A/N:
To guest reviewers:
To Dsky, I'm so pleased that you enjoyed the previous story and that you're looking forward to this one! And, in regards to whom Mrs. Butte reminds you of, I think you'll find more of an answer in this chapter. Though, if it helps, she's someone who I've based on quite a few characters and experiences I've encountered.
To Guest, having looked up just what a "pip" is I find myself definitely agreeing! It certainly will be stressful indeed. And, when it comes to Cora's emails, they definitely are going to pull the choirs in an unexpected direction.
General Author's Note:
Who's ready for some drama, some fluffy Chelsie moments, some proper reactions from the students about everything, and some further build in plot?
Also, as a note about updates: I'm going to try to consistently update every 2-3 days. If something changes, I'll be sure to let you all know.
Now, let's get this show on the road!
_._
He came back much too soon, this she could immediately tell.
But she could also tell that saying as such was just make things worse.
"It figures that our elevator will be out of commission for the next three weeks." Elsie darkly muttered, walking alongside Charles as they trudged up the stairs. But, he shook her frustration away, more focused on getting caught up on any news.
"I know you gave me a brief report of everything that happened yesterday when you dropped by," Which, in her opinion, was the opposite of letting him rest and recover, "But, has anything changed at all today?"
The man paused a moment, already looking a bit too woozy for her liking. Frankly, she had a half a mind to grab him and drag him back in the direction of the nurse's office - or, simpler still, back to his home. She was sure Mrs. Butte could handle the students if it was indeed necessary to guide Charles all the back to his home and deposit him into bed. Though, if that did happen, it would probably become necessary to restrain him somehow so as to ensure he's staying in said bed.
Of course, thinking of that created ideas that were certainly not appropriate - especially considering just who it was in mind!
"Mrs. Hughes?" She was pulled back to the present moment with ease, determined not to get caught up in these silly little fantasies that had been intermittently sneaking into her mind for a some time now.
Though, speaking of getting caught up in one thoughts, she had a theory she wanted to test about her colleague.
"The rooms are currently ablaze courtesy of the altos, heads have been lost due to the tenors, none of the music is accounted for thanks to the baritones and basses, and the sopranos have protested being repeatedly given the melody." He blankly nodded, confirming that he had not heard a single word she'd just utter. "Mr. Carson are you sure you should be back so soon? According to Isobel, you could apparently be gone for a whole semester and still have available sick days."
"No, Mrs. Hughes, that is not an option." And, yes, he was still purposefully addressing her as such even after knowing the truth of her marital status. "I simply cannot allow any more chaos to descend upon our program."
Oh, she was going to strangle him if he kept indulging in a obstinacy that would do him far more harm than good.
"And when you collapse in front of the students? What then?"
"Hmm?"
Elsie sharply shook her head at this inattentive sound, exasperated beyond belief.
"Well, this has reassured me." The woman drawled, hardly needing to hide her eye-roll when he was this distracted.
"I'm glad to hear that-" He almost stumbled, having slipped up on a step. She reached out to help him, trying to stop him from taking a fall down the stairs. This only resulted in her putting out her hands to stop him as she realized he was in worse shape than even she anticipated.
"Steady on, Mr. Carson!" She cried out, noticing her colleague start to sway at a lumbering lento.
"Mrs. Hughes, I can assure you-" That's when he stumbled once more.
That's also the moment that she's found herself maneuvering on the stairs to properly catch him - wrapping her arms around him the moment she could take hold of him. This was a little difficult to do on steps, especially since she was just a tad smaller than her colleague, but after a minute Elsie found herself securely holding onto her friend.
And, if Charles even dared to mention how she was not acting with "propriety" or "decorum" with these actions she would ditched her original plan of bringing him to a practice room to rest a little before class. Instead, she'd settle for hauling him back down the stairs towards her home - it was closer, after all - before proceeding to toss him onto her bed and staying there until he fell asleep.
Because if he thinks this is improper, he's in for a rude awakening in regards to how Elsie could really treat the situation.
"Let's try this new concept called 'taking our time' shall we? Surely we can do that, if anything." Now that she had his back pressed firmly into her chest in an effort to keep him from falling over, she was going to stay right by his side. "I can assure you, with the echo these stairs provide, we'll know if a student is about to see you in such a state. I can also assure that, if a student does appear, I will not be letting go."
