Author's Note: Now, just because we've got a plotter in the background does not mean we can't have a little wedding-planning fun and some inspiring teaching!
_._
Thursday, the 6th of February, 2020
12:05 p.m.
They were basking in the unusual sunniness of the February day, the world beginning to open up when it came to the possibilities of spring. Traces of ease flickered through the windows, warming the pair of women to the idea that these next few months could be much less stressful than anticipated. Auditions were winding down as a whole, including this week's –– practically everyone who was interested in these last opportunities had stepped up to the plate.
Which mean the teachers could, with a great sigh of relief, finally return to other priorities.
"So, you mean you finally figured out the party favours?"
Elsie chuckled at her friend's silly antics, handing over the wedding's guest book over at the silent request –– delighted that they'd finally decided on one to purchase. She and Charles had had a sweet date spent in various shops, looking for just the right guest book as well as narrowing down the potential party favours. The former had taken a few hours to find –– a lovely little shop offering to customize their book for a decent price –– whereas the ideas for the latter struck them only thirty minutes into that evening.
"Well, we decided that we really couldn't come to a decision." Beryl nodded at this, having already heard this part, "But there's one thing that we both enjoy: tea."
"So?"
"So, once the auditions are over,"
"Which we've almost made it through all of them now!"
Ignoring her friend's good-natured quip, "We'll go over all the white mugs back in our flat,"
"You sure you'll be able to concentrate?" Beryl spoke far too cheekily for Elsie's taste, the implications about the engaged couple being far too obvious.
"Do you want to hear the rest of the plan or not?"
"'Course I do!"
The Scot shot her friend a look before deciding to finally humour the redhead's curiosity, "So, once the auditions are complete, we'll have the time to take a permanent marker to those mugs and write out the music notes for our favourite songs as well as the lyrics!"
Songs like "Dashing Away", "Somewhere", "O Holy Night", "Water Night" –– these would only be a few of the pieces referenced. A few measures of music would be written on one side, penned in a simple enough style it wouldn't overwhelm. And on the other side of the mug, the lyrics of that section would be written out. Some mugs would only get lyrics, some only the music notes. But, however it all worked out, it was the first time that Elsie was looking forward to her party favours.
"Won't that take a lot of work?" Beryl did think the concept sweet, but that it'd take a fair amount of time.
"Well, the wedding's not for another four months. Besides," She continued to knowingly speak, sending her another pointed look, "We'll have help."
"Becky's coming to town soon?" Beryl pulled out her phone's calendar, checking it over. "Oh, perfect! We've still got those trial runs for hair and make-up next Saturday, the timing should be perfect!"
"Becky'll be there for the trial-runs, but she won't be able to help with the mugs."
"Who else is gonna help, then?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe a certain band director who's also serving as my Maid of Honour."
Having made Becky her Matron of Honour while Beryl was her Maid was the best way to give them the honour she thought they deserved. And though the two women were the only ones to be in her bridal party, nobody minded.
Suddenly realizing just who the Scot was talking about, "Oh! Oh, I thought we already knew I'd be helping with this!"
"Did we now?"
"Oh, now you're the only being cheeky!"
The two women busted up into snickers and chortles at this, having needed the laugh. And, glancing about the empty room –– Beryl had sent Charles out to go talk to the administrators so the two of them could talk just them –– the band director remembered another curiosity she had.
"I still can't believe you decided to go with a small ensemble over picking a duet. I like Into the Woods as much as the next person, but it's not an easy piece. And, opening those auditions to the whole choirs instead of just your Concert Choir bunch –– has the phrase 'taking it easy' ever struck either of your minds?"
"You say that all you want, Beryl, but we're already sorting out all of those auditions –– we're not changing a thing."
"Well, I suppose it's not as bad as agreeing to work with Alice for the showcase! I still can't believe you agreed to that."
"It's not as though we had that much of a choice…"
_._
12:41 p.m.
"Are you looking for Mr. Carson?"
Linda already knew that this was the only reason Mary Crawley would be persuaded to come up here during her lunch period. As of late, the soprano had retreated from auditions and singing as a whole. Ever since she didn't get a part in Drowsy Chaperone, one of the last Concert Choir auditions for the semester, the eldest Crawley daughter had grown indifferent to singing. The dark-haired beauty continued to rehearse her individual solo and she never missed the class rehearsals.
