Free Abandon by Jerusha Moors Page B

said.
    “Hmm, Mozart. I prefer the Baroque period.” Lucy sniffed and settled her reticle in her lap.
    “I prefer Beethoven. So much more romantic, don’t you think?” Aubrey smirked at her and tapped the program. “Ahh, but here at the end he is performing some Paganini. I heard him play when I was in Italy and he was a virtuoso. We will see if Monsieur LeTours can compare.”
    Lucy eyed Aubrey curiously but then the maestro lifted his bow and began. The violinist seemed quite competent to her and she relaxed, enjoying the Violin Concerto in D Major as the music flowed around them. Almost immediately George’s head bowed and his eyes closed as he settled in for a nap. Harriet looked and rolled her eyes, but did not wake him. Aubrey, on the other hand, was rapt, thoroughly engrossed in the performance. But Aubrey was an artist and although not a musician, still sensitive to the creative world. She watched him surreptitiously when he closed his eyes, the better to absorb the music. He was clearly listening and not asleep like poor George. Lucy wondered at the sensitivity of this man who could so clearly appreciate fine arts but ignore the susceptibility of a young girl.

Chapter Eleven
     
     
    The cool air outside the Sedgemont’s home was welcoming after the heat inside the music room. Lucy, Aubrey, Harriet, and George waited with other attendees for their carriage to arrive at the front of the line. George was quite refreshed after his nap and happily expounded on the virtues of violin music for sleeping versus the issues involved with applause at a musicale being a detriment to that same sleeping. Harriet was laughing merrily, not at all embarrassed at her fiancé’s faux pas. Indeed, at least half the men and a few of the older ladies had also recouped some energy from napping.
    Aubrey was smiling, but he appeared distracted. He had admitted that the maestro had played the Paganini quite well, and he had acted the escort for Lucy during the intermission, fetching a drink and then staying by her side.
    Lucy did not know what to make of him. He did not seem interested in any of the other young women that thronged the rooms, even as she had pointed out a few of the more eligible ladies, hoping that one of them might attract him. In the depths of her heart it would have crushed her if he had abandoned her for another, but he had stayed true, never leaving her elbow.
    George’s carriage arrived and they all got in. Lucy settled next to Harriet, a little weary. She had been tense all day, waiting to hear back from Jamie. And then he had deserted her so easily. Lucy knew that she had taken advantage of him, but for him to strand her with Aubrey, well, that was beyond the pale. Of course, she could not confide the real reason she needed his escort, so he probably thought she was just being frivolous. She could not fault him in truth.
    Conversation was desultory on the ride back home. It wasn’t until they reached Harriet’s home that she realized she had a dilemma. Aubrey had perked up and was watching her as Harriet stepped out of the carriage, George handing her down to escort her up her steps. But Lucy had not made a motion to get out and in the dim carriage lamps she could see Aubrey waiting for an explanation. Even if she stepped down from the carriage here, it was too late and too dark for her to walk the three blocks to her brother’s townhouse all alone.
    George stepped back into the carriage and sat next to Aubrey. He smiled and said, “Since you are both residing next door to each other for the time being, there is just one more stop until I can find my own pillow.” He chuckled and added, “As if I haven’t got enough sleep tonight.”
    Lucy nodded with a small smile, determined not to respond as Aubrey’s eyebrows rose higher on his forehead. George was a wonderful man, so sweet and perfect for Harriet, but she should have anticipated this dilemma. If Carlisle had taken her home, she would not have