As though on cue, the entrance door to the third floor opened - cutting off his flustered protest. In less than two heartbeats, she could make out the sounds of steps unwittingly approaching them. She turned, prepared to glare at anyone who dared to make this situation any worse. But, upon recognition, her glare quickly shifted into a smile instead. Out of all the students to encounter in this moment, John Drake was one of the better options.
"John, would you be so kind as to inform Mrs. Butte that Mr. Carson will not be coming in to teach today? She should be in 402."
"What do you mean 'Mr. Carson will not be coming in to- to - to teach today'?" Came the gruff response that trailed off as she shot him the glare originally intended for the students unfortunate enough to cross their paths.
Let's just say that John was not deterred in the slightest when it came to listening to the command- request of his choir teacher.
"Yes, Mrs. Hughes." Elsie nodded her thanks, knowing that she didn't have to warn the baritone not to say anything about this. After a moment of readjusting her hold, she continued up to drag her friend the stairs.
"Mr. Carson, you're not fit to be here if you can hardly stand." He began to protest again, but she sent him a look that shut him up immediately. "But, seeing as how we're already only one flight of steps away, there's no point in forcing you back down the stairs just yet." It was true that he really couldn't stand: Charles had unintentionally started leaning on Elsie since they had past the second floor.
"Mrs. Hughes, I don't wish to come off as impertinent, but surely I am the best judge of my health?"
"Mr. Carson, if you're falling over just from climbing the stairs, you're hardly in a position to argue with me." She opened the door to the second fourth floor with surprising ability - seeing as how she literally had her hands full.
The good news was that Charles was beginning to cave into Elsie's unspoken request to let her take care of him. This was evident as he had started to let her carry his weight instead of feigning good health.
The bad news was that their current position really didn't contain neither propriety nor decorum. And, soon, there would be several teenage boys coming up those same steps to class.
Fortunately, the hall was empty as she guided him into one of the practice rooms across the way from 402.
"Now, I know there isn't a couch for you to rest on here," She guided him to the closest practice room that also contained a decent chair to sit in. "But, you need to catch your breath and this is the only option other than the floor."
Charles shuddered at the idea of laying out in an undignified heap on the floor, just as Elsie knew he would. She opened the door, having him temporarily lean against the wall before doing so.
"No, that is definitely not an option, Mrs. Hughes." She smiled once more, pleased at the implication that he was actually willing to sit down in the first place. She then guided him off the wall and into the room, sliding him down into the only chair in the space. Throughout the process, she took note of the paleness that had never really gone away during this entire interaction. That, and the fact that he seemed to be a bit warmer than she'd like.
In short, Mr. Carson would be not be teaching today.
And if he even thought of attempting as such... well, he would soon be finding himself understanding just why that was a stupid idea.
"Yes, well, I'll be back before you know it."
Of that, he could be absolutely sure.
_._
Gladys Denker was always one for a bit of fun, for a bit snark, and for a bit of passing around rumors as she ever so sweetly helped her fellow students remain aware of everything in their academy.
Of course, in order to help them that meant that she always needed to keep a careful eye on everyone - students, teachers, authority figures, etc.
For example,
"Now, students," She watched Mrs. Hughes begin to direct the choir same as normal. Or, at least that's it appeared. Yet, because Gladys had the foresight to closely watch her teacher, she could see the subtle signs that something was not right with the woman.
Having been watching Mrs. Hughes for the last semester, she knew her teacher's habits fairly well. The woman would occasionally want to bite her lip when they weren't quite getting the music, her hands would falter slightly if the harmonies weren't as good as normal, she straightened up when she was ready to lecture them or when Mr. Carson was making a remark, and more.
Still, Elsie tended to try to maintain a level of acceptance and calm even when she wasn't happy with them. And while Gladys didn't necessarily believe that this was the way to interact with the world, the alto had long since accepted that this was the way Mrs. Hughes worked.
But, here's the funny thing. More than once within the last forty minutes, her choir teacher had been a bit sharper than normal with everyone. She'd been particularly demanding on certain parts of their songs, to the point where a lecture appeared to occur every couple of minutes.
And that wasn't the only peculiarity:
Every couple of minutes, when everyone was supposed to staring at their sheet music and singing along with the piano, Gladys caught her teacher glancing in the direction of the exit as though she were concerned about something.
How fascinating.
Naturally, this was a situation that she needed to explore. After all, what if there was something wrong within the building that required everyone's immediate departure? Or, what if Mrs. Hughes was withholding a secret that the students should know about?
Gladys felt it was only her duty to investigate and report any hints of news to her peers, just so as to make sure everyone was made aware of all the information they ought to.
