Page 20 of A Song in the Dark

Fine. She’d read the rest and just see how Chaisley felt about it then. “‘While Miss Frappier’s loss is tragic, it should come as no surprise that her German ancestry’” —she nearly spat the words—“‘is a testament to her overcoming all obstacles and shining as the best of the best.’”

“They make it sound as if I’m one of Hitler’s Aryan purebloods .

.. and oh, she wasn’t born this way, it was a horrible accident.

Someone else’s fault.” Chaisley wrinkled her nose but then chuckled.

“My grandmother’s parents were German. That’s a bit far removed to make such a statement, don’t you think?

And what difference does it make whether a person is born blind or becomes blind? ”

Now she sounded riled. Good.

Melanie shook the paper. “What message does this article send? Do you think people will assume that you align yourself with the Nazis since you’re playing in front of Hitler? I mean, the headline says you’re playing for him.”

Chaisley frowned. “I can’t worry about that right now.

I’ve decided to make contacts like Dr. G suggested.

There are plenty of schools and universities for me to play at as well as concert halls on this tour.

That will give us more opportunities to connect with people if the prospects arise.

While I don’t relish the thought of playing in front of Hitler, there are people in Germany who might need us more than we know.

We must move forward as planned and see what we can do to stop the evil. ”

Melanie sat down beside her and grabbed her hand. “I know. And I want to help too ... but I don’t like how this has made me feel. I’m worried.” Which, in all honesty, was too tame a word for her feelings right now. They were in a tempest.

The facade of peace she had crafted over the last few weeks lay shattered. It was one thing to try to figure out how to help people in need. But now that everyone knew Chaisley was blind ... what would happen?

It was a nightmare. And what did Chaisley’s grandmother think?

Did she even know? Did Dr. Grafton? Was this a threat to the network in any way?

Her friend said she felt the Lord’s prompting to share about her disability, but how was that helpful when she was about to perform before a man who hated anyone who was less than perfect? This didn’t feel brave.

It felt stupid.

Dangerous.

Melanie glanced at Chaisley. Her friend’s shoulders were rigid. Her chin tilted up. It would be no use to voice her concerns at the moment, but perhaps she should reach out to Dr. Grafton. Make sure he knew what Chaisley was up to.

“Mel...” Her friend leaned forward. “I’m worried too.

I’m sorry I’ve put you in the middle of this, but I just found out this morning that any Jew with a Polish passport who has been living in Germany for more than five years has had their passport suspended.

With this economy, Poland can’t support tens of thousands of people returning.

Which means those in Germany are stuck in a country where they are despised and at risk.

” Her friend’s hands were clenched tight in her lap, knuckles white.

“I fear this is just the beginning of what is to come for them. And with the forced sterilizations and what the Nazis might do to disabled children in the future? I can’t stand by and do nothing. ”

Melanie blinked. Chaisley trembled, bright red spots blooming in her pale cheeks. All signs of calm and equanimity had disappeared. Her friend’s shoulders curved inward, almost as if she were collapsing in on herself.

Oh.

Oh.

Melanie’s cheeks warmed as blood flooded her face, the heat of it almost unbearable. If anyone was blind in this friendship, it was she. How had she not guessed Chaisley’s true motive?

She closed her eyes. Because she had been so tied up in her own emotions, her need to do something more , that she missed how afraid Chaisley was.

She sat down in her chair again and reached for her friend’s hand, prying her fingers apart.

Chaisley carried herself with such poise and grace it was easy to forget that she was ever afraid.

She smoothed her friend’s hand with her fingers. “Oh, Chais. I’m so sorry.”

A choked sob rattled Chaisley’s chest. “It could have been me, Mel. If my family stayed in Germany all those years ago ... I could be one of the pour souls caught in this evil.” She put her other hand on top of Melanie’s, clinging to it.

“How can I hide what God has given to me ... what has turned out to be a gift? I can’t stay in the shadows any longer.

Not while I have a voice and can do something about this. ”

Their clasped hands blurred as unshed tears filled Melanie’s eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me how you were feeling?”

Chaisley turned toward the sound of her voice. “Why haven’t you told me about your anxiety?”