But she'd withdrawn. She sang only what was necessary and nothing more. She didn't put additional enthusiasm into her performance, and it was showing. And while Linda didn't think the soprano should be coddled when it came to auditioning, she didn't want the young woman to turn away from music because of this experience.
"I am." Mary coolly responded, polite if distant, "You haven't seen him, have you?"
"Mr. Carson should be back in a few minutes," Upon being kicked out–– sent away from 403 so Mrs. Patmore and Mrs. Hughes could chat for a bit, he'd decided to listen to the band director's advice and update the admin on their musical theatre efforts.
"I'll wait then." The young soprano informed the assistant, choosing to take a seat near the front of the classroom –– content to ignore Linda whilst she waited for the choir director.
As they sat in as amiable a silence as they could, the teaching assistant couldn't help but think back to her observations of the young soprano this week. How she'd seem more detached from the proceedings as a whole, something that didn't need to her attitude toward musical theatre or singing.
"I know my opinion probably doesn't mean anything to you, but I think you should keep trying."
Mary haughtily glanced in her direction, "'Keep trying', Miss Vance?"
Linda should've rolled her eyes at the attempt to be like the choir director. But the older woman knew where the attitude was coming from and had no desire to feed into the negativity.
"Solos. You should keep trying to audition for solos." There's not that many left, as it stands.
"Oh? And why is that?"
The assistant knew that the soprano was humouring her. That she'd probably walk away having ignored any piece of advice given. Still, if Linda said her piece, then she didn't have to keep wondering if she did enough.
"Because if you only try when you have a guarantee of success, you don't actually get anywhere."
Mary looked away at this, highly unimpressed by not only the corny advice but also the assumption that she wasn't trying because she wasn't guaranteed anything. Flipping through the pages of her choir binder –– every student needed one black 3" binder with which to practice with, a container for all of their music –– she perused the contents of the only song available for auditioning.
"Well, I've no interest in 'Once'. And I hardly doubt I'd even want to be successful with 'Into the Woods' if it meant playing the role of Cinderella," Mary said with distaste, recalling the plot of that musical quite easily. She had no interest in Little Red, not needing to stuff her face with biscuits and the likes on stage, if ever. Moreover, the Baker's Wife hardly appealed to her, seeming to be a minor character in the grand scheme. And, furthermore, since she never cared for fairy tales like Cinderella, why bother?
"I think 'Children Will Listen' could be right up your alley."
Linda left it at that, noticing the disdain Mary had been clutching these last few minutes finally faltered. Her gaze remained aloofly pointed in another direction, but something has shifted within her posture as she continued to think the matter over.
Now, it would take Mr. Carson only another minute or two to make his way back up the steps. But when he finally did, he'd be very surprised by what he found. That would be because, upon returning to 402, he would discover that Mary Crawley had a request for him –– something besides another rehearsal working on her full-length solo, that is.
It was a request the young woman didn't make until they'd been left alone, finally speaking up only once they'd taken one of the nearby practice rooms. And seeing as how his favourite Crawley daughter looked to have given up on auditioning, he'd been astonished to hear her request just that:
One audition for the small ensemble piece.
_._
Friday, the 7th of February, 2020
7:16 a.m.
"'Oh, Linda,'" The teaching assistant muttered to herself, unaware that she had an audience watching her step into the hallway of the second fourth floor, "'You should have the privilege of pinning up the callback list this time.' More like, I should have the chance to face the vultu–– Camellia!"
Camellia Botterill did not spend twenty-six minutes of her time on this floor just to hear the teaching assistant start complaining about her unpaid job. She spent twenty-six minutes of her entirely too precious time on this floor to find out if she got a callback for "I Could Have Danced All Night".
Which, if she was right, the answer to that question was only a few feet away.
"Entirely ridiculous!" The blonde proclaimed, having snatched the paper out of the assistant's hands before the woman taped it up, scanning the document for herself. "Maribel Diaz got a callback and I didn't?! And who are all these other people?"
