Page 15 of The Best of Friends
“For two people locked in a contest with such significant forfeits, you are being very friendly,” Scott said.
“Ooh, Mr. Sarvol.” Daria pulled her brother forward. Toss had noticed her brother did not always seem overly eager to receive these introductions. “Mr. Sarvol, this is my brother, Mr. Tobias Mullins. Tobias, this is Mr. Scott Sarvol of Sarvol House in Nottinghamshire and before that, of America in... America.” She winced. “I should have thought through that before I started speaking. It ended all wrong, I’m afraid.”
Gillian sent every one of them a look of dire warning; she was very protective of her friend. But the warning was, in actuality, unnecessary. Not a person among them would mistreat Daria. Indeed, Toss couldn’t imagine anyone not thinking she was delightful.
“Your timing is perfect,” Mater said. “I do believe the concert is to begin shortly. We’d best take our seats.”
The space was too small to be called a concert hall but was larger than those more intimate locations where chamber music was often played. Still, there were a half dozen boxes, which provided a bit of privacy for those fortunate enough to have use of them, which the dowager had secured. It was into one of these spaces that they retreated, finding exactly six chairs. Either the space usually held that number or Mater had known Daria would bring her brother and had planned accordingly.
Because Scott wished to sit with his wife and Mater wished to sit beside Scott and no one would countenance Mater being relegated to the second row of seats, Toss and Tobias sat in the row behind with Daria between them.
The concert-master cued the other musicians, and the performance began. Toss didn’t recognize the piece but heard in it the influence of Beethoven’s early work, itself influenced by Haydn and Mozart. This piece, though, did not have quite the dynamic of Beethoven’s compositions.
“Why is there not a person standing in front of the musicians waving his arms about?” Daria asked him in a whisper.
“Chamber orchestras are smaller and do not utilize a conductor. They play by listening to and reacting to each other.”
“They must be very talented.” She even looked impressed. Not many who weren’t versed in the complexities of music making truly appreciated the skill required.
“The man playing the violin who is seated nearest the audience, he is the concert-master. The other musicians look to him for cues to begin each piece.”
“Then he is like their conductor,” she said, “except he can’t wave his arms about on account of his currently playing his violin.”
“Wouldn’t that be quite a sight to see though?” Toss chuckled silently.
She smiled at him, so sweetly and so sincerely. Toss couldn’t remember the last time someone had fallen so easily into conversation with him on the topic of music. His friends were very supportive, but they tended to tease him about the boredom of such a topic in the same way they all teased Newton about the law.
“The concert-master just nodded his head,” Daria said. “Only a little, but I did see it. Do you suppose that means something to the other musicians?”
“Most certainly. He was likely telling them to adjust their tempo or move to a new section or stop holding out a particular note. They will have worked all that out during their many rehearsals.”
Something pleading entered her eyes. “Then I sorted that out correctly? I noticed something, and I wasn’t wrong about it?”
“You were, in fact, brilliantly perceptive.” He set his hand very briefly on hers and squeezed it reassuringly. “Not everyone recognizes the cues amongst the musicians unless they have studied such things.”
Relief passed over her features, followed immediately by curiosity. “Have you studied such things?”
“Again, brilliantly perceptive.”
He didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone so sincerely pleased to have received a compliment as she looked in that moment. She turned toward her brother and whispered something to him.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Tobias look in his direction. He let his own gaze shift that way. An almost imperceptible nod passed between Tobias and him, one even more subtle than that employed by the concert-master.
Though Toss couldn’t be certain, he thought it was a thank-you. A sincere and casually offered bit of praise was, it seemed, much appreciated.
Throughout the first piece, Daria continually glanced at him, smiling every time she spotted a cue from the concert-master to the other musicians. Toss didn’t think he’d ever sat with someone during a concert who took such delight in that small, usually unnoticed aspect of the performance. Daria had been that way during the house party as well, of a curious mind and a pleasantly delighted disposition. It certainly made sense that he’d grown so fond of her.
“Why are they called a chamber orchestra and not... an ordinary orchestra?” she whispered. “I know other orchestras aren’t calledordinary, but I don’t know what they are called. I likely shouldn’t guess. You’ll think me an absolute featherhead.”
“Not knowing something you’ve not yet had the chance to learn is not a poor reflection on you,” he insisted, whispering as well. “Chamber orchestras are thus called because they are small and usually perform in chambers or rooms rather than in grand concert halls or theaters.”
“Oh, that does make sense.” Her gaze studied the musicians as the next selection began. “Do you like chamber orchestras better than concert-hall orchestras?”
“I like them both,” he said.
She smiled at him once more. “So do I.”
Daria was delightful company throughout the evening, asking questions, expressing sincere enjoyment of the music. So many who attended performances either affected the ennui Society expected or made an effort to portray themselves as being an expert in music or to possess such lofty taste as to find the evening dissatisfying. Daria was wonderfully and charmingly herself, and Toss, who would have enjoyed the evening regardless, found himself entirely enchanted. The Daria he had thought back on so often in the months since he’d last seen her was every bit as lovely as his heart and mind remembered her being.