However, Mrs. Hughes's glances at the exit aside, there was something else that just as interesting.
Mrs. Butte was a teacher that Gladys rarely had to deal with when she had been in the Treble Choir last year. It's true that the woman had been in charge of the Treble Choir at the time, but neither of them ever had cause to have many conversations. Though, just like Mrs. Hughes, that didn't mean the alto hadn't been carefully observing her as well.
And, underneath what always seemed to be a sweet, if somewhat apathetically perfectionist demeanor, something had changed within the teacher since she'd returned to the school.
Something that seemed to grow little by little every time Mrs. Butte looked at Mrs. Hughes.
Oh, I do believe we're in for an interesting time this semester. Came the gleeful thought.
And, whenever this interesting time decided to occur, Gladys would be there to thoroughly enjoy it.
_._
"Will Mr. Carson be out for the rest of the semester, Mrs. Hughes? Like Mrs. Butte was?" The tenor sounded just a little too hopeful in her opinion.
"No, he will not, Jimmy." Mrs. Hughes responded. "He should be back by next week at the latest."
If he actually rests, that is.
"If Mr. Carson doesn't recover by then, will class be cancelled until he does?" Once again, the young man was carrying far too much optimism. "It just wouldn't be right to continue rehearsing if he's unable to tell us the direction he'd want us to go in."
"I'm sure Mr. Carson would be the first to say otherwise." Mrs. Butte's voice contained a hint of steel underneath what sounded like a sugary response. And with that response Mrs. Hughes caught something in the reaction of the students before - something that she had not seen in the previous semester. But it wasn't something she had time to decipher. "We will be passing out more music today."
"Joy," She heard the faint muttering come from the back, most likely from O'Brien. However, before Elsie could say anything in response, it was already being taken care of.
"Did you have something you wanted to share with the rest of the class, Sarah?"
"No, Mrs. Butte." It was the meekest reply she'd ever heard from the alto. It certainly didn't contain any of the attitude that the voice teacher was used to catching.
And, Elsie didn't know how she felt about that.
"Good. Now, seeing as how you should be working on all your songs during your own time, we shall not focus solely on 'Set Me As A Seal Today' today. Instead, I'd like you all to take out 'Vox Populi'. That will be our second song for the competition."
Surely we could at least review "Set Me As A Seal" before moving on? Elsie wanted to ask, a little concerned that they weren't at least briefly looking it over before they worked on another song. But, the students were already flipping to the appropriate sheet music. And, Emma had suggested working on "Vox Populi" today so as to give Elsie time to check in on and take care of their director.
So she could hardly challenge the decision, even if she didn't like the timing.
But speaking of timing, if "Vox Populi" was already being brought up then it was time for her colleague to make her request, just as they had planned in between classes. Seeing as how none of the Advanced students knew that Mr. Carson was here, it certainly wouldn't be necessary to concern the singers with that fact. Nor would it be a good idea to mention that he was not only here, he was also passed out in a practice room less than twenty meters away.
"Mrs. Hughes," The choir teacher spoke up, almost as though she'd read the other woman's thoughts. "Seeing as how this is an a cappella piece," The students brightened considerably, not that either teacher was paying much attention. "Would you be so kind as to run that errand we discussed earlier?"
Elsie nodded, not really looking at the students now that her thoughts were returning to concern about her colleague. She truly was worried for him - to the point where she missed the tension within the classroom that was brought on by Mrs. Butte's request.
"I do believe now is as good a time as any." She hardly felt the urge to remind them all to be on their best manners with Emma - this was the school's most advanced choir, after all. They knew what they were doing.
"Perfect." Mrs. Butte said, a pleasant smile fixing itself upon her face. "Well, we would hate to keep you from such an important task."
"Quite right." Mrs. Hughes vaguely agreed, hoping that Mr. Carson's condition hadn't worsened since she last checked. She was also hoping that she wouldn't find him on the floor - having woken up and made an attempt to drag himself back into 402. And, so, with a renewed purpose Elsie turned on her heels and briskly started heading for the door.
Though, as she left, the atmosphere shifted into something a little more unpleasant. Elsie attributed this to her own concerns, but she did take note of it in any case.
After all, she was never one for an atmosphere.
Little did she know, that atmosphere was not one of her imagination.
And furthermore, that atmosphere would only slowly be getting worse.
_._
After the door had closed, Emma's smile had turned bitter as she turned to face her choir.