Little did Camellia know, acting so childishly was only going to reinforce the idea that she didn't deserve a solo. In fact, had she stayed a little longer, she would have witnessed Miss Vance sighing in disappointment to herself at the behaviour before pinning the paper to the wall, next to all the other prior auditions.
And, had she the Bel Canto singer spent another thirty seconds nearby, she would have the pleasure of witnessing another interesting exchange. She would have watched the teaching assistant brighten a little at a name on the list, remarking, "At least some divas decide to change."
_._
4:41 p.m.
Francesca Barnes had forgotten how regal the auditorium of Downton Academy truly was. Carlisle's was quite suitable in itself, the space having been sketched with the finest consideration. Both were spacious enough, though Downton's 2,000 capacity did outstretch any of the six schools in the Yorkshire county. Yet one detail that she found to be even more captivating than the size was the atmosphere.
Carlisle's auditorium held an atmosphere of aloof grandeur.
Downton's, for all the clear grandeur it held, was far more welcoming.
"Everyone," Anthony had finally made it, being the last of the group to make it. "I'd like you to meet––"
"Lila Webb of the Royal Choristers," Francesca finished with more than a hint of awe, having recognized the retired choir director from the moment the elderly woman stepped foot in the room. "It is an honour."
"I'm glad you think so," Lila Webb coldly smiled at the group, inclining her head, "I admit: I'm curious to see what talent we'll be working with today, Anthony has told me much about your situation, much indeed."
"Has he now?" Alice smoothly inserted herself into the conversation, staring in the direction of Strallan's head choir director. The man in question merely nodded in response, looking to be perfectly at ease with the situation in spite of the newfound attention. "And how did you two cross paths?"
"Lila is an old friend of mine. For those who don't know, she was the director of the Royal Choristers for many seasons, an a cappella group that has rightfully obtained many accolades over the years."
Everyone respectfully looked on at the woman, knowing who the Royal Choristers and knowing the privilege they were receiving today with her presence.
"Now, I'm sure that you already feel as though you know who should sing what." Lila imperially began, casting an eye about the room. "However, I can assure that whatever you believe you know to correct is most likely not. Now, if you will all be so kind as to divide yourself between the parts that have been decided and the parts that have not."
Elsie stood with Francesca, Beryl and Linda to one side of the room while the others moved to the other side. There was a little wariness in their step as they moved to divide themselves, something about the woman's tone sounding decidedly off. However, there was no reason to behave disrespectfully just because something sounded suspect.
"Thank you. And what parts did you believe you were to be singing?"
"Elsie was planning on singing lead, Linda tenor, I was going to do bass and Phoebe was going to sing baritone." Beryl succinctly explained, easily matching the older woman's inquisitive stare.
"I see." Lila apparently concluded something by the end of that comment because she was already turning away from the trio. "Let's work with the others first and then we'll re-sort you four afterwards." Turning around to face the other individuals in the room, the woman strode over to them and gestured for them to join her at the on-stage piano –– leaving the quartet to watch from their seats.
"Well, isn't this quite the 'privilege'?" The band director complained, not looking to be terribly impressed with the prestigious woman currently conducting the show.
And, frankly, she wasn't the only one.
_._
4:56 p.m.
Charles Carson hadn't been terribly surprised when he'd been chosen to sing bass for the men's section of this little a cappella group. Nor had he been overly shocked by Charlie, once again, being chosen to sing lead.
"Just like old times, eh, Charlie?" The Center's choir director blithely spoke as though the last twenty years or so of drama hadn't occurred. As though the last real conversation the two directors had engaged in hadn't been tersely discussing the death of their mentor.
"I think not." Downton's own choir director prayed for patience as Mrs. Webb left the pair alone to decide who of the two remaining men would be singing baritone and tenor. Walking off to the side of the stage, he glanced in the direction of his fiancée as he tried to shake off his former colleague's attention. Alice's manipulations, Mrs. Webb's frosty attitude, and Grigg's unnecessary remarks were trying his strength.
"Ah, come on! Before us Cheerful Charlies came to a close, you liked singing in a quartet!" Grigg's protest was louder than it needed to be, garnering more attention than Charles would've liked as it gleefully bounced about the entire auditorium.
