Arrogance and Bias
Baron Humbert von Gikkingen frowned as he stepped into the ballroom of one of his old friends. Having always had a keen ear for music, it didn't matter that the marble floor had been freshly polished to a mirror finish, or the brilliant decorations as the cream of society danced or gossiped with bright smiles.-
What got his immediate attention was that the lone pianist was too low of spirits to be playing at a wedding reception.
Since most ballrooms had a similar setup, he tried to discreetly slip around the majority of the guests to where the grand piano was expertly picking out a lively dance.
"Oh, Baron!" a young woman in a brilliant blue gown greeted him, homing in on him like a pet pigeon. "I was starting to think that you weren't coming."
Fighting back his irritation, he smiled at the count's third daughter since she was one of his more tolerable admirers. "I wouldn't miss William's wedding for the world. I trust you've been well, Gabrielle?"
She glowed at the inquiry. "Very well, my lord. Yourself?"
"Tolerable." He nodded at the direction of the grand piano he couldn't see through the swirling couples. "I must admit that I find it peculiar that there's only one musician, all things considered."
Gabrielle shrugged without interest. "At least he's good. I've taken a little piano, and I know the bit before you came in is very tricky."
He recognized the song, so he knew the passage she was referring to. But then he stiffened as he saw one of his less tolerable admirers approaching like a tiger over her shoulder. "I don't suppose you'd care for me to add my name to your dance card?"
"I'd love to," Gabrielle replied a little too quickly, giving him the opportunity to escort her to the dance floor before Sailene could sink her nails into him.
'This is less conspicuous,' he consoled himself as he easily swept the noblewomen into the dance they both could perform in their sleep. 'There's enough of a rotation that I'll reach the pianist in probably less time than trying to avoid Sailene.'
He had to be careful not to try too hard to look. Gabrielle was correct that the pianist was talented, but there was something about the undertones that seemed very out of place. Even when he caught sight of the piano, he had to fight to keep control that there was a young lady directly in his line of sight in front of the pianist.
The young lady was leaning close as if to whisper to the musician, but something about the set of her shoulders seemed irritated. Did she pick up on the undertones as well?
There was a soldier standing right next to her, though he looked bored enough to almost be ready to walk off on his own.
'Married couple,' he concluded without trouble, since the soldier would be doing a better job masking his indifference if he was still trying to woo the young lady at his side.
Finally he and Gabrielle twirled just enough so that he could get a good look at the pianist. It was a good thing his feet knew what to do, because he was immediately troubled by what he saw.
The pianist's brown eyes were glossed over as they stared straight ahead at nothing but the piano, although there was no sheet music in front of her. Her dress was simpler than many of the noblewomen in attendance, a plainer blue than Gabrielle's. Her hair was brown, and her face eerily had no expression at all. If a windup doll could be designed to play a piano, it would have looked like this poor girl. She looked a little familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen her before.
"Will you stop ignoring me, Harriet?" the girl hissed, leaning even closer in obvious hopes of intimidating the musician into acknowledging her. "Just skip this song and play your rendition of 'Flutist's Delight', everyone will like it better!"
Baron frowned before tugging Gabrielle out of the swirling dance. "What a delight to see two musicians discussing their craft," he drawled mildly, even though he was fuming. "But perhaps if you feel so strongly about the current choice, you should take a turn on the piano?"
The girl jumped in consternation at being caught, but the familiar blush came when she took in Baron's appearance. "Oh, I don't play," she deferred with a sweet smile that immediately got on her husband's nerves.
"Is that so?" Baron asked with another frown. "If that's the case, then you don't really have any ground to be harassing the only pianist, now do you?"
"They're sisters of the bride," the soldier explained with a small glare while possessively wrapping an arm around his wife's waist. "He also has a point, dear. I for one want to enjoy myself a little this night, so let's just dance and not worry about the exact tune."
The wife fumed, but her husband was finally taking charge and forcefully dragging her back into the dance.
Baron smiled, always taking a little pleasure when jealousy would work to a decent advantage. "I for one enjoy this melody," he assured the pianist, who actually managed to smile slightly even if her eyes never left their position and her hands never faltered from the music.
"Isabelle and William picked the music for tonight, and they know this is my wedding gift. Liselle can complain all she wants, tonight is one night even Mother won't stand for spoiling her."
Baron blinked. He liked the undertones of her words even less than her music, even if they explained why the poor girl found so little joy in her own sister's wedding.
"Now that you've rescued yet another damsel, I'd like to finish the dance," Gabrielle reminded him, pulling on his arm insistently.
Although the pianist still wasn't looking his way, Baron tipped his hat while quickly trying to remember if he caught her name. "I hope you enjoy tonight as well, Miss Harriet."
How odd. Because he was looking straight at her, he saw the tiny flinch at the mention of her name.
It was her name, wasn't it? Or was it that she didn't expect to enjoy herself more than playing for everyone else?
He couldn't get his mind off the poor girl all night. He intentionally stayed on the dance floor more often than usual so that the ebb and flow of the dancers would allow him to catch glimpses of the pianist, who continued to act like a windup doll attached to the piano. He even deigned to dance with Sailene to try to keep his eye on Harriet.
