The bed she was given was extremely comfortable, comparable to some hotels Violet had stayed in. The guest room was nearly as large as the entire floor of rooms at Hodgin's House, with her own walk-in closet and bathroom. Violet didn't have much use for the closet – a Doll always travelled light, just a change of clothes and what she needed for her work – but admired the care and attention that had been put into the house.
Violet's new client was a series of mysteries. None of the many servants in the house would reveal her name or any details about her. She was wealthy or at least had married into wealth, but what trade she was in or where her coin came from was also never revealed. All Violet knew so far was that she was a singer of some kind.
Violet looked out her large, storybook-like window looking out on the backyard, which was also large as the entire property of CH Postal Company. A stable of race horses was kept at the edge of the property, with young stable hands tending to them and occasionally taking them out on long rides. The property backed into a woodland trail that would eventually work its way into the mountains of Ostport. Today, Violet watched as a pair of stable girls, each carrying a fishing rod and a basket of food. The Girls seemed excited, with the taller of the two spreading her arms wide as if to measure out the size of fish she wanted to catch.
A knock on the door turned Violet away from the window, and Wulf appeared, wearing a sharp tuxedo that a butler might wear. He smiled, offered a polite bow, and said, "Good Morning, Miss Evergarden, I hope I'm not disturbing you"
Violet returned his bow, "Good Morning, Wulf. And I was not disturbed, I was just looking out the window. Two of the stable girls appear to be heading out to fish today"
Wulf walked over to the window and looked out at the two stable girls, "Ahh, Helga and Anya. Yes, they're both very keen fishers. There's a spot up the mountain trail, about an hour's ride from the property. A strong river flows through the woods and eventually makes its way to the sea. This is probably the last time this season they'll be able to make good catches"
"Does something happen at the end of this season?" Violet asked. She had never gone fishing before and didn't understand the intricacies of the sport.
Wulf smiled at her, "Well, the salmon begin swimming against the stream to spawn, so there are much more of them in the water than usual. But once they've spawned, they'll freeze off as winter sets in and the river freezes over. The Mistress is quite fond of seafood. Before the stable hands are dismissed for the season, we throw a big party for them with grilled salmon, crab, all sorts of food."
"Is the salmon good? I can't say that I've had it before," Violet again asked.
Wulf took a scribble pad from the pocket of his coat and jotted a quick note, "If the girls come back with a decent catch this evening, I'll see if the chefs can make you an extra plate. Speaking of food, if you're hungry, I'll have the chefs bring breakfast to the library, do you have any particular preferences?"
Violet took a moment to think about breakfast, but answered back quickly, "Crisp Bacon, Eggs over medium, and hashed potatoes. Do the chefs know how to make Soldier's Coffee?"
"Soldier's Coffee?" Wulf asked in confusion as he quickly scribbled the note, "What's that?"
Violet smiled, "As the water for the coffee comes just to a boil, add a measure of rum just before the water is poured. Gently stir it, and then seal the drink in a canteen. Ideally, it is stirred with a bayonet, but a spoon will suffice if there is not one available."
"That's...a unique way of serving coffee," Wulf replied, "Where would you even learn such a recipe?"
"Chapter 12," said Violet, pointing at the copy of the book on her nightstand, "In fact, there are several recipes listed in that chapter."
"I suppose I'll have to keep reading. I'll have the meal brought to the library shortly. The Mistress has asked you to join her as soon as you are ready," Wulf said as he led Violet from her room, down the massive staircase and to the library. He opened the door and Violet stepped inside.
The Library was once again darkened, although some light was peaking through higher windows near the roof. Violet walked briskly to the centre table, the echoes of her boots ringing around the library as she walked. She took her place at the table and noticed that the copy of the book was still in the same place as it had been the night before. With the aid of the morning light, she could see the form of her client at the other end, but enough to make out any details.
As she opened the case with her typewriter inside, Violet nodded politely and said, "Good Morning."
"Good Morning Violet," she said back in a happy tone, "Did you sleep well?"
"I did, thank you," replied Violet as she prepared the sheets, "The room I have been provided is very comfortable. Did you sleep well?"
"It wasn't the worst I've had, but I think I was up later than I should have been. I was thinking about the song we wanted to compose together." She said, with an obvious yawn seeping through.
