Grace

Chapter 53

I barely knew what to do with myself when Marcus and Rafe stepped into the dance hall. Gabriella, Mum and I had been playing brass instruments with gusto, but when they stepped into the room I forgot what I was doing, my cornet made a funny squeaking noise and I nearly dropped it.

"Well, that's our ever eloquent Grace," Dad joked and gestured to me.

I blushed a storm and got up to shake their hands.

"Hi," I said and tried to not grin to much.

Seriously, these guys were legends. Marcus was twenty six and had been recording music since he was nine, had a bunch of music awards, was world famous and I'd always thought he was pretty smokin' hot. A strong Roman nose was softened with rounder features and large, expressive eyes. His hands were huge, but I knew from listening to his trumpet music that his fingers were as nimble as mine, and, when we shook hands, made mine look like a child's hands.

He smiled broadly as he shook my hand up and down. "Nice to meet you." Though he was born in England he had grown up in Italy and most people called him Marco. His accent was rather thick and...

And I reminded myself that I had a boyfriend.

"Nice to meet you too."

"This is Rafa," he said and jerked his thumb at his more smartly dressed friend.

Whereas Marcus was in baggy denim shorts and a white t-shirt, Rafa, thirty something, was in smart trousers and a thin turtle neck jumper. He was also a lot smaller than Marcus. By that I meant he was average sized in body shape, but was a little on the short side. Marcus was... Marcus was a bear.

"It's good to meet you," I said. "Come sit down. I know it's a bit of a drive over here from, well, anywhere."

Clara was way more put together than me, but then, she wasn't a brass player and didn't listen to much brass music. It was only when they were sat down did I realise that they were both carrying their trumpets in cases. They both ignored their instruments and looked at me.

"Uh... what?" I asked.

"The one Master MacLachlan gave you," Marcus said impatiently. "We want to see it."

"Could be more tactful, Marcus," Gabriella gently chastised.

I'd been playing the trumpet before they'd arrived and took it off my seat before sitting and passed it to him. His eyes went wide and he took it carefully, balancing the weight evenly between his hands. For a few moments he simply looked at it in appreciation. Then he turned it in his hands and looked at it some more.

"What's so special about a trumpet?" Aunt Victoria asked.

We all just looked at her. Marcus, Rafa, Gabriella, me, Clara, Mum and Dad. She looked taken aback and stopped walking.

"What?" she warily asked.

"It was made by Anton Schnitzer," I said.

"Okiekoke," she said.

"Gottfried Reiche played it."

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Cool."

"Johann Sebastian Bach's principle trumpeter," we all said together.

Her eyes opened wide and she gasped. "No way! Really!"

I nodded. "Royalty gave it to Master MacLachaln's family."

"Ok, now it's a cool trumpet."

"Cool?!" I asked. "Cool?"

She glanced at Mum and then shifted her eyes back to me. "No?"