“And to such I give it again,” Caroline finished with a grin. “Yes, that is the one!” She turned to Lord Connally and repeated the joke to him. He laughed, along with the rest of the table who heard it the second time.
As soon as they all agreed that it was a good joke, Lord Connally turned back to his conversation with Miss Greenbough. Mr. Hodge maintained a steady stream of discourse with Caroline on a variety of topics from the weather to music and poetry, joined occasionally by one of the others, but Caroline could not again draw Lord Connally into their sphere.
Louisa noticed Lord Connally’s shift in attention as well.
“You must regain his favor,” she hissed in Caroline’s ear as the ladies moved to the drawing room. “When the gentlemen come in, do whatever you can to ensure it happens.”
S
When it came time to display her talents, Caroline ignored Louisa’s advice and chose Bononcini’sPer la gloria d'adorarvi. Louisa was simply being mean by calling her arias “horrid”. She was sure her display of skill would impress Lord Connally. The difficult aria would showcase her vocal range as well as her talents on the pianoforte.
Midway through the song, she glanced over at Lord Connally. Instead of listening to her performance, he was sequestered in the corner of the room, talking with Miss Greenbough. Caroline’s blood boiled.How dare he not pay attention to my performance!In her anger, she sang louder, hitting the upper register a little harsher than she intended to. She hoped nobody would notice that her pitch was slightly off on the highest notes. She held the last note for as long as she had breath while her fingers finished out the piece on the pianoforte. Her audience applauded. Caroline took a bow. When she rose, she observed Mr. Hodge’s eyes on her.Has he been watching me the entire time?It comforted her to think that at leastsomeoneliked her performance.
From the back of the room, Miss Greenbough commended her and requested an encore, which Caroline was happy to oblige. As she leafed through her collection of opera selections to find something suitable, Louisa came over to her. She picked up a book of medieval folk tunes and set it on the piano in front of her sister.
“Why not choose something from here?” She suggested. “Our audience might prefer a calm, familiar piece, something we could all sing along to.”
Miffed at her sister’s interference, Caroline let the book fall open at random, determined to play whatever piece she landed on.Scarborough Fair. How fitting. At least it is one I am familiar with.
The ancient lyrics were familiar to all and told the story of a man seeking to regain his true love. To prove her love for him, the woman had to perform a series of impossible tasks, such as making a cambric shirt without a seam, washing it in a well which had never seen rain, and drying it on a shrub which had never blossomed. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme all figured into the story as mystical herbs which were said to influence a person’s emotions.
The song, though simple, had a beautiful, soothing quality to it. Caroline was surprised to find her audience more captive than before. Caroline observed that Mr. Hodge still watched her intently.
“You are an excellent musician and your performance does you credit,” He remarked when Caroline finished and rejoined them. “Though I must say, I enjoyed your second piece more than the first.”
His praise caused her heart to flutter with pride. “Thank you, Mr. Hodge.”
“A wonderful song, Miss Bingley,” Mrs. Hurst agreed. “Do you know, it has been many years now since Scarborough had a fair?”
“I do not remember there ever being a fair, ma’am,” Lord Connally said.
“You must have only been a small boy then, Your Lordship. The last time it was held was in 1788. I remember because that was the year my Reggie was born. I carried him in my arms throughout the whole fair. He absolutely refused to be held by anyone else. His favorite parts were the jugglers and acrobats. But the puppet show terrified him!” She laughed.
“What a delightful story, ma’am,” Miss Greenbough remarked.
“I wonder why they stopped the fair,” Mr. Hodge said.
“I suspect it was due to the greater popularity of the Seamer Fair. Poor little Scarborough could not compete, even though its fair had been going on for hundreds of years,” Mrs. Hurst explained.
“What a pity!” Caroline said. “I don’t suppose anyone will ever try to revive the fair.”
“I suppose someone might,” Mr. Hodge supplied. “But if they did, they would do well to hold the fair on a different week than Seamer’s. Having two fairs competing on the same day is too much for one region.”
“Yes, I suppose it would be,” Caroline agreed. “I would love to go to a fair, however. All the street vendors and entertainers and livestock. It would be such fun!”
Mr. Beaujean agreed. “This town could certainly use more diversion. What better than a fair?”
This prompted Louisa to speak up. “Lord Connally, if anyone could hope to revive the fair, I should think it would be you.”
“Me?” Lord Connally exclaimed in surprise. “I should hardly think I know anything about fairs!”
“But as a peer of the realm and the landowner with the largest holdings in the county, the community must look to you as a leader. If you were to rally the townspeople from Scarborough and all the nearby villages, then surely, you might hope to organize it.”
Lord Connally laughed. “I do not know that I wish to attempt such a thing.”
Miss Greenbough nodded her encouragement. “It would be a marvelous thing if you did!”
With a bashful look, he conceded. “I suppose I could make some inquiries, to gauge whether there is any interest.”
