Joel started and turned to stare at Augustin, apparently having understood the gist of what he had said. I began to tremble slightly, my fingers itching. When I spoke, the words barely left my lips. “It’s been . . . a long time . . . .”
“I want to hear you.” Augustin’s smile grew sardonic as he added, “I would like to compare your abilities to those of my brothers. Both the Prince and Paulus play, but something tells me that your talent outranks theirs.” I ogled him, seeing no trace of bluff in his expression. He took two large steps toward the music shelf, yanking out a score and waving it at me. “The Prince wrote most of these for use at mass. Perhaps you could decipher his notation.” Augustin peered at the score and stated matter-of-factly, “I understand none of this.”
A huge smile br
