Page 17 of My Blind Duke (The Twisted Dukes #5)

“ H ow does this sound?”

Melanie played a few notes, and although they were a little shaky on delivery, they still sounded nice.

Prudence smiled and nodded. “That is very good, poppet. Do you remember what those notes were?”

Melanie paused, then scribbled a few musical notes onto the blank page of her open book, before showing it to Prudence. The duchess beamed with pride.

“Yes, exactly. Excellent work. Play it again, this time sit up straighter and be bold. Do not be scared of making mistakes. We can always fix whatever we do not get right.”

“Yes ma’am,” Melanie beamed as she refocused on the keys beneath her fingers.

Prudence had thought Melanie and her father needed to spend some time together. Without Prudence’s influence or presence. While she had taken over the role of Melanie’s music instructor and they were doing nicely together, she had not forgotten the significance of the duke being the one to teach his daughter music.

And to her, there could be no better way to bond than with a common interest between them. Especially if it was something that meant so much to them that they could share.

So, Prudence had intended to teach Melanie just enough that they could create a project that would require the duke’s expertise. Somewhere along the line, she thought, ‘ Perhaps Melanie could write a song for him .’

When she had suggested it to the child, the girl had nervously shaken her head.

“I-I do not think I can do that. Papa says that writing songs is a very important skill, and I am not good enough to do it. What if I only embarrass myself?”

Prudence had held her gently and told her, “He would not care about anything like that. All he would see and acknowledge is the effort and time you dedicated to doing this for him. He would understand that you cared about him so much, you have a piece of the life that meant so much to him. He loves you, Melanie. And I am sure he would be happy to receive whatever you give to him.”

The child eventually agreed and they had gotten to work.

Prudence firstly did everything she could to teach Melanie the basic notes, armed with a music book she had found in the library and her somewhat reliable knowledge of the pianoforte. Then together, they tried their hand at songwriting but simply played a few keys to find what sounded good.

It took them a few days of trial and error, which was laced with frustration and mirth. Every time an idea did not come together, there was a moment of immense happiness that came from playfully tinkering with the piano.

Melanie was always flushed with excitement, and watching her made Prudence feel like a proud mother, a notion she ignored because she had already overstepped with the duke. She did not wish to do the same with his daughter, even if she apparently liked her.

Finally, the song was ready and Prudence had Melanie invite the duke himself.

“B-But what if he says no?” Melanie stuttered, looking close to tears.

“He will not,” Prudence said to her gently. “And I will be there with you the whole time.”

True to her word, Prudence had followed Melanie to speak with her father, both of them slipping into the study when they were permitted to.

“Yes?” William asked from where he was seated at his desk.

Melanie was clearly nervous, so Prudence held onto her hand and gave it a small, encouraging squeeze.

The child took a deep breath and spoke up courageously, “Papa, Her Grace has been teaching me how to play the piano, and I wrote a song. I would like to play it for you if you would be so kind as to listen to me.”

William paused for a moment, then he said, “I would be honored, Melanie. When do you want to play for me?”

The child perked up immediately. “N-Now. I can play it for you now, Papa,” she said eagerly.

William nodded and then rose to his feet, walking around the desk to stand before her.

“Lead the way, then.”

Excitedly, Melanie all but dragged Prudence to the music room, with the duke following closely behind. Once they were inside, Melanie let go of Prudence’s hand to go and hold her father’s so she could lead him to the seat they had prepared for him.

Then she went to settle herself on the bench before the piano, wriggling her fingers to stretch them out as she straightened her posture. She looked at Prudence who gave her a nod of encouragement and then she started to play.

Although the duchess had been right next to Melanie as she practiced the song, and they had even written it together, she was left in awe of the child’s performance. She had noticed that Melanie had an easy time grasping the constructs of pianoforte, and she sounded better each time she played.

Perhaps she had inherited her genius from her father. Although Prudence had yet to receive the honor of listening to William play, she believed Melanie wholly when the child said her father was a great musician. William exuded a distinguished air that most artists Prudence had seen in passing seemed to carry with them.

While Melanie played, Prudence watched William’s face, taking note of the smallest changes in his expression. Still, it was hard to tell what he was thinking, and when the playing stopped, the room was deathly silent.

“Well?” Melanie asked, uncertainly.

“You… you wrote that?” William asked silently.

Melanie shifted nervously. “Pru – I mean, Her Grace did help me–”

“Do not be modest, darling. You came up with most of it, all on your own,” Prudence cut in, ensuring William knew just how wonderful his daughter was.

It seemed she did not need to do much because William began to clap.

“Bravo! That was truly splendid, Melanie! Absolutely phenomenal!”

Melanie perked up, cheeks red with pride. “Really, Papa?”

William nodded. “Yes, dear. I am truly so proud. That was beautiful.”

“Thank you, Papa. I am so glad you like it… because I was hoping we could play it together?”

Uncertainty crossed William’s face.

“I do not think that is… I would not want to ruin your lovely piece, Melanie.”

“You would not! I wrote it for us, so I would love to have you try your hand at it.”

Prudence saw William felt as though he would not be able to give Melanie what she wanted but she hoped he would try nonetheless.

“I… all right. But… do not expect too much,” he mumbled, moving toward the piano.

Melanie beamed up at him as he settled down next to her, practically purring as he patted her head.