"Do I need to remind you of our little rules we've discussed?" That there would be no talking back, that they would listen to her and follow her instruction to the letter. That if they did not learn their music within the appropriate time, they would not be allowed to compete let along sing at the concert.
And that, since she of course ran these rules by Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson, there would be severe consequences for not following her instruction.
They were, of course, the best singers in the school. That gave them the right to be held to the highest standards possible in her book.
And with both of her colleagues soon heading out of the building, she simply had to maintain those standards.
_._
He had been resting his head on the wall when she had returned, having woken up at some point.
"Mrs. Hughes?" Fortunately, Charles didn't seem to be any worse than when Elsie had last checked on him. And that did make it a bit easier to concentrate and continue on with the situation.
"How do you feel, Mr. Carson?" He could only look at her, looking absolutely miserable, giving her an answer without saying a word.
"I'm afraid that we've got to get you back home and the sooner the better."
He could only groan in response, dreading the idea of moving in general.
Elsie sighed once more, not wanting to move him just yet but also knowing that this was the best opportunity to usher him out. At this time, there'd be no students taking lunch and very few teachers would be occupying the halls for academics - lowering the possibility of unintentional embarrassment by a fair amount. Besides, she'd already run this plan by Emma before class had started. The woman had immediately agreed that this plan was for the best and that Elsie was to take as much time as she needed to get Mr. Carson home.
"Well, unfortunately, you won't get any better sitting here." He certainly wouldn't obtain any genuine rest if he stayed in that chair. "Do you think you can stand?"
Though, whether he could or not, she'd be there to catch him.
"I think so, yes."
"Do you need a hand-" But he was already pushing himself up, managing to remain on his feet without any support.
For about three seconds, that is.
"Mr. Carson!" It was a little difficult to suddenly take hold of him as he began to plummet back towards the ground - seeing as how he was significantly larger than her and his weight was certainly not helping matters. Still, to avoid the both of them ending up sprawled out on top of each other on the floor, she'd certainly make this work.
Needless to say, it was not going to be easy.
_._
A short while later
"Mrs. Hughes?" Rose had crossed paths with the woman on the way to lunch, noting that the woman seemed far more tired than she had during the start of their rehearsal. And, if the young soprano was noticing it, that meant it was far more apparent than the woman would like. "Is everything alright?"
Initially, Rose was going to bring up the fact that Mrs. Butte's new rules didn't seem to match the normal expectations that Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson seemed to carry. But, with her teacher looking as though she'd just gone some sort of a Herculean task, it didn't seem fair to add to her plate right now with something.
"Perfectly fine," Elsie easily lied, not having the desire to concern her student. Taking Charles back home, when nobody was able to lend a car, meant that she had to practically carry him back to his home. And by the time she realized she could've called an Uber or an equivalent, she was close enough to his place of residence that she didn't want to bother with it. By that point in the journey, the whole ordeal had turned into a matter of pride.
"If you're sure," Rose said not really believing her and now wondering just what sort of errand Mrs. Butte sent her on.
"I am indeed."
They stood still for a moment, both observing each other.
And then Rose remembered one other little question she had for the woman.
"Mrs. Hughes?"
"Yes, Rose?"
"I would really like to sing compete by singing a solo this semester, if possible."
Elsie really should've known that that would be what the soprano would be requesting. Really, the older woman had witnessed Rose's exuberance when the solo opportunity had been announced.
"Of course. Come up to 403 after school finishes today, and we'll see what we can find."
_._
Normally, upon returning to the the second fourth floor, Elsie would be content to sit down and take it easy. However, after a morning like the one she's just had, Elsie decided that taking a break to visit the band room was more than acceptable.
Besides, if she stayed in 402 or 403, some potential soloist would find her and she'd be back on her feet soon enough.
Once a note was posted on the door, informing any potential soloists to come back after-school if they intended on requesting a song, with a surge of stubbornness she found herself once more. And soon enough, her feet were bringing her down to the third floor and back up to the first floor fourth floor for the much needed respite.
To distract herself, because she'd not done this much walking in ages, she began to think about anything other than Mr. Carson's untimely flu, solos, Mr. Carson altogether, soloists, inappropriate thoughts involving Mr. Carson, and her thoughts about the choirs. Maybe Beryl would have something of interest for her that would help to distract-
"What on Earth is that?"
Beryl took one look at the box in question and snorted in disbelief.
"Confiscated it yesterday," Her dear friend began to explain, before cocking her head inquisitively. "You mean to tell me you've never heard of Cards Against Humanity?"
"It rings a bell, but not one I've paid any mind to," Elsie confessed, taking a step towards the box of cards.
