During the spirited applause at the end while Sophia gathered her senses, the vicar and Mr.Burrell joined them, and Fairfax and Huntley switched places at the pianoforte.
This song she knew, had even performed it many times with other students and staff, but it had never sounded like this male quartet.At the risk of staring rudely, Sophia concentrated on each man in turn so she could pick out his voice clearly.Mr.Middlebrook and Theo’s father each had a respectable voice, yet paled in comparison to Huntley.
And Fairfax!He started out in the warm baritone, then went down to bass for a few stanzas.This,thiswas the singing voice she had expected after hearing his rumbling speaking voice.Just as she was getting used to his bass, he soared up almost as high as Huntley.Each phrase he seemed to sing in a different range, with the same degree of well-honed skill, the same rich resonance.
She glanced over at Mrs.Royston and Mrs.Digby.Now she understood the mischievous looks they had exchanged when discussing Fairfax’s singing voice, almost like a prank they had perpetrated on her.He wasn’t a tenor, or baritone, or bass.Apparently his range was nearly the same as the pianoforte.She had heard of bass singers having a greater range than most vocalists, but this was her first time experiencing it firsthand.
Lest she give him too much adoration and he become cocky, Sophia studied the other guests in the room.She could easily tell which neighbors had previously heard this quartet with Fairfax singing parts in any range he wanted, and those who had not.Mr.Thorpe sat motionless, his brows furrowed.The Webster sisters and Mrs.Burrell nodded along, as though this kind of performance was a commonplace occurrence.
For them, it probably was.
Oh my.Oh, to hear such a beautiful singing voice whenever she wanted!
The song she’d been working to compose, mostly in her head as she walked to and from the beach or stared at the waves before going to bed, would sound so much better weighted more towards the bottom ranges.She could almost hear Fairfax singing it.She didn’t even have lyrics yet, just a melody, but now knew it needed more bass, more baritone.
But he’d never sing it.He was on his way to Italy.And she would only be here another fortnight or so, until she completed transcribing Mrs.Digby’s memoirs.And beyond any pragmatic reasons to hold on to her heart where Fairfax was concerned, there was the minor detail that she was lying to him.About the ghost.
Was she really, though?Mildred had assured her she was not the mysterious female figure seen walking on the beach late at night by Enid, Mrs.Digby, and Mrs.Royston.
If the ghostly apparition was not Mildred, who … or what … was it?
She thought back to Enid screaming down the house to call attention to the “ghost.”And lying about the cave filling up at high tide.Could the maid be part of whatever was going on?
And now here was Mr.Huntley, from whom she and her friends were concealing the truth.Sophia was hoping to put forth a match between Mr.Huntley and Mildred, despite her engagement to Lord Wingfield.In order for that to be successful, she simply had to find more information about Wingfield.But how?
“That is not the expression most young ladies wear on their face upon hearing my nephew showing off his vocal range,” Mrs.Digby quietly said, standing beside Sophia’s chair.
“And he is showing off, is he not?”
Mrs.Digby lifted one eyebrow.“Perhaps.”She patted Sophia on the shoulder before moving away.
The song finished amidst raucous applause.As Sophia debated whether to drink her cold tea or pour hot into the cup and have lukewarm, Fairfax appeared at her side.
“We have arrived at the point in the evening in which Aunt Agnes and Gert start playing, and we need to be as loud as possible.Pianissimois not in the vocabulary of either of them.Would you prefer the pianoforte or harpsichord?”
Chills chased down her spine as he spoke close to her ear.If she turned her head, they would be close enough to kiss.She tightened her grip on her teacup and kept her gaze forward.“What are we playing?”
Mrs.Digby straightened from where she had retrieved something from the cupboard, and adjusted the strap of a drum over her shoulder.“Rule Brittania!Everyone join in!”She twirled the drumsticks in her hands in a surprising display of dexterity for someone with arthritic fingers, and played a few taps on the drum.Meanwhile, Mrs.Royston had taken her fife out of its little case and began warming up.
Sophia would have dearly loved to watch and listen, as the two ladies had only sung before and never played.
“Hurry,cara,” Fairfax said, gently pressing on the back of her shoulder to urge her out of her chair.“Choose.”
Still feeling the warmth of his hand on her shoulder, Sophia hurried to the pianoforte.
I choose you.
How simple would her life be if she could do as her friend Ashley Hamlin had done—fall in love and marry a handsome, wealthy gentleman who happened to also be an excellent musician and singer.Instead of worrying how she would support herself and groveling for a job at a school, any school, Ashley now owned one.And had become Lady Ravencroft, to boot.
If Sophia had not yet secured employment by the time Ashley returned from her wedding journey, perhaps she would write to her friend and inquire if her school needed a music teacher.
Fairfax was like his friend Ravencroft—handsome, and an excellent musician and singer.And as the heir to a marquess and able to afford an extended journey to Italy, one would presume if not wealthy than at least well off.She was confident he had arrived at his aunt’s home with far more than a farthing and handful of pennies to his name, as she had.
An additional burden was that Sophia was not only responsible for herself, she had also taken on the responsibility for Mildred.If she could not help herself yet in securing permanent employment, how could she possibly help Mildred avoid an unwanted marriage?But the girl had sought out Sophia’s help, and she would not let down her former student.She suspected Fairfax would not take kindly to the way Sophia was deceiving him and his aunts, hiding Mildred on the property.
Sophia had barely settled herself at the keyboard when Mrs.Digby clacked the two drumsticks together four times as a count-in and began playing.The younger Miss Webster had taken the harp, Fairfax the harpsichord, and Mrs.Royston played the fife.Huntley stood behind Sophia playing his violin, reading from her music sheet, and everyone else joined in singing the rousing song.
By the second verse, Mrs.Royston and Mrs.Digby began to march around the room while they played as though leading a column of soldiers.Mr.Huntley fell into step behind them.By the third verse, several others had joined the march.By the last verse, everyone in the room was playing an instrument or marching with Mrs.Digby and Mrs.Royston while singing.They cheered and applauded themselves at the end, then immediately launched intoGod Save the King.