"Wait a minute –– 'quartet'?" Leave it to Beryl Patmore who, in a fit of growing boredom, latched onto this tidbit of information with as much vigour as she could. "What do you mean 'quartet'?"
"If you're going to interrupt this process by chattering away in the corner," Lila primly informed them, "You ought to wait outside in the hallway until I am ready to voice your new parts."
Not needing anymore reason to delay from escaping the atmosphere of auditorium, Beryl took an unabashed hold of the conversation –– gesturing for Elsie, Linda, Phoebe to join her as she unceremoniously beckoned for Charles and Charlie to join her on her way to the hallway.
"Right." Beryl began after closing the door to the auditorium, pleased to have something novel to talk about. "What's this I hear about a quartet called the 'Cheerful Charlies'?"
Elsie sighed in disbelief at her friend's antics, not wanting to cause her fiancée anymore stress, "Beryl, you know as well as I what Charles' opinion of a cappella was last fall. Even if he were in a quartet, it wouldn't have to be an a cappella quartet."
This didn't look to be reassuring her man.
Quite the contrary, actually.
"Oh, we can tell the truth, can't we, Charlie? There's no harm in remembering the past." Grigg said with an oily grin, sleazily beaming at Elsie in particular as he nudged his old friend with his elbow. "A quartet of brothers, that's what we were. And good ol' Eddie was the one who got it started, the lucky bas-"
"We may have been a quartet but we were not brothers." Glaring at the man, "And you will kindly respect Edmund Purpoyle's good name by not speaking about him in that fashion."
"Relax, Charlie––"
The choir director glowered at the man's casual manner, more displeased than ever before.
"But that can't be right." Beryl wondered aloud, "Besides, you've never mentioned it before now."
Well, this only seemed to fuel the malicious fire that was Charlie Grigg.
"Charlie, must you break my heart like this by keeping our quartet a secret? I would've hoped at least your fiancée knew about this! Wasn't that what brought you two lovebirds together? It had to have been, why else would––"
"Mr. Grigg" Elsie rigidly cut in before anything else could be said, leaping back to formality in order to shut the man up. "What my fiancé has or has not informed me of is of no concern to you."
"Oh, I see." Backing away with a bit of a smirk, enjoying the fact that he held all the cards for once, "Well, we were brothers back then, Charlie, whether you like it or not."
"But, I thought the story was that you'd never sung a cappella music before last fall, that you never cared for the genre…." Phoebe immediately regretted speaking once she saw two pairs of dark glares directed in her direction, the sight frightening enough to stop her from making any further inquiry.
"Oh, I bet that's what you think-"
"Charlie," The man nearly growled, glaring at his former friend before collecting himself and looking at his fiancée with more than slight hesitation. "I'm afraid that you're actually wrong about that, Ms. Mil–– Phoebe." It seemed the choir director of Downton had temporarily given up on formalities, seeing what the subject was.
"What do you mean, Mr. Car–– Charles?" It looked like shock was starting to take over her capacity to think the matter through, the woman stumbling in her thoughts.
"He means that we were all in a barbershop quartet back in the day," Grigg cheekily explained, purposefully oblivious to her surprise. "In fact, us 'Cheerful Charlies' did quite well for ourselves, won competitions and everything."
"Really?" "No way!" "Charles, is that true?"
"Lila's ready for you all now," Alice had taken it upon herself to open the door when it was time for the group to come back. "If you would be so kind as to follow me."
"Of course she is," Beryl grumbled to herself, having wanted to hear more.
_._
4:57 p.m.
As she was being ushered back into the auditorium, Elsie couldn't help the confusion weighing down on her. She wasn't angry or upset with Charles per se, but she was shocked by this unexpected part to his past. It did make her wonder why he acted the way he did last fall as well as why he'd never told her himself about this. Add to that the fact that her original plan was being chucked aside for something that she really didn't want to involve herself in, and the choir teacher couldn't help the disconcertion that currently distracted her.
"Right. Phoebe, Linda, Elsie, why don't I go first?" The Scot somehow caught this request over her rampant thoughts, barely. But before she could disagree, she felt herself being guided to an auditorium seat as they waited to be individually voiced.
