A Taste of Candor

Chapter 21

~Declan.

Our three days off from rehearsals went by so fast I had to question whether it'd been three days at all. I definitely enjoyed them, but that didn't make them any longer. Before I knew it, I was waking up with the knowledge I'd have to walk down to the Paiges' mansion and meet up with my bandmates. Hopefully things wouldn't be as tense, since we'd just be preparing for a normal concert now.

Of course, that wouldn't mean I'd have no tension at all. Far from it. Actually, as I got dressed that morning, I felt more nervous than ever, since I knew there was something else I'd have to do while at the mansion. I'd have to find an opportunity to sit Mr. Paige himself down and ask about dating his daughter.

Strangely enough, I'd never talked to Mr. Paige in all my time in the band. Other than eye contact from a distance, we'd had no communication at all. And yet here I was, planning on having a very personal conversation with the man.

From everything I'd heard about Mr. Paige, he was a friendly guy with a good sense of humor, but if I knew anything about fathers, it was that they could downright scary when it came to keeping their families safe. And given it was no secret he'd fought in the war against my home country ... who even knows what memories could trigger in him when looking at me?

With those lovely thoughts in mind, I hauled myself and my saxophone to the mansion. Someday, I'd have to buy a car to make life easier on myself, but I hadn't saved that much yet. Things weren't exactly cheap in Silverport, and it didn't help that I'd showed up more broke than a shattered window.

When I got there, rehearsal went well, nothing to write home about. Much of the program for our next concert would be tunes we played on a regular basis, just with tweaks here and there to create a unique experience. The director picked different people to solo, switched some baritone parts to the bass trombone, things like that. We also sight-read a couple new tunes. But overall, just a typical repertoire.

Things started to get interesting when the time came to leave. While everyone else filed out the door, I hunted down one of the Paiges' servants and tapped his shoulder, causing him to whirl about and ask what I needed.

"I'd like to talk to Mr. Paige." I said bluntly, "Where can I find him?"

The servant's lips twitched and eyebrows furrowed, as if he found my question crazy. "He's ... most likely in his study, sir. Do you have an appointment?"

"Not exactly. Was I supposed to?"

"I'd think so. Mr. Paige is a very busy man, and I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate any unplanned intrusions on his productivity."

I sucked in a breath. "If he's busy now, then I can ask him about meeting at a later date. You mind showing me to his study?"

"I suppose not."

The servant kept his bald head on a swivel as we worked our way through the mansion, as if he felt in his heart he was doing something wrong. And honestly, some of his nervousness rubbed off one me as well. Though for me, I guess my anxiety came from the anticipation of meeting Mr. Paige, with all the unpredictabilities that came attached to that.

Eventually, we came to a sturdy door built of amber-colored wood and held shut by a polished bronze door knob. The servant looked more than eager to skedaddle, and once I gave him my thanks, he did scamper off. It was almost like he felt he'd just dropped me off at a crime scene.

As anticipation made my own stomach tingle in uneasiness, I balled my fist and knocked on the door. The shuffling of papers within briefly hit my ears, and then Mr. Paige's voice called "come in". This was it. I braced myself and turned the knob.