Page 59 of My Blind Duke
“You cannot help someone who does not want to be helped, Melanie. A person needs to be open to receiving help after theyhave acknowledged that they need help. Your father was not ready then, but he is now. Let us do our best to help him,” Prudence reassured her gently.
Melanie nodded, then pulled a face as she thought of what they could do.
“What if we could put the sheet music on something? Papa uses his fingers a lot, to feel and know what things are. So, is there a way to engrave it somewhere for him to read it?” Melanie suggested.
That was a great idea, but engraving an entire song might take a little while and a lot of resources. They needed something less expensive, something that could be done within the estate’s walls within a few hours.
Just then, Prudence happened to look down at the cuffs of her dress, distracted by the gold and silver leaves embroidered on it giving a–
“Embroidery! We could have the song embroidered on a piece of fabric so he can trace the notes with his fingertips!” Prudence suggested eagerly.
Melanie perked up, “Will that be easy to do? Just the two of us?”
“It might be tricky because my needlework is quite… shoddy, but I know just who to ask!” Prudence smiled down at the child.
Two hours later, Marina – who had returned from the trip she had taken with her family a few days earlier – along with some of Prudence’s friends were seated in a drawing room, listening to Prudence’s plan.
“What exactly will we be embroidering?” Lady Ashford questioned, still somehow looking lost, despite Prudence’s concise explanation.
“These,” she held up the music sheet that carried the notes of the song Melanie had written. “It is a song. We need the notes to be on a piece of cloth so that the duke will be able to study them and play the song with his daughter.”
“That is very nice, Your Grace, but why did you not do this yourself?” Lady Swanson queried, looking as though she had been pulled away from something very important.
“Well, my embroidery skills are… lacking. And the duke is to return any day now. There is not much time to take on the project by myself. If you do not wish to assist me or you were previously occupied, I understand. I am sorry to have bothered you, but Melanie needs this. All she wants is to be able to play the piano with her father. I am begging–”
“Do not, sister,” Marina held her hand up to stop Prudence. “There is no need to lower yourself for a favor. You have done something selfless for every woman here, I am sure. Even if it was only that you opened up your home to them. Friends need no reason to help. They help because they are noble people, and there is nothing better than lending a hand.”
She faced the women with a smile and asked, “Is that not right, ladies?”
The women immediately agreed, already buzzing with strength, asking how exactly Prudence wanted the embroidered cloth to look like.
She sent her sister a look of appreciation before she got to work, sharing the tasks.
Firstly, she wrote down the full song in chalk on the board that was used to teach Melanie during her lessons. Then she explained the significance of each note being hit perfectly. It was crucial, to ensure that the duke did not make any mistakes from that point, so they were to embroider the notes as they were written on the board.
As the women got to work, they each had a few notes or a whole line, depending on their skill range. Prudence’s job was to supervise the work and also ensure all the women had refreshments to indulge in.
She had been worried that they would be too bored, but someone brought up some gossip and the whole room lit up immediately, demanding more details.
“They all seem very excited,” Marina noted with a grin.
“I am very glad for that. I was worried they would find the task too dull and refuse to finish it,” Prudence sighed in relief.
“Not on my watch,” Marina snorted, her hands working to create the line of notes that Prudence felt was her favorite progression in the song. “You are doing a lot for a man who wants to kick you out of his house. I hope he is at the very least very grateful.”
Gratitude was likely the only thing left that Prudence felt she could take from the duke. That was all she was allowed now because her desires had only grown since their ‘last’ night together. She had hoped it would be over and done with, marking the start of a new phase of her life.
But he was still running around in her thoughts and she wanted him to embrace her. To embrace her as though his life depended on it and never let her go. That was what she wanted.
But she could not have that, because such a life was not meant for her. It was for the best that they went their separate ways, if not figuratively.
“What in the blazes is going on here?” Clementina cried, walking into the room.
“Oh-ho,” Marina grinned mischievously. “I am going to enjoy this.”
“Marina,” Prudence half begged, half scolded.
“Lady Clementina? I thought you were on your way to visit that friend of yours who never has anything better to do than to bother other people. How strange.” Marina smiled innocently.