"Elsie," Charles softly murmured in concern, "I know you have questions and I promise I'll explain everything later."
"Quiet, please," Lila curtly instructed as she continued working with Beryl to see the band director's singing range. The older woman had the redhead running through various parts of the same barbershop tag in order to get an idea of what her range was. "Unless you'd rather call this whole thing off."
The teachers fell silent at the rebuke. However, it wasn't fraught with the gloomy tension that Charles had been anticipating. In fact, even though Elsie was remaining silent, when there was a chance to respond, she took it.
Discreetly leaning into him, the woman quietly reassured that, "It's all right. I trust you'll tell me when you're ready."
Thank God.
The Cheerful Charlies had been a part of his past he'd had no desire to revisit anytime soon. That Charlie had tactlessly brought it up today should have been anticipated, but Downton's choral director had foolishly believed otherwise.
Luckily, whatever else, it really did seem like Elsie was fine with waiting for him to explain himself before making any judgments about the , that didn't mean she wasn't surprised and unsure of what exactly was going on. Something that even he could tell, having known the woman for more than a year.
Which really meant that he could only thank God for so long.
If anything, that actually really meant he had to make a phone-call the moment he could.
"Beryl, you will either bass to start with. Please prepare yourself accordingly by sight-reading and memorizing the appropriate part for this tag while I listen to Phoebe." Charles watched as Elsie looked up in faint bemusement, the pair observing the interaction as Lila continued, "As I've mentioned while you were outside, the women will sing as a group once I've approximated their vocal ranges and we will adjust everyone from there."
With that, all of a sudden it was Phoebe's turn to belt out a few notes and discover that she'd probably be either lead or baritone in this arrangement. And as she walked off to join the rest of the women who were already voiced, Linda taking her place, it became clear that Elsie would only have a few more moments before she'd be required to sing.
"If you would make your way to the piano, Elsie." Lila Webb beckoned his fiancée to come to the piano, the Scottish woman pushing herself to her feet as if it were a normal occurrence to be bossed around in their own auditorium. But, pushing aside his own irritation at the situation, Charles tried to think about something, knowing that anger was pointless.
Forcing his mind to cast his thoughts in another direction, he thought about Elsie's current audition and managed to change his focus: the more he thought about it, the more he became distracted with the realization that she hadn't been voiced in years –– having not done anything Joe passed.
And, suddenly, he found himself more than a little curious as to how this would go.
Within seconds Elsie was running through the tenor section of "Sleepytime", managing the tricky half-step in notes the others couldn't quite catch. Soon she was stepping into the lead's part, mustering up the necessary enthusiasm without too much effort.
Once his fiancée did that, Lila then requested she go over the baritone part. Baritone was difficult for the woman to switch to, but she got by decently –– endearingly struggling to be as perfect as she'd been with the other two. Still, soon enough Elsie was asked to dip into the bass' line of notes, much to his surprise. Beryl and Phoebe had only been asked to sing three different parts before being given their tailored instructions, though he didn't know what the case had been for the others.
"I see your range's reputation holds true." Lila had remarked to herself, surprising all three Downton teachers with that comment. Charles was proud that someone as well-known as Lila Webb knew of Elsie, Beryl was bewildered as to why her friend wasn't being treated more respectfully if that recognition were that case, and Elsie was just confused that her reputation preceded her in this instance.
"Which part would you like me to begin memorizing?"
The older woman shrewdly looked at his fiancée after she said this, causing Charles to feel perturbed and on-edge on Elsie's behalf. It wasn't as though any of this was a terribly big deal. Still, with the way Mrs. Webb was staring down his colleague in consternation, he couldn't help but feel the urge to interrupt the moment.
"Start with just baritone." Without another word of explanation, Mrs. Webb summoned the five other women over to the piano so that they could properly begin this part of the rehearsal.
"For this round, this is what I want you to try 'Sleepytime' in this order," In order of who had come over, the woman drilled out their instructions for this round of voicing, "Beryl and Phoebe, bass; Alice, Joyce and Francesca, lead; Elsie, baritone; Linda, tenor."
