Eternal Melody

by Anisa Claire West

  Eternal Melody

  An Historical Romance Novel

  Anisa Claire West

  Dedication

  To the memory of

  my beloved father, Victor, who taught me to

  love classical music.

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and events depicted in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, either living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  Grand Rapids, Michigan

  Summer of 1900

  Like a prisoner in the frenzy of escape, she haphazardly tossed her few possessions into the faded beige suitcase. Clothes, shoes, and undergarments flew like kites in a tornado across her bed chamber. Channeling all the strength contained in her slim frame, the fiery redhead pushed desperately on the lid in a furious attempt to button it shut. When the suitcase would not close, she bounced on top of it, squashing it with her derriere to flatten out the contents. Finally, the latch snapped shut, and she immediately lunged for her brown satchel, cramming it with the remainder of her modest wardrobe. The battle ignited again as she determinedly shoved in more dresses, corsets, and her only parasol.

  Teeth gritted, she aggressively pressed a winter coat into the overloaded satchel. At that moment, the walnut grandfather clock in the living room chimed to usher in the eleven o’clock hour. The young woman jumped, her breath and heartbeat suspended as the ringing threatened to deafen her. But it would not defeat her. Suddenly, a knock sounded at her chamber door. She braced herself, sucking in her breath so tightly that her stomach was painfully concave.

  A harsh whisper sounded. “Becky! It’s Ryan. Open the door now!”

  Relieved to hear the sound of her brother’s voice, Rebecca Meadow swung the door open and admitted him entrance. “Get inside, and don’t make any noise!” She hissed back.

  Ryan crept inside his younger sister’s room, abandoning his own luggage outside the door. “Haven’t you finished packing yet? We must leave now if we want to make the midnight train!” Ryan said urgently, surveying the disenfranchised state of her belongings.

  Flustered that the clock was ticking mercilessly, Rebecca gathered her waist-length scarlet hair and pinned it into a messy chignon. With her hair out of the way, she wiped a bead of nervous sweat from her brow and continued to heave her clothes into the luggage while Ryan stood there impatiently, tapping his toes on the floor.

  “Stop that!” She reprimanded with flashing blue eyes, pointing accusingly at his feet. “We cannot make a sound or we will wake the whole house.”

  Rebecca and Ryan had been planning their overseas journey for too many months to let a careless maneuver ruin it. As a little girl, Rebecca had fantasized about performing at the grandest opera houses in Europe. And now that dream might actually come true.

  Snapping the satchel shut, she wondered what her parents would say if they were alive to witness this moment. As she surveyed her childhood bedroom one last time, she was suddenly a five year old girl again, receiving the incomprehensible news that mommy and daddy had died in a drowning accident.

  “Becky, you look sad all of a sudden. Are you certain you want to do this?” Ryan asked, perceiving the darkness in his sister’s countenance.

  Reflexively, she replied, “I am absolutely certain that I want to do this. I was just having a moment of nostalgia.”

  In fact, Rebecca could not wait to get out of Grand Rapids, away from her eldest brother, Gregory, and his spoiled wife, Ethel. Tone deaf Gregory worked in Michigan’s thriving steel industry. A croaking frog sounded like a polished tenor compared to Gregory, Rebecca thought with a smirk. If Gregory knew that she and Ryan were going to Vienna to pursue careers in music, he would stop at nothing to hinder them.

  Rebecca searched under a sofa cushion for the epistle she had hidden there. Wistfully, she sealed the envelope and and slipped it under her grandmother’s chamber door. In the letter, Rebecca had tried to explain as compassionately as possible her reasons for departing Michigan.

  “I’m ready to go.” Rebecca announced resolutely.

  Tall, lanky Ryan Meadow, his boyish face sprinkled with tawny freckles, smiled and gathered the luggage into his arms. He picked up his violin case and slung the strap over his already burdened right shoulder. The siblings tip-toed over to the front door, holding their breath as the rest of the family slumbered unwittingly in their respective chambers.

