Eternal Melody (21 page)

“
Twelve years is
a long time for someone to spend in solitude.  My wife passed on four years ago.” Mr. Graysen suddenly became quiet, lowering his eyes as if overcome with renewed sorrow that had long been buried. 
“Tabitha was my first love.  We grew up in the same
little town in Massachusetts. I
married
her
immediately
after high school. 
She adored music as much as I do, and we would spend hours discussing composers and operas. 
And what a marvelous singing voice she had.  She was a soprano, like you. 
Our two daughters also have an affinity for music, but they do not play an instrument or sing, much to my disappointment.”

“
What a beautiful love story.” Rebecca breathed, before adopting a lighter tone in response to Mr. Graysen’s comments about his daughters.  “
Sometimes the musical gene bypasses a generation
,
or at least part of a generation.”
She thought about how
tone deaf Gregory was.  “For example, Ryan and I are both musical, but our eldest brother is not at all.  Our grandmother sings
, but the rest of our family has
voices as flat as
a sheet of paper!”

Mr. Graysen chuckled and said with an arch of his eyebrow that betrayed keen interest, “So your grandmother sings?”

Rebecca smiled
knowingly.  “Yes, Mr. Graysen.  I
ndeed
,
she taught me everything that I know about music.
”

“
What a remarkable woman.” Mr. Graysen murmured.  “Oh, dear, now I’m thinking about my daughters.
  They haven’t been the same since their mother passed.
  I suppose their husbands take good enough care of them.  If they hadn’t been married, then I never would have left Massachusetts.
”
Mr. Graysen confided.

“You must miss them terribly.” Rebecca remarked, perceiving the man’s mournful countenance.

“Yes, I do. 
I
have n
ot seen them for several years.
But that’s enough chatter about my woes!  Let us begin rehearsal.”

*****

Rebecca awoke the morning of September 8, 1900 as a child would on Christmas, dashing to the tree to unwrap a pile of toys
, books, and candy. 
Along with excitement, Rebecca felt a tingling sensation of nervous energy that
started in
her fingertips and rush
ed
wildly to her toes. 
Bypassing breakfast
, Rebecca practically jogged to the rehearsal hall.  With each accelerated step she took, she wondered if her nervousness was simply because this was the long awaited opening night.  Or, more frightening, was her body reacting to the fact that she would finally see Luke again after his extended absence?

When she arrived at the rehearsal hall, the theatre was already abuzz with activity.  Set designers scrambled around making eleventh hour adjustments to the scenery, while the musicians rehearsed furiously in a whirlwind of dissonance.

Luke, spotting Rebecca from across the theatre, immediately slammed down his violin, nearly
shattering the thing to pieces
in his haste to greet her.  They rushed over to each other, forgetting for the moment that their colleagues might notice their ardor.  When he was standing inches away from Rebecca, he stared down into her face, drinking in the sight of he
r like a man dying of thirst.

“Rebecca, it is wonderful to see you.  You look more beautiful than when I left.
  You didn’t meet anyone new, did you?” He questioned, waiting breathlessly to tell him that she hadn’t.

To his relief, she laughed and replied, “No, I have not!” Then, catching his insecurity, she asked him the same question, equally delighted when he confirmed that her fears were unfounded.

“I have waited a month for this moment.  Tell me we can be alone after the show.” He urged in a tone tha
t took Rebecca by surprise.

Had
Luke
been
this solicitous before he went away?  Suddenly, she could not remember, but knew that she was as desperate to be in private with him as he was with her.

“Yes, we can be alone after the show.” Rebecca whispered helplessly, shivering as she imagined their coupling.

Chapter F
ourteen

Luke handed Rebecca a tissue and commanded, “Remove every layer of that
makeup
, Becky, right now.”

The opening night performance had garnered a standing ovation from the audience.  Now, Luke and Rebecca were back in her bedroom, still giddy from the success of the live performance.

Bewildered, she asked, “Why?”

He chuckled and smirked at her.  “I am a man who appreciates natural beauty.  I cannot even recognize you underneath all that paint.  It’s intended to be worn on stage, not in the boudoir.”

“You shouldn’t even be in my boudoir!
”
She
exclaimed, blushing.

Luke shook his head in wry amusement. 
“But I am here. And
I only want to see the real you.  On stage, you’re dazzling inside that costume and even
underneath all
those
pasty
cosmetics.  But behind closed doors, I want you to
abandon
the façade. 
Abandon the outside world and be present with me. 
Unveil your true beauty that I assure you is more dazzling than any glamorous dress
or priceless jewel
.  You don’t need
any
enhancement.  Just be Rebecca
, and your beauty will be utterly breathtaking
.” He took the tissue and spread it over her lips.

She met his hand and grabbed the tissue, wiping her entire face until it was nude and rosy from the friction.

“Is that better?” She queried softly,
nearly
speechless.

“That is perfect.” Luke answered, bowing his head to capture her lips, bruised tender from the
roughness of the tissue
. 
He released her hands so that he could yank her pins from her hair, letting the fiery mane tumble over her shoulders.  Ignoring the pins that fell to the ground, he moved his lips hungrily in synch with hers, gathering masses of her hair into his hands and inhaling the sweet fragrance of it.

Rebecca stood on tip-toe to reach him, feeling liberated without any cosmetics
,
her hair completely loosened
and fanning as a
brisk
gale blew in through the window ajar
.
 
