Cupid's Mistake (Cupid Regency Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

nothing, but seemed content for the while to look at her. His gaze seemed almost assessing—then he glanced away briefly, and she was sure she fancied the whole of it.
    "You play beautifully, my lord," Cassandra said. She felt she must say something, for his gaze and the silence had stretched out to an uncomfortable length. "I think the second movement of the sonata was especially well done."
    " You are musical, then, Miss Hathaway?"
    " Oh, I play the pianoforte, but I am in no way the virtuoso you are."
    " You flatter me, ma'am."
    Cassandra raised her eyes to his. "Oh, no, I never flatter. You must be quite an acclaimed musician, for I have heard many violinists, but you are far better than any I have heard so far."
    Blytheland began to feel a touch of boredom. He had heard these words before, from other quite insipid misses. That was why he generally kept himself to older, much more sophisticated women—fast widows preferably. He wondered if Miss Hathaway was going to gush out further tedious little phrases. It was just as well if she did—that would be the flaw he would concentrate upon, and thus banish any incipient interest he might have. He let his gaze wander away from her.
    "However, I did think you could have added a little more forte in the middle phrases of the first movement."
    Blytheland returned his gaze swiftly to Miss Hathaway 's face. Her expression was open and clear of guile or coquetry. Indeed, her brow creased in thought, and her eyes seemed to consider the subject seriously.
    " How so?" He wondered how much of music Miss Hathaway really knew.
    " Well, I have always believed that Herr Beethoven favored the pianoforte above any other instrument, and it is clear even in this sonata. However, it is a piano and violin sonata, and the composer gave the violin the opportunity to express itself in the middle phrases of the first movement by having the pianoforte play a less complex melody than the violin there. It was your opportunity to establish that this, indeed, was the violin's place. I felt you did not take complete advantage of the opportunity."
    The marquess did not know whether to feel delighted or annoyed. He looked at her large green eyes, her soft pink lips, and delicate skin. She dressed in good taste and becomingly—not daringly—but well enough to enhance her charms and hint at more intriguing assets.
    For now it could not hurt to be delighted, he decided. "You are quite right, Miss Hathaway. That passage has always been a difficult one for me, and I tend to take it with more caution and less spirit than I should."
    Miss Hathaway looked at him in a considering manner. "But you are clearly a most excellent musician. I would think you could easily overcome any difficulty and play it with ease."
    He now saw she said this with no intention to flatter. She furrowed her brow as if she were working out a puzzle, and she stated her opinion simply, as if she expected her reasoning would be taken seriously.
    Blytheland smiled. "I fear you vastly overrate my abilities."
    She gazed at him, her eyes earnest. "Oh, no, my lord. I fear you vastly underrate your abilities. I am excessively fond of music, and I have never heard anyone quite as proficient as you are." She reached over in an impulsive gesture and pressed his hand. "You really should have more confidence in yourself, Lord Blytheland," she said kindly. "How else can you continue to improve?"
    The marquess opened his mouth and then shut it, suddenly bereft of words. He wondered if she was aware that she praised and insulted in the same breath. And yet, he felt he could not take offense, for clearly she spoke nothing but what she perceived to be the truth, and clearly she meant well. A mischievous part of his mind wondered how other people took her blunt statements. It would be very, very amusing to see.
    "Improve?" he said, "and I thought you said I was of virtuoso status! I am sorely cast down, Miss Hathaway." He put on a look of extreme