  In the darkness, Ryan tripped clumsily over the couch, slamming his knee into the hard edge and biting his lips to keep from making a sound. Rebecca looked cautiously behind her to make sure that the brief commotion had not awakened anyone. Confident that their pending departure was still undetected, Rebecca slowly opened the front door and shuffled out with Ryan trailing closely behind.

  Outside, the summer wind whipped Rebecca’s riotous hair right out of its pins, as she fumbled to reassemble them. At that late hour, a chill was hovering over Grand Rapids, causing Rebecca to shiver inside her simple green muslin dress that made her blue eyes appear as a kaleidoscope of dazzling hues. Fortunately, the train station was a short walk from their hilltop house near Lake Michigan.

  “I hope I didn’t forget anything.” Rebecca commented, tossing a look over her shoulder at the house that appeared almost haunted in the dark. She usually did not get the opportunity to venture outdoors after twilight and was startled by the ominous glow the old house emanated in the metallic moonlight.

  “It’s too late to worry about that now, Becky. Besides, what else could you have taken with you?” He gestured comically towards her overloaded bags. “All you left in your chamber was the very furniture and walls!”

  Rebecca giggled, grateful for her brother’s presence. Initially, she had hoped to take the trip in solitude. But she knew that it was too risky for a young woman to make a transatlantic sail without a male chaperone. Those ships were notorious for harboring rough, dangerous fellows, and she was grateful for the protection of her older brother.

  “Granted, I brought my whole lot of possessions, but we don’t know how long we’ll be gone. Just the sail itself will take weeks. Once we get to England, we’ll have to board a smaller boat into the Netherlands and then sail the Rhine River. When we finally arrive in Vienna and audition for the International Philharmonic Orchestra, I just know we will get hired! Then there’s no telling how long our trip will last.”

  Rebecca refrained from mentioning how she hoped the trip would last a lifetime. As they walked onto the platform of the rail station and stared straight ahead, she had no intention of ever coming back to Michigan.

  *****

  The train departed precisely at midnight and sped out of the city. The moment the train set into motion on the tracks, Rebecca was breathless with exhilaration. She peered out the tiny window of her sleeping cart and watched the familiar landscape of Michigan fade away. She shut her eyes, envisioning how it would feel to ride on a train in Vienna and watch the Austrian Alps whirl by. It was not long before Rebecca fell into a deep sleep, lulled by the motion of the train. In an adjoining sleeping car, Ryan also slept, equally excited about their destination---and destiny.

  A few hours later, Rebecca awoke when the train ride became bumpy and the caboose nearly jumped the tracks. Disoriented, she rubbed her eyes and looked out into the blackness, unable to identify anything. She had no idea where they were, but knew that when dawn came, the train would be rolling into the station in New York City.

  Though she tried, Rebecca had trouble falling back asleep. She sat upright in her seat, propping her head up on one elbow and staring out the window, her eyes now adjusting to the darkness.

  They were passing through a farm town
with sparse landmarks including a small white church with a steeple. The whole town seemed to sleep as Rebecca remained wide awake. It was as though not a soul lived in the area, and it was a veritable ghost town. Even the train was gravely quiet, and Rebecca wondered if she was the only one conscious.

  Alone with her thoughts, she pondered how her grandmother would react when she opened the epistle. Would she immediately tell Gregory? Would she feel that her only granddaughter had betrayed her? Rebecca hoped her grandmother would understand and be happy that she was chasing after a lifelong dream. Grandmother Gloria had always nourished Rebecca’s passion for music in between obligatory lessons in sewing and cooking. But would that encouragement extend to this daring trip to Vienna, or would Gloria think her granddaughter reckless?

  Rebecca shook her head, realizing her fears were the result of mental poisoning by Gregory and Ethel. It was fears such as those that the married couple would have used to keep Rebecca under their thumb in Michigan. Selfishly, they did not care if she aged into a spinster, as they used her services---free of charge---to care for their infant. Ethel had given birth to Annabelle last year. Since then, Rebecca had been largely responsible for coddling the babe while Gregory and Ethel squandered their money on the town. Poor Annabelle, Rebecca thought, feeling her heart expand as she remembered the infant.

