1635: Music and Murder (47 page)

"Stupid," she muttered, wiping her face with sharp movements. "She'd want you to wear it."

A few minutes later, just as she was ready to put the finishing touches on her ensemble, Franz entered the room. "Marla, it is almost time to . . . " He stopped dead in his tracks. After a moment, he smiled. "I thought you said you were 'dressing down.'"

"I am." She twirled in place.

"My dear, you will capture the eye of everyone in the room; the men with admiration, the women with jealousy."

"Piffle. Help me with this, please." She handed him the ribbon that matched the hue of her skirt. Mounted on it was the only piece of jewelry she had from her mother.

Alison Linder hadn't possessed much real jewelry, and most of what she did have was on her person the day the Ring fell and she was left up-time. But she had left behind in her jewelry box a Victorian-era cameo that had belonged to Alison's great-grandmother Dorcas, the one she had always said was half Black Irish and half Cherokee. It was ivory, somewhat yellowed with age, but Marla had mounted it on the new ribbon, wanting to wear it for the sense of connection it gave her. Between the blouse and the cameo, she felt as if somehow these women would know what she was doing, what she had become.

Franz stepped behind Marla, looped the ribbon over her head and drew the ends together, fastening the hook and eye. Marla turned to face him. He shook his head.

"Hopeless."

"What?" Marla looked at him with a bit of suspicion.

"No one will look at the girls."

Marla slapped his arm. "Stop it." She looked at her watch. "Yikes! We've got to go!"

"That's what I was saying." Franz followed her out of the room.

****

Where has the year gone?
Lady Beth wondered. It seemed like only last week that she had moved to Magdeburg in the spring to assume the administration of the Duchess Elisabeth Sofie Secondary School for Girls, yet here it was only a few days before Christmas. She settled back in her chair next to Casey Stevenson at the rear of the pack of patrons, families and teachers, waiting for the first annual DESSSFG Christmas Choir Concert to begin.

Casey, who had been looking around, now leaned over toward her boss. "Quite a crowd we've got here. More than just parents."

"Yep. As soon as word started getting around about this concert, I had patrons and parents and prospective parents sending notes and requesting seats. It looked for a while like I was going to have to ask Marla to schedule two performances, but at the end we didn't need to." She looked around the very full great room of the townhouse that was the temporary location of the school while their permanent buildings were under construction. The Zopffs were to her right; the Drechsler family was ahead and to her left. "But it was close. We might could squeeze two or three more people in here—but maybe not."

At that moment the side door opened and the girls—sorry, the young ladies—walked in and arranged themselves on the three rows of the risers that Marla had commissioned. Lady Beth smiled a little as she remembered Marla's adventures in getting the risers built. First there was the problem with the design: she wanted them to fold up for portable use. It took some work with a carpenter to achieve that. Then she wanted them carpeted on top to muffle footsteps—until she saw the cost of the cheapest carpet available. After that, a good dark stain was fine. Lady Beth still wasn't sure where they were going to store the risers after the concert, but she knew there had to be the odd nook or cranny around a house like this.

A disturbance sounded behind them, and both Lady Beth and Casey looked over their shoulders. Lord Above, it was Mary Simpson and Princess Kristina coming in the door! Lady Beth stood and moved to greet them, asking herself what they were doing here. A moment's thought told her the answer was pretty obvious. From the footsteps behind her, she knew that Casey was following.

"I'm sorry," Mary whispered after Lady Beth made her quick curtsey to the princess. "Princess Kristina just heard about the concert a little while ago." Mary gave a small shrug.

The young princess stared up at Lady Beth. "Frau Haygood, I would really like to hear this concert." Her face had a composure that seemed beyond her years.

Lady Beth thought for a moment, "Princess, you can have my seat, and two of my teachers will give theirs up for Mrs. Simpson and Lady Ulrika." She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to Casey, who read the message and swiftly moved back to their row to get Staci Matowski out of her seat as well.

