Different combinations of keys would make chords .

.. major, minor, augmented, diminished.

Everything she’d read came alive before her very eyes.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart.” The faint hint of his French and Dutch ancestry came out in his accent. “We’ve hired a master teacher to come see you. Your first lesson is”—he glanced at his pocket watch just as the chime for the front door rang—“right now.”

Chaisley did her best to stay proper on the bench. “Truly?”

He nodded and tapped the end of her nose. “Let’s see if you can put all that book learning to good use.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Be brave, my little munchkin. He’s a very tall man and looks intimidating, but he’s the best of the best.”

She shifted her gaze back to the six-foot grand piano.

Another small giggle escaped her and she placed her hands over her lips as if she held a magical secret.

And she did. “Dr. G is very tall too.” Father’s best friend and their family physician—Dr. Grafton—had been bringing her additional books on music for several months.

Tchaikovsky’s Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony and Rameau’s Treatise on Harmony were her current favorites.

Dr. Grafton understood her longing to release the music inside her because he said he had that longing too.

Even though she’d never played an instrument in her life, Chaisley understood music.

“Well, I see she is enchanted by her present.” Mum’s voice drifted into her awareness. “We’ll be in the parlor, sweetheart, if you need us.”

The hour with Monsieur Beaufort fed her soul and opened up her mind to the vast universe of music. And she didn’t have to work at being brave. Several times, she’d caught her teacher with his mouth open. Then he’d mumble under his breath in French that he’d never seen a child as gifted as she.

Three hours after his departure, she remained on the padded bench. Her fingers giving life to a melody etched onto her soul.

“Chaisley, my goodness.” Her silver-haired grandmother—her favorite person other than her mother and father—entered the music room.

“You’ve been in here for hours tinkering away.

” Grandmother’s accent was thicker than her father’s, and Chaisley loved to listen to the cadence of her words. Like music itself.

Chaisley tore her eyes from the piano. “It’s so beautiful, Grandmother. I couldn’t help myself.”

Grandmother pulled a tapestry-covered wing-backed chair up next to the bench and sat.

“Did you know that Steinway pianos were founded by a man from my mother’s home country?

They’ve made the best pianos in the world since the 1850s.

When your father wanted to surprise you with one, I heartily agreed that it was the only piano we should buy.

” She ran her hand over the sleek gold lettering, just like Chaisley had done.

“It is indeed beautiful, child. As is your music. I could hardly believe my ears.”

“It’s like it’s all trapped inside me, just waiting to burst forth and get out.”

“You’ve always been an old soul, Chaisley. Your words, your mannerisms. You’ve just turned ten years old today, and yet you talk like someone twice your age.” Grandmother winked at her. “Maybe that’s why we get along so well, my dear. My blond-haired, blue-eyed little cherub.”

Grandmother’s wrinkled hand reached out and touched Chais ley’s cheek. Old soul . She’d overheard the grown-ups whispering that about her before. Was that why she didn’t have any friends her own age?

Mother and Father walked into the room and that was when she noticed that the shadows of the tall windows had grown across the floor.

Mother walked over and pulled Chaisley into her arms. “Are you happy, dear?”

“Oh, yes. Thank you so very much.” Happy didn’t even begin to describe everything that danced within her.

Father winked, the glimmer in his eyes just like his mother’s. “Maybe this will give you something to do other than burying your nose in your books.”

Mother patted her hand. “There’s nothing wrong with reading books, darling. Your father is teasing. Now, let’s get you ready. We’ve planned a party for you at your favorite restaurant this evening.”

Food and a party sounded like fun, but ... Oh, how she wanted to stay at her precious piano. With a longing glance at it over her shoulder, she pasted on a smile. The piano would be there after the party.

Grandmother cleared her throat and stood. Chaisley saw tender understanding in her eyes. “Come on, little one. I’ll help you get dolled up for your ten-year celebration.”

Chaisley presse d her cheek against the back window of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost limousine.

Silver Ghost . From the day her father showed her the new automobile, Chaisley loved to repeat the name.

She could imagine it came from a fairy tale.

A melody line immediately formed in her mind.

As the music swelled and grew into a symphony of story, she closed her eyes and allowed it to play.

The sonata of the Silver Ghost finished with a flourish, and she drew in her breath.

She was ... what? Content. Yes, that was it.

Not only did the music inside her have a way to come to life now, but she’d begun to understand the structure of it.

It made sense. Logical and yet beautifully mysterious.

She could hardly wait for tomorrow’s lesson with Monsieur Beaufort.

A little chill raced up her arms and she replayed her new composition in her head.

“Perhaps we should ask Gerard to drop us off a few blocks away so we could take a stroll together. It’s such a lovely evening.”

Mum’s words caused Chaisley to open her eyes and blink away the music. “Oh, could we? By the fountain? I could make a wish on my birthday!” She bounced on her seat as she faced her parents in the back of the long car.

Her dad chuckled. “Of course. Change seats with me, Chais.” They did so, and he tapped on the glass behind him and spoke to Gerard.

If only Grandmother could have come with them! But she’d had a sudden bad headache, and as much as she wanted to come, she couldn’t.