A pitch pipe sharply rang out right on cue, the noise startling almost everyone in the room. It looked like Alice was getting ahead of the game by making sure she had a pitch pipe on hand, the woman withholding a smirk as she nodded at Lila and continued to blow the appropriate pitch.
"Everyone ready?" The grey-eyed teacher coyly asked her fellow singers, a smile painted upon her lips as she met everyone's gaze.
"Shouldn't we refresh our notes to make sure we're starting on the right pitches?" Beryl asked, more than a little put-out by Alice of all people taking charge.
"I didn't realize you forgot 'Sleepy Time' starts on the same note for everyone, Beryl." Alice responded in kind, blowing the pitch once more. "Now, are we ready?"
Each woman in question politely nodded, not caring for the attitude. And waiting for their two leads to cue them all in at the appropriate time, they proceeded to work with the tag at hand:
"When it's Sleepytime down South,"
It was technically sound, each woman a good enough sight-reader that she knew her part fairly well without requiring extra rehearsal. Yet, Charles could hear that it wasn't right. Although each singer had the appropriate range for her respective part, their individual attitudes toward singing didn't blend well with one another. They also weren't matching vowel shapes or genuinely listening to one another for timing, something that was not a good omen….
_._
5:13 p.m.
"Yes, that's the most effective order we're going to get with you six." Lila dryly informed them, nodding to herself. The women looked at each other, each taking in the situation with their own thoughts on the matter.
To the far left of the group, Linda stood in the role of tenor. On the other end of unorthodox half-circle, Francesca held onto the part of baritone. Elsie stood to the left of the Carlisle Institute director, having been selected to sing bass alongside Beryl. Taking on the part of lead, Alice, Joyce and Phoebe took their spots in-between Joyce and Beryl.
In short, it had all felt utterly wrong in the eyes of one Charles Carson. He personally would have reduced the group by at least one, unceremoniously kicking Alice out of the picture. Then, he would have righted the wrong that was Elsie not singing lead. He'd possibly tweak the placement of the other parts, but those were the essential bits of injustice he would have handled.
Yes, the choir director was awfully bias about the whole thing.
And, yes, he could also admit that this was the best technical set-up for the six voices at hand, being the formation that brought forth the most harmony. It was only at this point that the woman had begun to start sounding as though they were singing together, instead of just six soloists with different parts.
Nevertheless, that didn't mean he liked any of it.
"Gentlemen, if you would be so kind to join us?" Knowing that this was a command not a request, Charles quickly joined the rest of his colleagues as the half-circle widened to an impossible degree.
"Now, to check the balance and general positioning as a whole, we'll run through 'Sleepytime' once again. This time, it'll be in the men's key. Which means, ladies, you will have to adjust accordingly…"
_._
3:26 p.m. CST / 9:26 p.m. GMT
"So," She glanced up at the sky, pleased that it'd been pleasant enough for her to step out of the school to take this call. With the winters as rough as they tended to be, any chance to breath in sunshine was welcomed. "What's going on, Charles?"
Considering the fact that February had been treating Chicago rather kindly, Clarissa Magnussen had no qualms about standing outside for a few minutes. Even if she did, she was far too much of a Midwestern to state as such.
"Well," The tinny reception that came with such long-distance calls didn't really matter as much as the fact that this was happening in the first place. It'd been a while since either Charles or Elsie had reached out, the last time being when they finally announced the date for the wedding. "I'm afraid to say it's complicated,"
"Oh, now you've gotta tell me everything!" She felt a swell of gratitude that the man was entrusting her with something complicated, knowing how much of a private person he was at heart. It was a step up from their first encounter all those months ago, and it only made her want to prove she was worthy of that trust.
"Right. You've got to promise you won't go all American on me when I tell you this next bit…"
_._
Author's Note: We do love our helpful Americans!
Now, before I sign off for the night, I just wanted to say that something's come up over here which will require me to stop everything for a bit (hopefully only about a week, if not a little longer).
That being said, I will definitely return to this story (as well as HLSHLD). Nothing's being abandoned. I just have to take care of something first.
In any case, as always, I hope you've enjoyed this and have a lovely day!