This wasn't good. As a fellow musician, he knew full well that her hands had to be in agony by the two-hour mark, though the quality of her music didn't falter in the slightest.
"Congratulations, William, Isabelle," he wished to the happy couple when there was finally an opening to speak to them. He'd made sure to shake off Sailene first to avoid giving anyone the impression that she was getting anything more than a dance from him.
"Thank you, Baron. Belle, this is Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, a friend from school," William introduced with an adoring croon.
"Pleasure to meet you," the bride beamed while giving him a small curtsy.
'Of course that's why Harriet looked familiar. There's certainly a family resemblance between the three sisters.' "I understand that this may not be the appropriate time for such a concern, but would you mind switching out your pianist?"
Isabelle immediately bristled. "I assure you that my sister is more than capable of holding a tune."
"That's not the problem, she's clearly worked hard on her talent," Baron apologized a bit quickly, cursing himself for not using the right words the first time. "But as a violinist, anything more than an hour is complete agony on musicians if we're not given periodic breaks."
She blinked, immediately relaxing now that she understood he wasn't offering criticism. "Maybe Haru has more endurance than you?"
"Haru?" William asked with a startled glance.
"I did tell you Mother finds pet names a personal slight," Isabelle quickly explained before turning her attention back to Baron. "I've heard her play up to three hours straight without a word of complaint."
"With all due respect," he answered patiently. "Is Miss Haru one to complain when she is distressed for any reason? How soon have you heard her practice again after such a marathon? If she's used to playing for three hours, her hands will be ruined before she's twenty."
Isabelle's already pale face turned whiter than her wedding dress. "Please excuse me," she said hastily before stealing a kiss to her husband's cheek before hastily walking away from the receiving line and toward the grand piano.
William looked chagrined as well. "I never thought of that."
"I was hoping you didn't, frankly. You aren't one for cruelty, especially against family," Baron consoled him, wishing that he had spoken up sooner but it was more than reasonable to assume that the sister of the bride would be allowed to dance and enjoy herself for some portion of the evening.
"… I'll make it up to her," William decided firmly. "I'm sure Isabelle knows something her sister would like to compensate for the pain."
Although it wasn't the time, Baron couldn't shake how hopeless Haru's eyes were. How could her own family look her in the face and not see what he could at a glance? He leaned forward and whispered in an attempt to keep his suggestion for William's ears alone. "When I spoke to her, there seems to be trouble at home. Perhaps offer her a week at your home so she can get relief from her mother?"
He gave a sharp scoff. "I'll give her a month away from her mother. This wedding and Charles' would have happened months ago if not for their mother's antics." He gave a short nod and followed the same path as his bride to make the offer immediately.
Baron felt an immense relief course through his veins, and even his heart seemed to relax as he heard the music finish with a flair halfway through the song, much to the confusion of the dancers that began separating to enjoy the hors d'oeuvres and drinks while gossiping. That dead look in her eyes couldn't have led to anything good, and she'd be bound to appreciate time away from people that didn't seem to take the time to understand her.
When he was able to cross the room to catch a glimpse of her again, he could have wept with joy.
The tension in her shoulders had faded significantly, and although her sister was rubbing the pianist's hands and speaking low in the unmistakable signs of affectionate scolding, there was confused relief in the sister's features. Even the smile on her face as she clearly accepted William's offer looked more like a human than a doll to be propped in a corner and forgotten about.
"You seem overly invested in the bride's sister," Sailene stated with disapproval as she sidled up next to him.
"What of it?" he asked casually. 'Of course she noticed when I was staring at another girl while dancing with her.'
"She isn't worthy of such interest. I mean, look at how plain the girl is, and I doubt she even has a dowry since her family has no lineage to speak of."
Baron gave her a glare from the side of his eye. "If she isn't worthy, then feel free to give your interest to someone better aligned with your prejudices." He walked away from her, though it took a surprising amount of force to walk away from the grand piano.
A casual glance at the clock told him it was within the realms of propriety to go home, and his feet loudly informed him that all that extra dancing was going to come at a cost in the morning. He slipped out of the ballroom and two hallways until reaching where his own carriage awaited him.
But could he be certain that what he did today was enough? Even though she was bound to be grateful for the respite, she'd have to return to her mother at some point, and something had obviously convinced her that letting people know she was in pain was a pointless endeavor.
He kept thinking about it on the ride home until nodding in satisfaction. He'd give her a few days at Pemberley to unwind and for his feet to recover, and then he would pay a call on her so that there wouldn't be a literal ballroom of people to overhear anything she'd rather keep private.
Even if Haru didn't want any more of his help, she'd clearly be grateful for a friend that had no qualms speaking up until she felt comfortable doing so for herself.
xxXxx
A/N; This was almost a lot more angsty with Haru running away from home, Baron accidentally seeing her again, and confronting the mother who took several days to notice the 'middle middle' child hadn't come out of her room since her sister's wedding.
Thankfully my hands remembered that if Baron suspects that something isn't right, he does something about it. I swear they're better at telling a story than my brain, and yes, this was based off of Mary Bennett from Pride and Prejudice.
Also, this early update is brought to you by my amazing niece, who I got to explain fanfiction to and wanted to see how it works.