Helena woke up feeling rather chipper the next morning.

She joined Madame Lidiya for breakfast while Alice slept in. Her phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket and when she checked it, It was a text from Chris. Helena idly ignored it to continue the conversation she was having with Madame Lidiya.

Today she was tasked with washing all the laundry from the main house. That meant every curtain, blanket, clothes, and even shampooing the carpets. As she unlocked the door and made her way inside the main house, she noticed the room felt warm and the strong smell of coffee flooded out from it.

However, the Davilles were nowhere to be found. Helena figured that Mrs. Daville must have left for the day already. She gathered the curtains down from the walls and folded them neatly on the leather recliner and then headed upstairs to the bedrooms. While removing the sheets from the master bedroom, she heard what sounded like a violin playing. It sounded hesitant at first, followed by a few bad notes being played after.

She didn't think anything of it at first and continued her task until she heard the bad notes being played again and again.

"I wonder who's playing that?" She asked herself and stopped what she was doing to find out where it was coming from. She stepped out of the bedroom and listened, being led by the sound coming from down the hallway. It was coming from Mr. Reider's office.

When she peeked inside, she saw him sitting in a chair with his back facing her. A music stand was in front of him with a book and he tried weaving the bow on his instrument but it came out sounding scratchy and off key.

Helena glanced down and saw a small case on the floor next to him and smiled. "So he's trying to teach himself the viola?"

He tried to play again a few more times but then lowered the instrument to his lap. "I don't understand. Why is it so difficult for me to play this?"

"Mind if I help?"

Liam turned around, almost jumping out of his seat. "Oh hey Helena! I didn't see you there. And sure, you know about violas?"

"Well actually, I play the violin but my friend played the viola and she showed me a thing or two."

"Okay then." He handed her his viola. "I can't seem to get the sound high enough. It always comes out as...well I'm sure you heard it."

"Let's see here." Helena observed the instrument. She tried turning the pegs at the top and then plucking each string afterwards to see if they were in tune. "Mind if I borrow that?" She asked, pointing at an expensive looking tuner.

"Sure of course." He handed it to her.

After she fiddled with it a bit more, she believed that everything was working fine. "May I see your bow too? Your strings should be in good shape now."

He laughed and passed her the bow. "Wow you really know your way around this thing."

"It's just been implanted in my brain from doing it so much." She giggled. "Oh here's the problem. The bow isn't tight enough." She twisted the tiny screws on each end carefully then tested the viola. Each note she played was crisp and sounded beautifully. "There! Now you're all set. Try it out for yourself." She smiled and passed it back over to Mr. Reider.

He grinned in amazement and put it on his shoulder. He glanced at the music book and then back at her. "Don't make fun of me, okay? I'm still learning."

"How come you don't get a teacher or take a class?" She asked him. I mean he pretty much can afford the best if he wanted to.

"Work usually takes up too much time. Also there's just something special about learning something new on your own, being able to get better and better and becoming your own teacher." He smiled.

Helena's heart skipped a beat at the smile and as he started playing the basics, she remembered last night when he kissed her on the cheek. She was watching him with admiration, but now, she was starting to yearn for him.

"Wow, that does sound so much better! Thanks Helena, I really appreciate your help." He boasted.

"Y-Yeah of course!" She nodded while blushing. She stood up and gave him a smile. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask, but I better get to work now."

As she reached for the door knob Liam said, "You know...maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have you as my teacher. Also, I would love to hear you play one day too."

Helena was stunned. "I...I don't see why not? I guess I can do that for you, Mr. Reider."

"Great, then it's settled. I will make it a part of our schedule, say, every Tuesday and Thursdays at 3?"

"Sounds good to me." She grinned.

"Wonderful. I'm going to finish practicing and report it to Madame Lidiya by the end of the day. Take care Helena."