"That doesn't surprise me in the slightest."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Beryl smirked, hardly refraining from raising an eyebrow.
"It means that you're just as likely to have played the game as our esteemed Old Bat is to have heard of it!"
"Well," Elsie sharply inhaled at the challenge, knowing that she probably shouldn't even get involved with such an obvious ploy. "I never!"
But with the day she's been having, as well as the nagging feeling that something was wrong on the second fourth floor, she found herself more willing to be distracted for once.
"Go on then, I dare you." Beryl grabbed the game and brought them to her office. "Live a little for once."
Elsie paused at this, the words of choice bring back a fond memory from a few months back. But, Beryl was now opening the game and gesturing for her friend to get a move on.
And so she did.
_._
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't care for Mrs. Butte's new rules." Jane Moorsum grumbled to herself as she poked at another questionable lunch from the cafeteria.
"What do you mean, her rules?" Lavinia Swire, a second soprano who only recently transferred into Downton, gracefully inquired. Being quite new to the school, she'd been surprised to already have a few friends to sit with - especially since it was only the first week.
"Did Mrs. Butte not give Bel Canto any rules to follow, Lavinia?" Edith asked.
"Well, she and Mrs. Hughes did list expectations for the semester."
"There you have it then," Jane darkly remarked.
"She does seem to have increased her standards since last year," Laura Edmunds remarked. Gwen Dawson, currently hailing from Bel Canto, turned the statement over in her mind - thinking it through when it came to her own choir.
"Well, our rehearsals in Bel Canto have been a bit harder. But since Mrs. Hughes is in charge, it's more fun than anything else. And Mrs. Butte has hardly said a word since the first day." Gwen briefly added.
"Aren't you the lucky ones-"
"Well, I don't care for much for her new attitude." Sybil declared, ignoring Jane's attitude. "I don't think that her being a teacher gives her the right to treat us in such a fashion - having these rules and expectations that strike me more as demeaning than anything else!"
"I agree." Tom said, "It's certainly not how Mrs. Hughes would have treated us if she had been in charge."
"Well, clearly Mrs. Hughes is not in charge." The eldest Crawley sister was beginning to lose her cool - having been hearing this conversation since the first rehearsal. "That little errand she was sent on today is proof enough. And, whether or not her attitude is 'nice', Mrs. Butte's intention revolve around preparing us for the competition. So, does it really matter how she treats us or what rules she has?"
"I for one think it does." Edith quickly retorted. Mary scoffed at this, unwilling to care about her sister's opinion. "What's your opinion, Matthew?"
The tenor in question paused, thinking his words carefully before he spoke.
"While I find her expectations to be harsh, I'm not convinced that there's been enough to warrant any reprimand - especially if Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes agree with her standards."
"You see," Mary began to primly speak, but Matthew was not finished.
"However, I do believe there is cause for concern." He continued, "I have performed in several choirs before coming to Downton. While Mrs. Butte's behavior so far is still acceptable for a choir teacher, she reminds me of some previous teachers I can no longer respect or trust."
All in all, Mrs. Butte strongly symbolized many of the reasons he'd transferred into Downton in the first place: the previous school he had attended, one Carlisle Institute, was an academic organization where her competitive and possibly manipulative behavior would be considered the norm. And it was that norm that allowed teachers like Mrs. Butte to go far beyond what was acceptable or right when it came to their students.
"So, what do we do?" Gwen asked her fellow singer, wondering what his answer would be.
"Honestly, her behavior is hardly something that requires such attention." But, Mary's opinion was not going to be accepted as the correct belief - not this time. "And it's not like we haven't already improved thanks to her."
After all, today she had them all stand in their sections and sing. That would've been normal except for the fact that she walked up through each section, listening to every single voice as they went over their parts. Anyone who did not match the correct pitch after the first five minutes was to sit down and silently listen to the correct voices.
It made for quite a distinct learning session. And, the only reason it was still acceptable was because she did not insult anyone outright. Mrs. Butte merely gestured to them so as to signal it was time for them to be quiet, sit down and listen. And by the time that Mrs. Hughes had returned, everyone had messed up to the point of sitting down and facing the front in silence.
"Well," Matthew thought about the matter once more as he responded. "We can't act yet. To outright rebel only gives her more reason to practice strict standards, to complain before there's legitimate proof will only further dismiss our claims."
