Someone Like You

Chapter Four

Simon couldn't sleep, every time he closed his eyes he saw the music room and all sorts of memories rushed to his mind. He could remember his mother's laughter, he remember sitting on the piano's bench with her, her hands covering his as she taught him how to play a few bars. He remembered how his mother's brother, Uncle Jordan, had put a violin in his hands for the first time when he was six and changed his life.

Simon remembered practicing for hours and hours with Evie – once her father had died and she had come live at Dressden Castle, Evie had only been happy in the music room, with the music Uncle Jordan had loved so much. Those memories he was glad to have back.

But then, there was also some memories that he could have done with out. Like the day Mirabelle died. He had been in the Music Room, practicing a new Bach piece when Mrs. Daniels had found and told him what Mirabelle had done. She had worn her heaviest wool coat, even though it was summer, and loaded it's pockets with stones, and then she had jumped into the lake. One of the gardeners had seen her and rushed to help, but by the time they had pulled her out of the water, Mirabelle had drowned.

He hadn't gone back to the Music Room after that day; it made him remember all the things he had felt at the time.

But today, when he had seen Emmy standing there, smiling in delight at the sight of the instruments, bathed in the sunlight… he had-he had heard the first playful bars of Vivaldi's Summer, and his fingers had itched to play the melody for the first time in over ten years.

Since sleep was still eluding him, Simon decided to go down to the library and pour himself some brandy, maybe that would help him sleep. But then, brandy in hand, he found himself walking through the house and, as if his feet had a mind of their own, he found himself in the music room.

The room was dark, but the moonlight coming through the windows provided enough light for him to him his way to the violin. He knew how to play the piano but his first musical love had always been the violin. Simon set his glass aside and picked the violin, surprised at how alien it felt in his hands, after a moment's hesitation he touched the bow to the cords, emitting a squeaky, awful sound.

With an ease born out of years of practice, he began to tune the instrument; humming to himself one of the first melodies he had ever learned. Once he finished tuning, he began to play, the sounds awkward and hesitant at first, as if he didn't remember the music sheet, unsure if he remembered how to even do it. But then he struck the right cord, and the music began to flow. Simon couldn't think of playing one of the complicated pieces he had favored in his youth – eager to prove his skill and cleverness with music – but this simple song of his childhood, a piece that didn't even have a name, came easily enough, as if it had been waiting for him all these years, just waiting to be played.

-000-

The sound of the door closing woke Emmy from an already troubled sleep, she rose and went to her own door to the hallway, looking out she caught a glimpse of Simon as he reached the stairs. Intrigued, she went to investigate following Simon down to the library and then to the music room.

She didn't dare to go inside or make her presence known, but she stood outside the music room, hiding in the shadows as he picked the violin. He fumbled with it a bit and then these sounds, hesitant and slow but the music was drifting out, reaching out through the darkness, and breaking the silence.

As he played, Simon began to pace a little, drifting from the first melody to a second one, which sounded more complex, as he walked, the light hit his face and Emmy could see that he had closed his eyes and there was a look of fierce concentration on his face, as well as a little quirk on his lips, almost like a smile.

Emmy smiled and stood there, even though it was a bit cold and she was barefoot and had forgotten to put on her wrapper, as time passed, the music became more complex, the music swelled and it was beautiful… but there was something that caught her attention.

Beautiful as the music was, it was all a little bit…sad, melancholy.

By the third piece she was starting to feel depressed, so she cast caution to the wind and stepped into the room.

"Don't you know any happy music?" Emmy asked, causing Simon to jump a little and stop playing,

"What are you doing here?" He snapped as she moved deeper into the room, spying his forgotten glass of brandy, she picked it up and took a sip – and coughed a little, for she was not at all used to such strong drinks – then she turned to him.

"The door woke me, then I followed you here. I was listening outside. But your music is all a little depressing. It sounds lovely but sad."

"My playing is currently atrocious," Simon said. "I'm rusty, and messing up about half the notes."

"I don't know much about music," Emmy shrugged. "But I know what I like,"

"That still doesn't explain why you're here."

"I was just following the music." Emmy said. "I always wanted to learn but Father always saw it as an unnecessary expense, he said that with three daughters, money was best spent on clothes and food, you know, practical things." Emmy paused. "Aren't you going to play some more?" She asked when she saw him putting away the violin and bow.

"In case you haven't noticed, is the middle of the night." He said, turning to glare at her. "Which reminds me, you really must stop wandering around the house in the middle of the night while wearing indecent clothes."

"This is a perfectly respectable nightgown," She said.

"Even with this light, I can see your…" he trailed off, his hands motioning toward her breasts. Emmy looked down and realized that it was quite obvious she was… cold, and suddenly felt very conscious of the fact that she wasn't wearing anything under the thin cotton of her nightgown.

Quickly, Emmy crossed her arms across her chest. "You're right, I guess."

"Oh, I'm definitely right." Simon said, moving closer to Emmy. "Women wandering alone, at night, expose themselves to all kinds of unwanted advances, and other things that might ruin a reputation."

"It's only you and me in this house, who's going to ruin my reputation?"

Since that sounded like a challenge to Simon, he decided to take her up on it.

"What are you do-" Emmy started to ask but couldn't finish; Simon's lips were pressed to hers, and it was rather hard to talk around that.

But then, a few moments later she wasn't interested in talking at all, Simon wasn't only kissing her, he had pulled her close, and somehow her arms had wrapped themselves around his neck, instead of covering her chest like they were supposed to be doing. Which lead to something else… now her breasts her pressing to his chest – chest that, as Emmy found out, was only covered by the fabric of his robe, and he truly wasn't wearing anything underneath – and that sort of made her feel all tingly inside.

Soon Simon had her pressed against the piano, and the backs of her knees were a bit cold, mostly because he was bunching her nightgown up and sneaking his hand under it, touching the back of her legs and moving up.

This was one of those moments that mothers were forever warning their daughters about, moments that put at risk's a woman's good reputation, not to mention their hearts. Emmy knew she should pull away, but instead she let Simon unbutton the first few buttons of her gown, just enough to let it slip off her shoulders a little.

This, Emmy knew, would lead nowhere good, but the road getting there felt so very good...

-000-

End of Chapter Four