The Acquisition of Memories. Chapter 12- Reparations
A/N 1: The piece of music you might want to listen to here is Johannes Brahms Opus 39. No 15 Waltz in A major for violin and piano.
I hope these links are traceable if you are interested- they do not post properly in here :(
Check youtube channel - UschisChannel2 and the following link watch?v=uSji5Gamq8Q
Or there is a version on spotify arranged by David Hochstein and performed by Enescu, Bartok, Syzmanowski et al. (2000) (2:39mins- and probably my favourite).
Or in A flat major on piano performed by Leonard Pennario watch?v=5HtOrJ9Vyco
Or this one, in A flat major played by Leopoldo Lipstein - beautiful phrasing and pauses on this one. watch?v=3jjkCmUO_ms
They are all equally beautiful but each has nuanced differences. The A major violin versions are probably brighter. The A-Flat major ones are more soulful.
For the true sound that Chelsie might have heard in 1926 on the wireless – go to this Allmusic web page which reviews the complete recordings of Harold Bauer (pianist) and scroll down until you find it. It is the earliest recorded version of this, as far as can tell from some brief digging around on the net. It won't play the whole piece but it gives you a good idea of the sound quality and musical styling of the time. album/harold-bauer-the-complete-recordings-mw0001405307
*Choose your favourite one, or look further afield to supply your own brand of Chelsie magic :)
A/N2: I am not sure about the quality of this chapter, I know others have done this theme better before me and I have kept this short. Some things are just too hard to describe.
A/N 3: Thank you once again for the lovely reviews so far, including all the guesties. CSotA, manygreentrees and olehistorian have been super encouraging in their latest comments, especially. As always, it is unexpected, but extremely gratifying. I am just glad that I can bring some reading pleasure to others out there in Chelsieville. :)
Much love,
BorneToFlow
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But he is struck dumb, he has not the words to say it all so well.
And then Charles hears himself blurting out "I was wrong, Elsie, I was so very wrong- all those words I had Mrs. Patmore relay to you." He sees her face suddenly fall and she is leaning away from him and it is all going horribly, horribly wrong- and so he stumbles forward- he has to make her understand!
"No Elsie, please, please understand me! I should not have said that in my eyes you are beautiful, for you are so much more than that. So very much more. You do not need my eyes to filter the truth through, Elsie, for the truth of it is just that - you are. You just…are, don't you see? Elsie- you are truly beautiful to all in this world with heart and eyes enough to see."
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As Charles stops what he sees as his blundering and incoherent speech and Elsie struggles to believe the words she has heard falling from his lips once more. The music from the wireless seems fuller than before and it fills the gaps of their strained silence. Charles bends his head and gazes nervously at Elsie with morose but hopeful eyes.
"Dance with me, Milady." He somehow makes it sound like a plea and a demand all at the same time as all of his conflicting fears and desires clash inside his voice. He still holds her fingers gently in his large left hand from when he had bent to reverently brush his lips against them. He slowly adjusts his grip on them and moves them into the correct position to begin a waltz. Tentatively, he slides his right arm around to her lower back, lightly feathering her dress but not pressing her until she grants him permission.
Elsie, for her part, is still a little dazed- her mind and heart whirling between sensation and perception- from the giddiness of re-reading his letter with her heart skipping to be near him once again, and then the sudden terror she felt in that slicing moment when she thought he was going to take back all of those words he had said through Mrs Patmore- the ones on which she had been building up her tenuous confidence. She is speechless again from what he has said- from his precious bumbling through to how he, once more, pulled poetry from the air and went far beyond what she has ever expected of any man. Dance with me, milady. The words swirl heavy in the air around them and like a stunned automaton she observes her left-hand move in slow motion from his cheek to rest upon his right shoulder. She sees the soft light of the wall lamps shimmer across her wedding band and it revives her. Her eyes lock onto his and her fingers slide further around him and press lightly through his top coat. She feels his fingers finally come to rest in a broad span across her lower back.
Charles breathes a sigh of relief as he feels her hand press into place on his shoulder and her eyes signal her assent. But his breath is caught short in the next instant when he smooths his fingers against her lower back and feels a most unexpected softness through the silk of her dress and perceives a captivating suppleness in her movements.
They begin. He does not need to lead the dance- they fall into a mutual advance and retreat, gliding in a smooth rise and fall, circling around one another in precise accord. It is so very different from their dance this morning. No barriers or outside glances cut between them now. It is just them- in that moment.
Somehow Charles prevents his jaw from slackening in shock at the new development in her wardrobe, and instinctively he draws Elsie further into his embrace and does not hide his want for her when he stares back into her mesmeric eyes, for Charles is certain, beyond anything else in this world, that he could not possibly give up these newly found joys.
And to be sure, no one has ever asked Elsie to dance quite like this before- where no particular occasion or tradition dictates the need, where she is not just one more partner on a list of required reels at a village dance or the lesser part of the opening couple at the servants' ball. Even their bridal waltz had been a requirement of the occasion, albeit quite a lovely one. No, no-one has ever asked Elsie to dance purely for the reason that they want to be with her alone, in that moment- to demonstrate something to her, to share something with her that can only occur in that space between thought and feeling- where words are superfluous.
The music seems to fade into the background and they dance only to the tune of one another, their movements fuelled by the beating of their hearts against their chests and the silent, shared warmth of their bodies which grows like a halo around them.
As they slowly glide into stillness at the end of the piece playing on the wireless, the final swirl of Elsie's skirt sweeps itself around the Charles' calves before gently, silently, settling back into place around her stockinged legs, signaling their return to the here and now. In unison they lightly closed their eyes, lean in and press their lips together, holding the memory and truth of their moment of perfect love between them with infinite tenderness.
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