Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 473

In that photograph, Ruby found herself instantly drawn to a certain Mr. Blake.

She picked up the picture, her brows furrowing deeply.

It was a group photo of four people.

Three of them she could just about recognize: her grandmother, Landon’s grandfather, and herself... But the last one—

It was a boy, impeccably dressed, with the delicate features of a European porcelain doll. He looked to be about her age.

Yet Ruby couldn’t recall ever meeting him.

Fanny squinted at the boy, then looked up at Landon. “Landon, that isn’t you, is it?”

Ruby glanced up at the sound of Fanny’s voice, meeting Landon’s intent stare.

He didn’t bother to dodge her gaze. Instead, he grinned, flashing perfect white teeth. “It’s me.”

“Ruby, we actually met when we were very young.”

His voice was gentle, almost teasing.

But Ruby looked genuinely puzzled. She had no memory of it at all.

Maybe that sense of familiarity she’d felt when she first heard Landon’s name—was it from childhood?

Her brow remained tightly knit.

“It’s all right if you don’t remember.” What mattered was that she remembered now—and the days they’d share ahead.

Perhaps to ease the awkwardness, Ruby carefully slipped the photo into an envelope and tucked it back into her bag, hoping to move the conversation along.

Fortunately, the others didn’t press the topic.

They continued wandering through the old house.

Ruby would occasionally pull a dusty book from the shelves and flip through a few pages.

Until, at last, she spotted one final book on the top shelf.

Most of her grandmother’s collection was on design, but this volume had “Piano” stamped in bold black letters across the cover.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she pulled it free.

No sooner had she done so than something heavy slid out and fell to the floor.

...She didn’t know much about music.

Fanny seemed to remember this and patted Landon on the back. “Come on, Maestro, help us out! See if the Flourish Symphony is among these papers.”

“The Flourish Symphony? Why are you looking for that?” Landon looked genuinely confused.

“We have the first original draft,” Fanny explained quickly. “We figured the rest might be here. The Flourish Symphony is a world-renowned masterpiece—its manuscript would be priceless!”

“So the first draft’s with you,” Landon said lightly.

But something in his tone made Fanny pause. She looked up—

Landon was holding a small, palm-sized bound book. As he flipped through it with his long, pale fingers, every page was filled with the Flourish Symphony’s original manuscript—except for the very first, which was left blank.

Fanny’s mouth fell open in astonishment.

“So this is what you were looking for?” Landon smiled and handed the entire volume to Ruby.

…

Meanwhile, across town at Veyne & Co., Bennett finally received Gayle’s address.