Violet listened closely to her words. Her Client sounded young, about the same age as Violet. Her accent was indeterminate, though close to the local accent of Ostport. And her grammar and word choice suggested a laid-back disposition, despite her obvious wealth.
Violet set the reel, adjusted the spinner, and let the guide slam home, as she'd done a year ago with Felix. Felix had jumped, as the noise reminded him of a rifle bolt – as it did for Violet – but her client appeared to be unmoved by the noise.
"I must apologize, but I'm unfamiliar with songwriting. I'm afraid you'll have to guide me to write it correctly," Violet said apologetically.
"Oh, that's no trouble at all. No one was ever an expert at anything the first time, right? We'll start from the very beginning. The first thing we have to do is figure out a time signature." she said back.
Violet began typing, with a simple notation to begin with;
Time Signature:
"What is a time signature?" Violet asked.
She tapped her fingers on the table in a small rhythm. One finger, one tap. Two fingers, two taps. Three fingers, three taps. Then, she stopped. After a brief pause, She began the same pattern over again, 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, | .
"Just like that," she said, repeating the pattern. 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, |
Violet typed, although her typing did not match the pattern.
1/1, 2/2, 3/3, |
"A time signature appears on the sheet after the key signature. It tells you how many beats are in each measure of the music. There's three kinds. Simple, Compound and Complex. We'll start simply, with simple" she explained, giggling at the end.
"A simple time signature divides the beat into two equal parts. The top number tells you how many beats are in each measure, while the bottom tells you the type of note that gets the beat," she explained, as she tapped out the pattern twice more for Violet
1/1, 2/2, 3/3, |
1/1, 2/2, 3/3, |
"So, with that in mind, which of those do you think we should use?" She asked.
Violet looked at her notes again, and made a choice, "You said equal parts. So I believe we should choose the second part of the pattern, like this" she tapped her glove fingers in time with the second pattern, two fingers and two taps."
"That's correct!" She replied, excited, "You can write that down now."
She typed;
2/2
But asked, "Is there a way to write this signature properly? I've done it side by side"
"Top and Bottom. Like a fraction for mathematics, if that helps" She replied.
1
2
"I believe I've got it. I might ask, what is the meaning of a 2 over 2 time signature?" Violet asked as she typed.
"When it's music, you say two-eight time, not two over two" she corrected, "So what that means is we have two half notes over two beats per measure, at least for this bar. I'll explain more later, but essentially, we're starting like this,"
She tapped her fingers twice in a short time and then stopped.
Violet did the same and then typed in the same length of time.
"It sounds very fast, almost like a marching tune," Violet commented.
"That's a fair description. We'll start rapidly, but slow down until we build to the crescendo. There's more work to do. We'll have to decide on a key for the music, which will be the overall...tone, I guess you could say, of our song," She added.
"You keep saying our, as though we shall both be equal writers to this song?" Violet asked.
"That's right. This is going to be as much your song as it will be mine. That's why I need you to understand how to write music properly, you'll find out as we go. Tap the time signature again for me?" She asked.
1
2
"Good," she said, "You're off to a great start."
Before either could continue, Wulf opened the door and rolled a catering tray into the library. He served Violet her plate first and removed the cover. The bacon was prepared perfectly, the eggs looked fresh, and the seasoning on the potatoes was filling her nose with a pleasant scent.
"The chefs couldn't find a canteen," Wulf said as he reached back to the tray, "But we do have this. I hope this is a sufficient replacement."
He placed a silver thermos beside her plate. It was almost identical to the thermos that Violet used when she made coffee for Felix a year ago. She had bought it at a department store, as the military surplus shop was also out of canteens.
She opened the thermos and smelled the coffee. The rum hit first, and she took a slow sip and smiled, "Excellent. This is very good coffee, my compliments to the chef,"
As Wulf rolled the tray down the table to serve her Client, he replied, "He was quite excited to finally open that bottle. We don't often serve rum here."
Violet couldn't see what the Client was having, but judging from the smell, it seemed like she had chosen a similar breakfast menu. Wulf withdrew and she raised her teacup, "Let's have our breakfast now, and I'll discuss keys with you after".