  A crimson sun was peeping over the horizon as the train inched closer to its terminus. Rebecca was still thinking of what she had left behind as plush clouds materialized in the azure sky. Daringly, she reached into her satchel for a jar of rouge and applied a bit to her cheeks. After the sleepless night in transit, Rebecca wanted to look fresh when they arrived in New York City. There was nothing she could do to conceal that pesky smattering of freckles around her nose, but her cheekbones could certainly be livened with the bright pink paste. Just as Rebecca was about to rub the rouge onto her lips, Ryan called to her from his sleeping cart. She hastily put the cosmetics back in the satchel.

  “Come in, Ryan.” She permitted as he stumbled into her car.

  Catching his balance, the gangly Ryan excused, “The train is unsteady and threw me off.”

  “Don’t worry, Ryan. I’m not some girl you’re trying to impress. I’m just your sister, and I’ve always known how endearingly clumsy you are.” Rebecca grinned at him.

  “Thank you for the compliment, dear sister.” Ryan smiled wryly. “I came over to see if you’re ready for our arrival in New York. We should be there very shortly.”

  “Yes, I know.” Rebecca replied with an excited shiver, looking out the window as industrial buildings whizzed by to replace the former bucolic scenery.

  “I’ll collect my things and meet you by the exit.” Ryan said as he turned to go back to his sleeping car.

  Rebecca sighed, grateful that her brother had not noticed the splash of artificial color on her face. Leave it to a man not to notice a change in a woman’s appearance. Since Gregory had married, Rebecca had observed how little attention he lavished on his bride. Granted, Ethel was an exceedingly unpleasant woman, but he could at least attempt to make his wife feel attractive, Rebecca thought. With only vague memories of her parents’ marriage, Rebecca’s portrait of love was a limited one and she did not imagine she would ever marry.

  When the century had turned and her twenty second year crept up along with it, Rebecca knew that her family had all but given up on marrying her off. Certainly, she had received suitors, but she didn’t feel a spark with any of them. If they weren’t downright unscrupulous, they were simply dull with no interest whatsoever in the arts. For a woman like Rebecca with such a zealous sensibility for music, she couldn’t offer her heart to a man who was indifferent towards art. Rebecca sometimes wondered if she were too tempestuous to be tamed. She shrugged, adjusting her blazing tresses more tightly in their pins. Once she was in Vienna with a glamorous career as an opera singer, she would be too preoccupied to entertain the thought of marriage.

  *****

  Rebecca and Ryan stood on the dock waiting in a long queue to board the ship. Most of the people in line were Europeans. Rebecca listened for the sounds of an American voice and overheard a conversation between two lovers.

  “After we arrive in England, my love, I promise to give you the grand tour of the entire continent.” The bearded man spoke gallantly while gazing passionately into his lady’s eyes.

  The sweet-faced blond wore a kerchief around her head and stray wisps of hair blew in the midday gale. “Will we even go to Italy?” She asked, matching his loving gaze.

  “Italy will only be the beginning. We will travel to the most exotic places your heart can imagine. Visualize the Canary Islands, Sardinia, and Istanbul. Envisage the Coliseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Parthenon. There are no boundaries for us. Together we will experience all this world has to offer.”

  Rebecca gagged as the man continued to rhapsodize. It was not that she was sour on love, but this courtly display bordered on absurd.

  Ryan overheard the lovers and jabbed his sister playfully in the arm. “That guy is very clever. Just telling her what she wants to hear.”

  Rebecca smirked knowingly. “Perhaps they’re actors employed by the ship to entertain passengers while we wait in line! It certainly is tedious just standing here.”

  She huffed out an impatient breath, desperate to head out to sea and begin the voyage to Vienna. Not until they were on British soil would Rebecca believe that this was actually happening. For the present, she felt as though someone ought to pinch her before she woke up in her bed at home in Grand Rapids. Plus, she could not shake the compulsion to look behind her and ascertain that Gregory and Ethel were not there, waving scolding fingers at her as though she were a little girl.