"So, we do nothing." Tom retorted, not very pleased with this plan. Of course, he wouldn't be after today's rehearsal - Mrs. Butte was severely rigorous with the second sopranos today, observing their section the longest and making sure anyone who wasn't right was immediately silence. And even if Sybil had not been a second soprano, that sort of behavior would make Tom was even less of a fan of the woman than he already was. "We do nothing and we let her get away with this."
"Not quite," Matthew's tone contained an edge to it, uncharacteristic for the well-mannered tenor.
"What then?" Edith inquired. "If we don't report and we don't ignore it, what's left?"
"We take note of what's happening. We don't sweep anything under the rug. If she starts to go beyond what's appropriate, we don't brush it off and dismiss the matter altogether. And, we keep a careful watch on how she's treating all of the ensembles."
For Matthew suspected that Emma Butte could and would do a lot of damage to the other ensembles if left to her own devices. After all, who wanted to sing and let music be an outlet for life if it would only result in mocking criticism or caustic remarks? Who would want to subject themselves to such treatment if it left them feeling idiotic, hopeless, incompetent, and worse?
If they were a professional choir, one where perfection was paid for and was the expectation, it would be a different situation. But they were teenagers in a private academy, teenagers that just wanted to enjoy an enchanting part of life.
Therefore, the second that woman's "rules" or actions went beyond what would be deemed acceptable, Matthew would be ready to report it. Though, in order to make sure this did not result in Mrs. Butte eventually dismissing the matter, there were a steps that needed to be taken.
_._
"Mrs. Hughes," Edith had seen the note saying to revisit 403 if you were interested in a solo, and now she was doing as such. "Do you have a moment?"
"Edith," The older woman warmly greeted. "Are you also interested in a solo?"
That's when the second soprano realized that they were not the only people in 403. Jimmy, Rose, and a few others were sitting inside the room, all patiently waiting their turn.
"I could always come back," The student offered, taken aback by the situation she'd unintentionally interrupted.
"There's no need for that," Elsie said, "This won't take that long - I'm merely selecting the piece and making a quick copy to look over in your own time."
"If you insist," Came the weak response, as her teacher was already guiding her to a seat.
"I do indeed. Now, Rose, I believe you were here first."
_._
As the first soprano followed her teacher into the music library, Elsie was already narrowing down the list of possibilities. But, before she could select anything, she needed to see where her student was when it came to solo work.
"Have you sung a solo before?" Rose shook her head.
"Not at Downton. But, I have sung solos before and I've had a few private voice lessons." This didn't surprise the woman in the slightest, though it did help in giving her some idea of Rose's level of experience.
"And what languages have you sung solos in?"
"Primarily English, though I did have two songs in Spanish and one in German." Elsie nodded, immediately crossing those three languages off the mental list.
"In that case, since I do recall your basic range," Rose beamed at this, clearly excited. "I do believe I already have an idea."
French would be a nice little challenge for the first soprano. And this song in particular would be fun regardless of the version.
She perused the books dedicated to soprano solos, debating between Fauré or Debussy. However, upon looking back the young woman, Debussy's arrangement seemed more fitting for her personality.
"Ah, yes, here it is." Elsie gazed down at the book fondly. While she did prefer Fauré's version, just looking at any version of "Mandoline" once again sparked pleasant memories.
"What's it about Mrs. Hughes?" Rose asked, peering over her shoulder in an effort to look at the song.
"The mandolin, of course." The first soprano was unfazed by this, eagerly continuing to look over the first page.
"It's quite pretty." Elsie nodded at this, able to agree on that.
"It certainly is. And I do believe you'll enjoy the end of the song, particularly." After all, how often did one have the chance to repeatedly sing "La" in a classical piece?
"You think so?" They began to head back in the direction of the copy machine, Rose now borrowing the book to sight read what she could.
"Yes." The older woman was quite firm in this, her gut feeling saying that Rose would fall in love with this song faster than she'd realize.
_._
Matthew trekked up to the second fourth floor with ease, Mary trailing curiously behind.
"I don't see why you find it necessary to do this." She remarked, still finding his behavior to be over-dramatic. Mrs. Butte wasn't torturing them or some ridiculous equivalent - she was only taking on her role in preparing them with as much vigor as possible.
And Mary wanted to win this competition. She wanted to know that she was apart of the best choir in the North of England - not the UK.
So, if Mrs. Butte's strict standards were necessary, then so be it.
"I find it necessary to do this because I have witnessed this sort of occurrence before."
"Well, complaining to Mrs. Hughes isn't going to get you very far."