"My thanks to you," the royal daughter replied. Mary Simpson mouthed "Thank you" over the head of the princess.

Lady Beth became aware of rustling and murmuring behind her. She turned to lead the princess and her companions to their seats and was faced with the sight of the entire audience standing. That took her aback for a moment, until it dawned on her that the princess was a member of the royal family and this was a formal occasion. No one would be seated while she was standing.

Casey hurried back to Lady Beth's side. "We can't put them in our seats in the back row," she whispered. "We moved three chairs down front and made the front row that much wider. They have seats in the middle, right next to Duchess Sofie and her parents."

"There was room?" Lady Beth hissed.

"Barely."

Lady Beth straightened and turned to the princess. "If you'll come this way, Your Highness." She led the way to the front of the audience, then gestured to the empty seats. Princess Kristina seated herself on the center chair, wiggling a little to set her back against the back of the chair. She looked around with aplomb, feet not quite touching the floor. There was another rustle of movement as the audience resumed their seats.

Mary Simpson stepped to Lady Beth's side as Lady Ulrika sat to the princess' right. "I owe you one," Mary murmured.

"Too right you do." They exchanged small smiles as Lady Beth passed some programs over, then Mary took her seat as Lady Beth returned to the rear of the room and joined Casey and Staci standing against the rear wall.

"I thought you said there were two or three seats left open," Casey muttered.

"I guess I was wrong." Lady Beth straightened up as the side door opened again and Marla stepped through. "Oops. Here we go."

****

Marla closed the door almost all the way after her girls walked out, leaving it open just a crack to peer through. She waited for them to arrange themselves on the risers, waiting for her moment to walk out. Just as she was about to do so, three people came in the back of the room. A moment later, Lady Beth and Casey were up and talking to them. Marla's jaw dropped as she recognized who the late visitors were. She spun from the doorway.

"Franz!" Marla hissed. "It's Mary and Princess Kristina! What are they doing here?"

Franz stepped over and applied an eye to the crack. "Well, at a guess, it appears the princess has come to hear the concert, bringing Frau Mary with her as a companion."

Marla backed up, wiping her hands on the jacket she was wearing. "Nobody told me they were coming."

"Mm-hmm." Franz was still looking through the crack. "From the looks of it, no one told Frau Lady Beth either. Some of the teachers are moving chairs down to the front row."

"That's not fair," Marla muttered.

Franz turned and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You have performed before her before."

"But that was different."

"In what way? You sang, and played your instruments. Remember how Maestro Giacomo described conductors—we are those who play the musicians. There is no difference between using your hands to evoke music from the piano and using them to evoke music from those girls. Now go," he slipped the jacket from her shoulders, "go and make music."

Marla took a deep breath. Franz was right—there was no difference. It didn't matter who was in the audience; she was ready, the girls were ready, it was time to sing. She turned and gave him a kiss. He touched her nose afterwards and she wiggled it in reply, bringing forth the smile it always did. Bowing, Franz opened the door. She squared her shoulders, and stepped forth.

****

Lady Beth watched as Marla strode out to stand in front of the risers. In the soft light of the great room, wearing the deep red skirt and gleaming white blouse with long black hair falling past her shoulders, the young woman looked very stately as she took a bow in acknowledgment of the applause.

"She looks just like she knows what she's doing," Lady Beth murmured. She didn't realize she'd said anything out loud until Casey leaned over to her.

"She does," Casey whispered. "Mom was one of her first teachers, so I've kind of kept up with what she's been doing over the years. She's very good."

"Yeah, but being good yourself doesn't mean you can teach it. How many mechanics or flat-picking guitarists have you seen that know how to do the work but couldn't put it in words to save themselves?"

"Ssh. She does. Watch."