She should have known she couldn’t keep anything from her all-too-perceptive friend. “We’re a pair, aren’t we?” Melanie huffed out a laugh and let go of Chaisley’s hand to blow her nose.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“And you didn’t answer mine.”

Chaisley tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair.

“What are we going to do?”

Chaisley’s jaw set. “I’m going to keep my ears open, make contacts, and pray that God shows us. Besides that, I’m not really sure. But one thing seems certain. On Sunday, I’m going to play the piano in front of Adolf Hitler.”

Vienna, Austria—Sunday, April 10, 1938 The Golden Hall of the Musikverein

Chaisley tuned out everything around her until the silence engulfed her. Not a sound existed in the great hall until she allowed a long exhale to escape her lips. Her fingers found the keys, and she began Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu to warm up her fingers.

Memories washed over her. Grandmother sitting at her side while she practiced this, her favorite piece.

Grandmother’s pride when, at the age of twelve, Chaisley mastered the difficult rhythm of four against three in a matter of days.

As soon as Chaisley heard the beautiful song, she knew she had to learn it and begged her teacher for a braille copy.

She’d had the entire score memorized in the span of an afternoon.

Another memory surfaced as her fingers flew over the keys—Grandmother asking her, just before Chaisley headed out on her first worldwide tour, to play Fantasie for her one last time on the piano her parents gave her. The smells and sounds of her childhood home flooded her senses...

Cinnamon and orange from her favorite scones baking in the kitchen. The clinking of the china tea service on the rolling tray as Cook brought it in, Grandmother’s tender voice: “No matter what, my dear, always use your gift for the Lord. He gave it to you.”

Chaisley could almost feel the strong yet weathered hand on her face as the memory rushed over her.

“And maybe, one day, when there is no more threat of another Great War, you may return to my homeland, and play for the people there ... I know England has been your home, but you are also a child of Holland. Promise me you will go and play for my people someday...”

Chaisley shook her head as her fingers found the last E flat. She was fulfilling that promise on this trip. But was it enough?

The braille letter she’d received from Dr. G had been eye-opening.

Challenging. The man was using the fortune he’d inherited from his family to help people escape the Nazis.

He expressed time and again that he didn’t want her to worry.

What he was doing was what God had called him to do, and he encouraged her to pray about how God could use her on this tour.

She’d smiled at that. How like the Lord to send her the encouragement she needed, to fan the spark He’d already lit into a flame. Now it was just a matter of what.

Chaisley rubbed her fingers on the keys for a moment, the smooth ivory comforting and familiar. Show me, Lord. Everything around her stilled as she waited.

Then one idea.

And another.

Her hand rose to her chest, pressing against the deep ache gnawing at her. But in the midst of the swirl of her thoughts, a wild plan formed in her mind.

Could she pull it off?

Grandmother had made it clear that she was using her final years on this earth—and whatever financial resources she had—to help others. What would the Nazis do to Grandmother if they knew she was helping the Jews? Germany had already taken Austria, what if they went after Holland next?

In her mind she could hear the soldiers marching into Amsterdam, whistles blowing, people screaming, as the Gestapo arrested anyone they desired.

Clamping her eyelids shut, Chaisley willed the horrific thoughts away. There was no turning back now. The wheels had been set in motion. And nothing could make her grandmother give up her cause.

Chaisley had that same determination with her music. But now... Now the Lord was asking her if she would use that tenacity and drive in a different way.

The time to act was upon her. Yes, Lord. A settled feeling swept over her. Almighty God would guide her steps. And she would follow Him.

She stretched her arms above her head and rotated her neck in circles. Melanie and Rick would be done securing her dressing room at any moment. Whatever they had planned, she trusted them. She was here to warm up on the piano and test it out. It was time to play the part.

Scales flowed from her fingertips. First, all the major keys. Then all the minors. Natural, harmonic, and melodic. Arpeggios were next.

In the middle of C# minor, the unmistakable throat clearing of the conductor she’d met when they arrived sounded to her right. “I’m sorry for the interruption, Fr?ulein Frappier. Is the instrument satisfactory?”

Chaisley turned her head toward his voice. “Yes, it is, but the tuning in the eighth octave is off, and the tension is a little loose there as well. I’m sure you can rectify that before tonight’s concert.”