"You too." She told him and closed the door behind her. Helena didn't know why but she was feeling all giddy inside. Her heart was a flutter and she laid back against the door for support. "There's nothing wrong with it, it's just instruments. We both enjoy music, that's all." She told herself. But...she was already secretly waiting for tomorrow to come.

When the next morning arrived, Helena did her best to finish up the chores lined up for her so she could make it to the arranged practice a little bit early. Her eyes twinkled as she dusted the living room and then came up with an idea to make snacks beforehand. Once she finished and was cleared by Madame Lidiya, (much to her confusion) Helena rushed off to the kitchen to prepare Liam's favorite snack, fried pork kabobs with a small cup of tea. "There all finished." She pulled out her phone to check the time. "Good. Five minutes until then."

Helena paused. There was another text from Chris asking what happened yesterday. "Oh shoot that's right! I forgot to call him." She sent him a quick text before placing the drink and treat onto a flat wooden board and then carried them upstairs.

As she headed towards his office, she could hear him practicing. When she let herself in, she found him with his eyebrows furrowed down in concentration as he read the notes on the music book. The strokes on his violin were still timid and unsure.

As Helena sat the tray down on a small coffee table nearby, he stopped playing and smiled up at her. "Hey Helena. Wow, that tea smells and looks great right about now."

"It's hot and ready, just how you like it sir." She exclaimed, smiling back. His smile made her feel warm, as if they were on a grassy green hill with a gentle summer breeze together. She could feel her heart swell up with joy and it continued to beat in her chest at a rapid pace. It wouldn't slow down, especially when she caught his eyes locked into hers when he sipped his tea.

"So uh..." Helana cleared her throat. "How long have you been practicing for?"

He sat the cup down gently. "Not too long, a little over half an hour. Or do you mean overall?"

"Overall sir."

"You know, I told you don't have to call me sir or Mr. Reider all the time. Liam works just fine too."

Helena blushed. "I know it just feels weird because, you're like, my employer."

"Well technically, my wife is your employer so you're fine with me." Liam told her while tuning the strings on his viola. "And not too long I would say. Maybe a little over a few months. Been interested since a few opera shows I've been to the past few years. There's just something from the orchestra that sounds so powerful. I wanted to see if I could recreate such a sound." He paused and plucked a few strings but the notes came out flat. "Ah, damn it."

Helena waited and watched him attempt to fix the strings. After a few tries she asked, "Would you like me to take a go at it?"

"Sure." He offered her his instrument. Helena started to tune it like before and looked for the small electric tuning machine.

Right as she went to grab it, Liam's hand moved too at the same time.

His hand accidentally touched hers without meaning to and they both looked at each other. Helena's face flushed a crimson red and Mr. Reider quickly retracted his hand, realizing what happened.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No no, that was my fault." Helena reassured him. "I didn't even ask if I could use it."

"No it's okay. I was actually going to ask if you could help me with it too." Liam said, trying his hardest not to notice her blush but it couldn't help but make him smile.

"Yeah of course, if it's alright with you Mr.-I mean...Liam."

"Yeah. It's perfectly okay with me." He responded, his grin growing bigger. "So anyway. The boarding room in 218 should be open soon. How excited are you to be finally moving out of Madame Lidiya's place?

"It feels great. I'm honestly excited for this. And...thank you for doing that for me Mr.-Liam."

"No worries, I figured you would need a place to stay that's your own. Now, how about we get started with practice?"

"Yeah, I would like that." Helena smiled back.

As she helped him practice his chords, Helena felt a calming awe about him. She couldn't keep herself from staring as he delicately played; he was unsure yet confident in his own abilities. His interest to learn. His dark raven locks. The way his dark hazelnut eyes casually glanced over at the note sheet and then to her to see how he did. Helena was feeling her heart swell for him. Everything about this moment was making her feel at ease. She wanted to be close to him, to be near him.

Helena clutched her heart at these confusing emotions that were swimming inside her head and stomach.

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