“Papa, you are the greatest musician there is! You will do great.”

“I will not be. I cannot read the sheet music,” William admitted. “So, I think you should play the song again, and I will try to follow your lead the second time around.”

“All right, Papa.” Melanie nodded and immediately turned to the piano.

Just like she had the first time, she played splendidly. The whole time her fingers danced across the keys delicately, William had his eyes closed and Prudence could see his hands moving but no extra notes hit the air. When Melanie finished, he opened his eyes.

“Can you try it with me now?” Melanie asked.

William nodded and then he rested his hands on the keys, waiting for Melanie’s lead.

After what felt like a long pause, Melanie started and William followed, both of them creating the most beautiful melodies Prudence had ever heard before.

Father and daughter wore pinched expressions that portrayed how focused they were and it was going so well… until William pressed down on the wrong key and a harsh note pierced the air.

“Ah–”

“It is all right, Papa. I made lots of mistakes when I started learning. And Her Grace says mistakes are proof that more greatness exists within,” Melanie consoled.

“Did she now?”

Prudence swallowed as his eyes flickered toward where she was standing. She wished she could do something to help make it easier.

“Shall we try again?”

Reluctantly, William agreed, and just like before, Melanie led, and he followed. However, this time, it did not take long for disaster to strike.

Because while the last mistake had been a singular wrong note that broke the song, this one was a melody of wrong notes that completely diverged in the opposite direction of the song. Almost as if he thought he knew the right notes and was confident in that thought, only to play a bunch of wrong notes.

Melanie was quick to reassure him, just like before.

“It is fine, Papa. I–”

“I do not want to do this any longer,” William stated, rising onto his feet.

“No, Papa, wait. We can–”

“No, Melanie. I cannot do this, and I feel ridiculous for not only believing I could for a moment but also for trying. This was a waste of time,” he snapped coldly.

Melanie’s eyes filled with tears and she began to cry, running out of the room.

“Melanie,” Prudence called out after her, hurt to see the child so upset.

Suddenly, she felt immensely annoyed and whirled around to face the duke.

“How on earth could you be so cruel? She had spent countless hours working on that song. She was so excited to share it with you, and this is how you treat her? She is a child! Would it be so difficult for you to be just a little more delicate with her?”

“You,” William pointed at her, seething. “This is your fault. You did this! You are so focused on getting Melanie what she wants, and you assume that I do not want that, too. Do you have any idea how ridiculous I feel? To fail spectacularly at the one thing I did for a living? The thing I loved for as long as I have been alive? You are constantly forcing me into situations without consideration, and now, not only have you wasted my daughter’s efforts, but you have also assisted me in humiliating myself before her. I truly hope you are satisfied now.”

Prudence felt her heart sink. She had not thought about it like that, how difficult it must have been for him to struggle with something he had loved so much before. While it had occurred to her, she had been so focused on getting Melanie’s efforts to shine through, rather than also providing William with the ease he deserved.

She stepped toward him, trying to apologize.

“Your Grace, I did not–”

“I do not want to hear anything else from you. You have meddled with me and my family enough.”

He then turned away and left the room.

Prudence felt sad and ashamed, wondering if perhaps she had ruined things beyond repair for them.

All she had hoped for was to bridge the gap between father and daughter. It pained her to see them so estranged from one another. Prudence had lost her own father so young but was so fortunate to have her mother.

With the way the duke had put up so many walls, discouraged by his disability, it made things look as though Melanie were an orphan, seeking out attention and validation from whoever she could get it from.

The child deserved better. As did William.

But perhaps I should never have gotten involved at all.

Prudence left the music room, heading down the hall toward Melanie’s room. It did not surprise her when she knocked at the child’s door and received no response. Neither did the sight of her empty room surprise her.

Instead of leaving, Prudence strode inside, toward the large wardrobe in the corner of the room, and knocked against one of the doors.

“Go away,” was heard, with sniffles.

“I only wish to ensure that you are all right, dear. I understand how upsetting this must be–”

“No! You do not! You have no idea what it feels like to be hated by your father. I only wanted to… I wanted to impress him. But I just humiliated him instead. And now he is upset with me,” Melanie cried.

“He is not upset with you, poppet.”

He is upset with me .

But Prudence knew bringing that up would not help matters.

“I assure you, he does not blame you for what happened. He was just… struggling a little. And he did not want you to witness that,” she continued gently.

“He should,” came a muffled reply.

Prudence frowned. “He should what, dear?”

“He should blame me. I know it is my fault.”

Prudence decided to open the door of the wardrobe then. “Sweetheart, no. The fault is not yours at all. I should have prepared better –”

“You do not understand,” Melanie shook her head, the annoyed action sending her curls bouncing. “I-I heard the servants talking. Years ago. Papa had… papa got in the fire to save me. And that was when he lost his sight. If he had not–”

“Melanie, stop. There is absolutely no way he would have chosen any other course of action than to save you. No one filled with love for their child would do otherwise. And that is how I know he does love you. He cares for your improvement, he worries for your future, and he is so proud of you today. Do not let yourself believe that he does not value you. Because he does. More so than anything in the world,” Prudence told her, hoping with everything she had that the child would believe her.

“I wish he would tell me so himself,” Melanie muttered, burying her tear-streaked face in her arms.

Prudence sighed, reaching out to pat the girl’s hair.

“As do I, darling.”