To Luke’s pleasurable surprise, it was Rebecca who led them towards the bed, as she began to walk backwards, still clinging to him and rubbing her lips enticingly against his.  As he pushed her down onto the mattress, she recalled the heated night that they had begun to make love and then been
intruded upon
.  It had been so painful to watch him leave, knowing that he would be in
Munich
for an entire month.

This time, she did not care if the entire city of Vienna came rapping at her door; she would not let them in.  No one could intrude on this
long awaited night of lovemaking and emotional union. 
Rebecca let out a moan of delight as Luke began to rip off her dress impatiently, pulling on it violently until the frock lay in a shapeless heap on the floor.  She tugged on his necktie, eager for him to
be free and naked too.  Swiftly, he tore off his tie, followed
by his shirt and trousers. 
Rebecca lay on the bed, examining him with glazed eyes. 
His chest was even more muscular than it appeared in clothes, and every
ripple
of his abdomen was clearly defined.

Though he was no longer a runner, his legs were still powerfully sculpted
and athletic. 
Once he was nude, he made haste
to join her again on the bed, l
ying full length on top of her and covering
every part of
her writhing body with a trail of kisses accompanied by stimulating, fondling hands.

For a moment, he pulled back, gave her a hard look that smoldered dan
gerously. 
He whispered
, “You cannot see how beautiful you are, but I can.  You have never looked more stunning than you do right now.”

She smiled up at him and wound her arms around his neck, urging him back down to her lips.  Against his mouth she breathed, “Luke, you know this is my first time.”

He tensed for a moment at the rousing sound of her breathless, impassioned voice and replied in a strained tone, “Yes, I
know
.  Just relax
and let me love you.”

With his heart thudding in quick palpitations, he dove into her
,
body and soul
,
as she
expelled
a muffled cry against his shoulder.  
Their union was
jarring and tender at the same time, with Luke patiently waiting for Rebecca to find a pleasurable rhythm and then losing himself in it and surrendering to its cataclysmic force.

In the radiant aftermath of their lovemaking, Luke lay facing Rebecca, silently admiring the curve of her profile and the light freckles that sprinkled her nose. 
The bed was barely wide enough to fit a child, let alone two adults, but he
relished
the closeness that
the tight quarters
allowed.  As he
watched
Rebecca’s lashes flutter
sleepily over her oceanic eyes, Luke could not remember a time when he had felt closer to anyone.
For the brief time he had a tryst with Greta, there
had
never
been
a shred of intimacy to link them together.  Their language barrier, along with Luke’s pervasive instinct that she was not trustworthy, always precluded true bonding.

Soon, Rebecca’s
breathing became steadily softer until it was barely audible, and Luke did not want to disturb her. 
Instead, he gently lifted the sheets a bit higher until they reached her collarbone
,
so that she would not get a chill during the night. 
As his lids became heavy, he let his mind plunge into an encompassing state of
unconsciousness, sliding his arm around her smooth shoulders
while
they slumbered together.

Pale yellow
light
stroked
the room, warming the naked lovers who slept entangled between the rumpled cotton sheets.  Rebecca was the first to stir as she awoke with a mighty yawn followed by a sigh of contentment as she gazed over at Luke still sleeping soundly. 
She marveled how he still looked disarmingly handsome, even with his hair in all directions and traces of her
burgundy
lipstick smudging his unshaven cheeks.

She reached out a hand to touch one of those roughened cheeks, enjoying the bristly sensation against her silken palm. 
Luke mumbled something incoherent in his sleep, making Rebecca feel protective of him as she nuzzled closer.

A few moments later, he awoke to greet her with smiling eyes and a groggy, “Good morning.”

“
Guten Morgen, Herr Springwell
!” She said playfully, eliciting a hoarse laugh from him.

“I think that may be the first time I’ve ever heard you speak Ger
man,
Liebling
.” She beamed as he addressed her by the German word for
“
lover.
”

“One night with you and there’s no telling what I
might
do!” She replied brightly, feeling a wave of uncommon energy rush over her.

It was very different
from
the restlessness to which she had become so accustomed.  And it was also contrary to the e
xcitement she felt on stage.  L
ying in Luke’s arms the morning after making love for the very first time infused Rebecca with an unprecedented lightness that permeated her every nerve ending.

When he leaned over to kiss her and sweep her once again into his embrace, she surrendered instantly, daringly climbing astride him and initiating a new position.  Headstrong and willful as she was, Rebecca delighted in seizing control over him and drawing him into her unpracticed but intoxicating motion. 
He lay beneath her with wide, wild eyes, basking in the sight of her fully displayed nakedness and letting his hands roam to places that he
knew
would make her blush.

But instead of coyness, Rebecca was charged with a fresh boldness that reminded her of fleeing the house near midnight
to catch a train to New York
.  There had been no turning back, no relenting to fears.  Instead, she had pressed forward and ventured
into completely uncharted terrain, like wandering around a dark forest with
out
a compass.  She had known what her destination was, but
not
the road that would bring her there.  Now, as she undulated her hips over Luke and caressed his
ribcage
,
Rebecca felt the same way
, except that this time she knew neither the route nor the destination. 
She knew nothing of the past
n
or future.  The only existence tha
t resounded with truth was the
bliss that she felt merging with Luke Springwell.