"That's not my intention." He already knew that. But, unlike Mary's beliefs, he recognized that it wouldn't get him far if only because they were still in the first week. And while Mrs. Butte's measures had atypically harsh - and he did see that this only occurred when she was the only one in the room - her measures still fell into a range that could be dismissed quite easily.
So, he wasn't going to complain or protest.
But, he was going to plant an idea. For, if he had learned anything at Carlisle Institute, it was that sometimes one needed to act more clever and complexly than they'd normally like.
Upon their arriving to 402, they glanced inside to see Mrs. Hughes and Rose conversing over a songbook.
"There, she's busy helping the soloists for the semester. Something I should be doing myself already,"
"If you'd like to wait in that queue, you are more than welcome to do so."
"I'd rather-" The door to 402 opened, "Oh, good afternoon, Mrs. Hughes!"
"Good afternoon, Mary, Matthew. Were you interested in selecting a solo?"
"I'm afraid I don't have enough time this afternoon to do so," Mary replied around Matthew's, "Oh, I'm not interested in a solo, Mrs. Hughes."
"Are you sure?" The woman asked them both, now confused as to why they were paying her a visit.
"Quite sure." Matthew said, as Mary nodded in response. "Though, I do have a question."
"Oh?"
"Yes. It was just something I had been wondering about Mrs. Butte's rules-" He seemed to have caught note of the other soloists still waiting in 403, "But, judging from the people still waiting, I think it's best to ask at another time."
Speaking of, "Mrs. Hughes? Were you able to find a solo for Rose?"
Jimmy could almost always be relied upon to be outspoken when it suited him.
"I did indeed, Jimmy, I'll be just a minute." She turned back to Matthew, curious reflecting in her gaze. "While that may be for the best, you can be sure that I will not be forgetting that you had a question in the first place."
Matthew warmly smiled, having been counting on that.
"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes." He turned to Mary. "Well, we ought to make sure we're not late."
"Indeed," Mary agreed, knowing that that was more of an excuse to leave and less because they actually had somewhere they needed to be.
The pair swiveled back to their professor, quickly wishing her good luck with the soloists as they started to leave the second fourth floor.
"And what was the purpose of that little exercise?" She asked Matthew, once they were back on the stairs. The soprano had her own ideas, of course, but felt like humoring the situation by asking instead of assuming.
But, Matthew didn't feel like explaining at this time - not when they could easily be overheard.
"You'll see." The tenor spoke with an uncharacteristically cryptic tone, somewhat amused by Mary's obvious irritation that she was not going to be made privy to his plan just yet.
_._
"Mrs. Butte's rules"? The question came the second Matthew mentioned it. She couldn't recall her colleague mentioning any special rules that she'd be bringing up. And, seeing as how Emma had already left for the day, there wasn't a chance to ask her about it in person - at least, not before tomorrow.
"Mrs. Hughes, I'm ready whenever you are." The young tenor said, walking up to her with a winning smile that continued to have absolutely no impact on the teacher.
"In that case, follow me." She instructed, shaking her thoughts away so as to concentrate on the task at hand.
With Matthew's distracting question set firmly aside, the pair entered 402.
Interestingly enough, Elsie was looking forward to picking a solo for Jimmy. Though, perhaps it was less due to a fondness for the lad and more because she had full choice in deciding what he'd be singing. And, after several reminders that he'd be dropping by to select a solo, her patience was worn out to the point where she was very close to giving him something along the lines of "Largo Al Factotum" from The Barber of Seville.
Though, she wasn't that heartless if it was to be his first solo from her.
"Mrs. Hughes, I do hope whatever you have in mind will be fitting for a tenor of my talent."
Or, maybe she was that heartless.
"I think I have something that just might be suitable." She dryly spoke, deciding that Rossini's aria wasn't quite what the situation called for.
But something from Handel could be quite appropriate.
"Tell me, Jimmy, have you performed solos before?" He nodded, basking in a prideful reminiscent.
"When you are a tenor like myself, you find many solo opportunities in life."
Handel it would be then.
_._
After she'd exercised her patience with Jimmy and the two students that had followed, there was only one person left to help today.
"Edith, thank you so much for your patience." The second soprano looked up from studying the floor, a faint smile making its way onto her face at Elsie's arrival.
"Thank you for this opportunity." She responded. The older woman gave her own beam in response, pleased that the younger woman was giving this a shot even after what had happened with her solo audition in the last semester.
"You're welcome. Shall we go find you a solo, then?"
