The Lorimer Legacy by Anne Melville Read Free Book Online Page A

will become more nervous, not less. And you will find my sister-in-law the perfect audience. She could not speak a critical word to anyone to save her life. What will you sing?’
    â€˜â€œChe faro senza Euridice”,’ answered Alexa. She had sung it to William on the previous evening, with tears in her voice for her own lost love. Now she would use it again to mark her entry into a new life.
    â€˜Do you speak Italian?’ It seemed that her choice, and the accent in which she announced it, had made a good impression.
    â€˜Yes, sir,’ answered Alexa. ‘My mother was Italian.’
    This answer too earned a nod of approval, and her confidence began to return. She had expected to accompany herself, but Mr Glanville sat down again at the piano and without needing a score began at once to play the introduction to Orpheus’s lament. Alexa sang aswell as she could, and was disappointed by the silence with which her performance was received.
    â€˜What makes you think you’re a contralto, Miss Lorimer?’ he demanded, turning on the piano stool to face her. His voice was so aggressive that Alexa’s heart sank. She was not good enough, then. It did not occur to her that the question was anything but sarcastic. The natural range of her voice was a wide one, and she had taught herself contralto arias mainly because her mother had been a contralto and had left her a box of music, too shabby to pawn or sell. Because the register had given her no trouble, Alexa had always taken it for granted that she was a contralto as well.
    Lady Glanville must have noticed the dismay on her face, for she gave a sweet smile. ‘I thought the child sang beautifully, Duncan,’ she said.
    â€˜Oh yes, yes. A pretty enough voice. But mezzo at the very lowest; and a full dramatic soprano if she holds her head up. Here, try again. We can take a few liberties with Gluck.’ He turned back to the piano and played a series of chords to show that he was transposing the aria upwards. Then he nodded at her to sing it once more.
    It was extraordinary what a difference the small change made. Instead of cradling her voice inside her chest, Alexa found that she had to stand up straighter, pull her shoulders back, project her voice outwards and upwards. She had no difficulty in reaching the higher notes, and now the sound was not merely adequate but glorious. Long before she came to the end she knew that she must have justified William’s request on her behalf. As the last note died away she found herself gasping, with excitement rather than breathlessness. Her eyes were bright and expectant – but once again her patron was slow to comment. This time it was because his attention had been distracted.
    Alexa turned to follow his gaze. A very tall man, his hair already streaked with silver, was standing in the doorway. Without being told, she felt sure that he must be Lord Glanville. He had the same immaculate appearance and aristocratic expression as the Honourable Duncan Glanville, but without the younger man’s trace of cruelty. He too was staring at her, but in a quite different manner from his brother’s earlier scrutiny. It was as though he could hardly believe what he had heard. As soon as he saw that he had been noticed, however, he nodded politely to Alexa but turned to speak to his wife.
    â€˜Fanny, my dear, are your boxes ready to be carried down?’
    â€˜All but the valise which is to travel in the carriage. I will see to that now.’
    Lord Glanville bent over the chaise longue to help his wife to her feet. Alexa, seeing the difficulty with which Lady Glanville moved, hurried to assist on the other side but then hesitated, wondering whether she was being presumptuous. Lady Glanville gave the same sweet smile with which she had encouraged Alexa before, and accepted the support of her arm as well as Lord Glan-ville’s. She walked with difficulty towards the foot of the stairs,