Page 4 of Magic in the Music (Magic and Mysteries #4)
Cassian marched out of the billiards room to be away from Chedworth, Ares, Ajax and their juvenile teasing.
One would think they were lads at Eton for the way they carried on in trying to get him to admit that he had wanted to take Lady Samantha to the Sacred Grove.
No matter how many times he reminded them that it had been Eugenia who told him to do so, and that it would have been rude to reject her command, they insisted that he had gone because he had wanted to be alone with Lady Samantha.
He denied their accusations because he would never let on that he had been infatuated with her for weeks. Still, they had persisted, much to his irritation, behaving like younger siblings.
As he took the stairs to the first level of the manor, he paused and listened. Music was coming from down the corridor. A sweet melody that lightened his mood and filled his being with peace.
Something that he had not felt in…he could not remember.
It was then he recalled what Lady Samantha had told him earlier. If she were the one playing, then he was assured that she was filled with peace. Unless she was being mindful and not letting her emotions affect the notes.
When he reached the music room, he paused at the entrance and simply leaned against the door jamb to watch and listen.
Her eyes were closed, dark lashes against alabaster skin, and she swayed as her hands trailed from one end of the keyboard to the other, then playing in the middle.
Lady Samantha was lost in her music and if that were the case, she was at peace.
The tranquil beauty of Lady Samantha was stunning, and he was continually surprised at his reaction to her. He had seen her daily these past weeks, yet there were still moments, such as this, that took him aback at the perfection that was Lady Samantha, unmatched by anyone else.
Mahogany curls caressed her shoulders and her coral lips were parted as if the music moved her to ecstasy.
Could music have that effect on people?
Perhaps if she wished it to.
He remained exactly where he was as she continued to play, lost in a world where he had not been invited and one that she embraced alone.
He wanted to be with her, to experience the bliss that flowed from her fingertips each time she touched an ivory key and threw a blanket of calm and peace over everyone who was lucky enough to hear.
Except, he wasn’t only experiencing the calm, but anxiousness and an excitement slowly burned within his belly of wanting and need…to have her.
Passion and desire.
Lady Samantha had admitted that if she was not mindful, what she experienced would be felt by others when she played, which begged the question: was what he currently experienced coming from within his own being or from her music?
Oh, how he wished that he knew because he wanted to bask in this desire and peace that flooded his body along with a yearning so strong and never experienced before, that he was not certain what to do.
His first instinct was to cross the room, take Lady Samantha in his arms and kiss her deeply.
Except then she would stop playing and he wasn’t quite ready for the music to end.
Yet, it pulled at him and spoke to his soul on a level deep within.
Reaching the darkest places that he had ignored for so long.
Where he stored his dreams and wishes that were not possible to achieve.
Except, she made him believe that they were.
As her chin dropped and fingers slowed, Cassian wanted to object because he wanted her to keep playing.
Yet, despite his wishes, the song came to an end with her hands rested on the final notes, eyes closed, and a contented smile on her lips before Lady Samantha sighed and looked up.
All Cassian could do was smile and applaud as he approached. “You do play marvelously.”
Her cheeks deepened to a lovely rose as she glanced away. “Thank you.”
“Tell me, are you truly feeling so peaceful and calm.” He would ask if she were also filled with desire, but that would not have been appropriate.
Lady Samantha tilted her chin and frowned. “Is that what you experienced?”
* * *
“Yes,” he answered. “But that was not all.”
Thank goodness she had shielded herself before she began to play or Mr. Jourdain would not be peaceful. He would instead be suffering from disquiet and infatuation.
“I did tell you that I must be mindful when I play.” She’d not tell him that she was not at peace but would let him believe what he wished.
“I also experienced yearning.” He frowned and shook his head. “I have rarely felt anything but enjoyment when listening to a song.”
Neither peace, nor yearning, had been in her soul.
Nor was it a song to produce either emotion.
She had chosen a piece that was powerful and chaotic, one that she loved to play when tension needed to be released or she had too much energy in her body and it needed to be expelled.
A song that caused her pulse to pound and set a soul on edge waiting for the tempo to crest before it slowly died into silence.
Yet, he had experienced peace and yearning.
It was something she would need to ponder at a later time.
“You should play more often,” he said after a moment.
“I do not make a practice of it when I am not in my own home.”
“That would be a mistake. I very much enjoyed hearing you play.”
Her face heated, and Samantha could not meet his eyes. She had been complimented on her playing before, but it was a gift she had been given, nothing she had earned. Yet to hear his praise elicited pride. “Thank you, Mr. Jourdain.”
“Cassian.”
She glanced up to meet his silver eyes, lighter than she had previously noted.
“Please, call me Cassian.”
“I…um could not…it would not…” Goodness, why was she suddenly stammering?
“Everyone else does and it feels odd to be called Mr. Jourdain. In fact, I have not been addressed in that manner since I left school.”
“Where you studied hard,” she teased, though surprised that she was able to given her sudden embarrassment.
“Yes.” He chuckled.
He chuckled!
This was the first time that she had heard such a reaction from him.
Had her music unintentionally lifted a burden? Nothing could have made her happier if her playing had brought him peace even with yearning.
“Will you?” His voice intruded on her thoughts. “Call me Cassian.”
“I will try,” she finally answered, though not certain it would be possible. Calling him by his given name was too intimate, but she was the only person at Nightshade Manor who addressed him as Mr. Jourdain…
“There the two of you are.”
Samantha startled and looked behind Mr. Jour…Cassian to find Petra entering the music room.
“What are you doing in here?” Petra asked.
Samantha stiffened. The question may be innocent, but the music in her tone was teasing and insinuated that more than music was occurring between her and Cassian.
“I stumbled across Samantha playing the piano and was riveted.”
He had not addressed her simply as Samantha before but she did not mind that he left off Lady . It added a layer of friendship that she truly hoped would deepen.
“Yes, yes, she plays well,” Petra dismissed. “Though, I have never known you to appreciate music before.”
Petra was now seeking to learn more and eyed Cassian with suspicion.
“Perhaps this was the first time I came across someone worth listening to,” he countered.
“Yes, I am certain that was it,” Petra offered dryly. “Dinner is soon to be served. Come along.”
She turned and practically skipped from the room as if she had a secret, which she did not, and whatever Petra thought, Samantha had to convince her that she was wrong.