Edith gracefully rose to her feet, elegantly following Elsie and reminding her teacher that she was indeed a Crawley.
But, the older woman thought to herself, she isn't quite like her sisters.
With that in mind, the choir teacher returned to the music library for the final time that afternoon, her student trailing closely.
"Have you sung a solo before, Edith?"
"No, actually." The second soprano confessed, "Mary certainly has, and I think even Sybil has taken the time to learn one or two. But - well, I didn't think solos were for me."
"Well, I believe that everyone should at least try."
Seeing as how she had never sung one before, they certainly didn't need to delve into a foreign language. And, taking into consideration the young woman's range, Elsie already had an idea for something that would encourage her to step out of her comfort zone. Within minutes, she had found the book once more, opening it and flipping it to the appropriate page.
"'The Lass from the Low Countree'?" Edith asked, unsure herself.
"I think you'll find it to be a beautiful piece." Elsie responded, bringing them back towards the copy machine. "At the very least, I'd like to make a copy of it for you to look over in your spare time."
She could feel the younger woman's hesitation as they walked back. But, Edith was intrigued enough that the younger woman was willing to try it out.
And that is all that Elsie would ask for.
_._
For once, Thomas was waiting for Andy after school - not Sarah.
And furthermore, unlike the alto, Andy was taking his sweet time. They were supposed to meet up a few minutes after the end of the school day, but a few minutes apparently translates into half an hour.
Either way, it wasn't like he was going to reject his fellow singer - not when it was the first time someone other than Sarah was willing to hang out. It seemed that this year Andy needed some help if he wanted to pass his English classes. And when Thomas discovered as such the older teen had immediately offered his services.
Fortunately, the younger teen had accepted. The only condition being that they brought this up to no one - for fear of embarrassment, if anything.
"Mr. Carson," Thomas froze at the crossed sound of his choir teacher, "If you even think of coming back to school tomorrow when you still sound like that, I'll have you know,"
The woman swept past him - oblivious to everything other than her conversation. And with such a window of opportunity, he couldn't help but continue to unashamedly overhear the conversation.
"And don't even think of trying to wheedle another report about the choirs until you've actually recovered!"
Honestly, listening to this interaction merely brought back thoughts from the previous semester. Thoughts about how his teachers were quite possibly seeing each other in secret.
At the very least, it was clear that the two liked each other.
The level of that liking, though, that was unknown.
Either way, there was something else about Mrs. Hughes that See, there was something that was different about Mrs. Hughes, something that was subtle but also obvious. For the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was, and that had been bothering him ever since the start of the semester.
Of course, speaking of differences, Mrs. Butte certainly seemed to be on the war path these days. While he had never cared for the woman before, having seen through her facade immediately, he did realize that she had taken to returning to her post with a vengeance.
It did make sense. Why would Mrs. Butte, being the person that she is, be happy about the fact that Mrs. Hughes was staying on to continue helping the choirs?
"Thomas?" Andy seemingly popped out of nowhere, not that the older teen really minded. "I'm so sorry I'm late - where'd you want to go do this?"
He took the interruption to his thoughts in stride, turning to the younger singer with ease.
"I was thinking we could use one of the study rooms in the library - nobody goes there these days."
Andy nodded, content to go along with Thomas's plan and walk back to the school's library in silence.
Still, even though the two started to talk about the study plan for the afternoon, the baritone couldn't help but still wonder about his choir teachers.
He suspected that things were going to get worse for the Advanced Mixed Choir, seeing as Mrs. Butte was putting all her energy into perfecting them. Which meant there'd be more tension and pressure and exacting standards to mould them as best as she could.
Honestly though, Thomas found he didn't really care. It helped him as a singer to have such a demanding teacher. And it was beyond hilarious watching Tom and Sybil and the others get upset with the woman's demands.
So, other than that, how could Mrs. Butte really impact him?
Little did the baritone know, for all that he believed he though he could predict, he actually knew nothing about what would soon be happening.
For it seemed that the future would have quite a lot in store for the choirs of Downton Academy.
And no one was going to be avoiding that.
_._
A/N: Matthew is correct in believing that Mrs. Butte is not to be trusted. And, though only the students seem to be picking up her behavior, that's not going to remain the case. Mr. Carson can't catch anything in his condition, Mrs. Hughes has put too much on her plate for the time being, and Mrs. Butte is highly willing to take advantage of this. But, as I said before, that's definitely not going to always be the case.
Also, for those who are still curious about Cora's email and her request to meet with Mr. Carson, there will be answers in the next chapter.