Heart Strings (Music of the Heart Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

replacement.”
    Alex’s mouth opened in surprise. “You play the pianoforte?”
    “No, sir, I am a harpist.”
    Alex took a quick measure of her, his passionate Italian features taking on a speculative edge. “I do not have time for little girls with illusions of grandeur. Leave at once!”
    Unimpressed with his temper, she remained composed. “I assure you sir, I am very accomplished. My last master was Phillip Schlomovitz and I studied under him for four years.”
    Her declaration took him aback. “Schlomovitz, you say?”
    “Yes, sir,” she said with quiet firmness. “If you give me a copy of the score, I am confident I will prove myself adequate.”
    Still, Alex hesitated.
    The waif’s quiet courage and determination, not to mention her outward serenity against an angry man twice her size won Kit’s admiration. Besides, Kit remembered all too well what it was like to beg for a chance to prove himself as a musician.
    “Give her a chance, Alex,” Kit said. “You gave me one. With curtain half an hour away, we’ve little to lose.”
    Alex threw up his hands. “Oh, very well.” He gestured to the resident harp at the back of the orchestra pit behind the second violin section. “Impress me.”
    The girl’s smile lit up her face, turning her plainness into a thing of, well, perhaps not beauty, but at least less bland. She picked her way through the string section to the harp. The girl set down her portmanteau and removed her coat revealing a thin figure and a faded, threadbare gown that a servant would have been embarrassed to wear. Discarding her hat displayed a thick head of dark hair twisted into a knot trying to pass for a hairstyle his sister called a chignon. Hairpins, he supposed, were an expense she could not afford. She removed the harp cover with a practiced tug and adeptly tuned the instrument with long, slender fingers.
    Kit joined her in the back of the orchestra pit. After rosining his bow and tuning his violin to her harp, he waited for her to warm up with a series of scales and arpeggios. A few moments later, he pointed to a spot in her music. “Alex wants to hear you play our duet in the second act.”
    She fixed large eyes on him. “ Our duet?”
    “It’s for harp and violin, and I’m the principal violinist,” he explained.
    She nodded, swallowed, and took a deep breath. “Whenever you are ready, sir.”
    “I’m ready.”
    She wiped her hands on her skirts, and moved the pedals to put the harp into the correct key. Alex folded his arms, determined not to be impressed. The girl placed her fingers on the strings. And played.
    Kit was so thunderstruck by the skill and beauty issuing forth from the instrument that he barely remembered to come in at the right time. Quickly, he raised his violin to his chin, lifted his bow, and closed his eyes. They played together. All the world—all noise, other performers, the audience entering—all else faded away. Kit and his violin, and the girl with her harp, were the only creations in the universe. Together, they produced magic. His soul sang as loudly as his violin.
    As the last notes of their duet faded away, Kit let out his breath and swallowed the knot in his throat. Such beauty and passion. This little waif was a true musician. In all his five and twenty years, he had never heard her equal.
    Kit lowered his violin and clutched his bow. Meeting her gaze, he smiled. “Brava.”
    Alex sniffed. “Humph, you’ll do. Watch that key change—A natural.”
    Before he strode away, he glanced at Kit, and his approval revealed itself. Kit grinned. She had impressed Alex—no small feat.
    Kit gave her a friendly smile. “Welcome aboard, Miss…?”
    “Susanna Dyer.”
    He inclined his head in an abbreviated bow. “Kit Anson, at your service.”
    She stood and curtsied. “Thank you, Mr. Anson, for your assistance convincing him to allow me to audition.”
    He shrugged. “We had nothing to lose.”
    “You play magnificently.” Shy admiration