  Finally, the crew examined their passports and admitted them entrance to the ship. As Rebecca ascended the steps, she took a great breath of the briny sea air, savoring the feel of the ocean breeze washing over her face. The dark blue waves were rolling vigorously to shore, as Rebecca shut her eyes in an effort to encapsulate this moment in her mind for life. This was the first time she had ever seen the ocean, and it was a sight more majestic than she ever could have fathomed.

  “The wind is bracing, and I love it.” Ryan commented, looking up at the pristine summer sky, such a refreshing shade of blue that even the most skilled watercolor painter could never replicate it.

  “I love everything.” Rebecca said dreamily as they walked on to locate their cabins. Ryan looked at his ticket and noted the number. “It looks like this is my cabin. Yours must be the one directly adjacent.”

  “Yes, I believe you’re correct. I’d like to put my luggage inside and then perhaps we could go up on deck as the ship leaves the dock.”

  “Absolutely. I wouldn’t miss the sight!” Ryan turned to enter his cabin as Rebecca followed suit.

  She opened the door and ducked under to avoid a painful collision with the low ceilings. With a giggle, she wondered how much trouble Ryan was going to have with his tremendous height. The décor in the cabin was very plain, with a roll-away bed in the center of the room and a porcelain bathtub off to the side. There was a small round window at the far corner of the cabin. Rebecca scurried over and pulled it open, delightfully shocked by the powerful gust of salty wind that rushed into the cabin. Without that window, Rebecca would have felt completely claustrophobic. Already, the urge to explore the rest of the ship compelled her. Tossing her bags onto the floor, she lifted her skirts and ran out of the cabin to knock on Ryan’s door.

  “Open the door at once! It’s the Navy Police!” She deepened her voice to an alto, aware that she still sounded too feminine to fool anyone.

  From years of training with her grandmother, Rebecca’s voice was a flexible one with wide range, but she was not such a vocal chameleon as to be capable of deceiving anyone into believing she was a man.

  The cabin door swung open and Ryan looked at her in mock horror. “I’ve just boarded this ship, Officer. What could I possibly have
done? I swear I’m not a pirate!”

  The siblings laughed heartily, feeling like children again as they often did when engaging in such antics. Gregory had never understood them and referred to their sense of humor as ‘ludicrous horseplay that belonged in a barnyard.’

  “Come on, Ryan. Let’s go up on deck.” She urged, already heading in that direction.

  “I’m right behind you, Becky.” The narrow corridors of the ship were peopled with hundreds of travelers as eager as they were to witness the historic moment of the ship abandoning the dock for the fathomless expanse of sea. They reached the deck and hung over the side of the ship while the wind howled wildly. Foamy waves crashed over the side of the ship, slapping Rebecca in the face and wetting her hair.

  “Are the waters supposed to be this treacherous?” She asked, tasting grainy salt on her tongue.

  “I’ve read that the Pacific is much more placid than the Atlantic, but I must say that these waves are a force to be reckoned with.” He answered thoughtfully, then looked down at his sister with a raised eyebrow. “You’re not frightened, are you?”

  “Of course not!” She scoffed. “This is the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen.” Suddenly, an image of the urban sprawl of Grand Rapids came into her mind. “The Great Lakes don’t seem very great at all compared to the ocean!”

  Ryan could not suppress a laugh at his sister’s doe-eyed innocence. Though he had not done much traveling himself, he was a realistic sort of fellow and did not view the world through the same magical looking glass that Rebecca did. “I’m glad you’re not afraid of the water. But you should be sure to acquaint yourself with the life preserver in your cabin just in case.”

  “Why would I need a life preserver? This ship isn’t going to sink.” Rebecca stopped herself from uttering another word, as the memory of their parents’ drowning accident dawned on her.

  The young married couple had been sailing upstream in a small rowboat when a thunderstorm had struck unexpectedly. The boat had overturned and their mother, unable to swim, quickly sank into the murky water. Their father dove in after her but hit his head on a jagged rock and consequently drowned as well. Haunted by the story she had only heard a few times from their grandmother, Rebecca looked with trepidation at the angry waves. Why weren’t girls taught to swim? Suddenly, Rebecca had another goal to add to her list, right after succeeding as an opera singer. She would learn to swim.