****

Marla turned to face her girls. Everyone was in their best dress, faces were scrubbed clean, and most of them were smiling. A few looked nervous, but most were smiling. She looked at them all, gathering their eyes with her own. When they were all focused on her, she touched her chin with her index finger, the signal that she was ready to begin. Smiles disappeared as the girls seemed to lean forward a little, watching her intently. Marla hummed a pitch; they hummed it back. She raised her hands, gave the subtle movements of the right hand that gave them the beat, and began.

****

"Veni, veni Emmanuel!

Captivum solve Israel!

Qui gemit in exsilio,

Privatus Dei Filio.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel

Nascetur pro te, Israel."

"She's not using music," Lady Beth hissed.

"I told you," Casey whispered back, "she's good."

"Veni, Veni O Oriens!

Solare nos adveniens,

Noctis depelle nebulas,

Dirasque noctis tenebras.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel

Nascetur pro te, Israel.

Veni, Veni, Rex gentium,

Veni, Redemptor omnium,

Ut salvas tuos famulos

Peccati sibi conscios.

Gaude, gaude, Emmanuel

Nascetur pro te, Israel."

Lady Beth joined in the applause. She didn't understand the Latin very well, but she had heard the English words in her mind, and 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel' was one of her favorites. What the girls had sung was absolutely beautiful—a unison sound, so pure it was almost perfect, quiet enough that it seemed hushed, loud enough that everyone in the great room could hear it. Chills ran up her spine and the hair on her neck tingled.

She leaned back over to Casey. "Okay, she knows what she's doing.

****

The rest of the concert held true to the spirit and sound of that first selection. And what impressed Lady Beth was all were sung without accompaniment, yet the young voices were true.

Adeste Fideles
—also in Latin, of course.
O Come, All Ye Faithful
, to Lady Beth.

Joy to the World
in English.

Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle
in French. Lady Beth kept singing 'Bring a torch, Jeannette, Isabelle,' under her breath until Casey poked an elbow into her ribs.

Greensleeves
in English.

Los Peces in el Rio
in Spanish. Lady Beth didn't recognize it.

Coventry Carol
in English. She sort of knew this one.

In Dulci Jubilo
in Latin and German. Lady Beth knew it as 'Good Christian Men, Rejoice.'

Tu scendi dalle stelle
in Italian. Another one Lady Beth didn't recognize, but very pretty nonetheless.

Marla had made short little introductions to each of the subsequent pieces of the concert, repeating some of the information in the printed programs. True to form, she turned and spoke to the audience again. Lady Beth admired how polished her German had become.

"For the last song on the program, we will sing a song written in the up-time by a German pastor, Johann Grüber. Those of you who heard my recital last year heard this song then. I trust you will enjoy it."

Marla turned back to the girls. A moment later, her hands were in the air, and they began.

"Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Alles schläft, einsam wacht

Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar,

Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar

Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh'!

Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh'!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Hirten erst kund gemacht

Durch der Engel Halleluja

Tönt es laut von fern und nah:

'Christ, der Retter, ist da!'

'Christ, der Retter, ist da!'

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht

Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund,

Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund'.

Christ, in Deiner Geburt!

Christ, in Deiner Geburt!"

Lady Beth had a good vantage point from where she stood in the back of the room. She watched as Marla's expressive hands shaped the music coming from the fifty-plus girls on the risers. She listened to the purity of the voices, to the sound of love expressed, and was brought to the point of tears. It wasn't a bravura performance of what was to her a beloved old carol, but it was one of the most beautiful she had ever heard.

There was a hush after the song ended. It stretched for a moment, until Marla dropped her hands and stepped to one side. Then the applause erupted. Marla waved to the girls, and they took a bow as the applause continued. Finally, as the applause began to wane, Marla held up a hand and stepped to the center again.

"Thank you. On behalf of the girls, thank you for your support." She looked back over her shoulder at the girls, then looked back with a mischievous grin on her face as the girls started to giggle.

"Uh oh." Lady Beth wasn't sure what was coming next, but she was certain that it was going to be something unexpected.