Inside the long building stood a platform at one end bathed in fluorescent light. Five large harps and two smaller ones—behind which sat three women, two men, and two younger players who looked to be just into their teens—graced the platform. The younger players were not playing the current melody, but sat still with their hands in their laps. Though their hands were still, their torsos swayed almost imperceptibly to the music.
“I’ve always loved harp music,” Annie whispered. “It sounds so otherworldly.” She slipped into a seat in the last row, her friends filing in behind her.
Emily settled in next to her mother and immediately began to look around the room for any sign of Eli and his love interest. Like daughter, like mother, the movement of Peggy’s head indicated she was doing the same thing.
After a few minutes, Emily leaned over to whisper, “I don’t see them. Do you, Mom?”
Peggy was staring at the front rows, craning her upper body for a better look. Her eyes widened, and she turned to the others. “I don’t see Eli and Linley either, Em. But I do see someone else.” Alice and Annie raised their eyebrows in question. “The singer from the lunch tent!” She gestured in the direction of her gaze. “See her?” Their eyes followed Peggy’s motion, and then they sat up a little straighter.
The tune finished with a gentle, lingering note, and the crowd appreciatively applauded. The woman harpist seated in the middle stood to introduce the next number, adding, “We are privileged to be accompanied for this next song by a woman with a voice of rare beauty. Please join me in welcoming McKenna Rose.”
Applause again rang out, and the singer with the flowing light green and lavender dress slipped from her seat and glided up to the platform. As one, the friends in the back row changed from sitting erect to slumping in their seats, trying to ensure the crowd hid them from view.
“Should we slip out?” Peggy hissed through her teeth.
Annie and Alice both shook their heads. Annie mouthed, “After the song.” The friends sat as still as they could while the chanteuse sang a haunting song of love and loss. Holding a long, tender note at the end of the song, McKenna Rose gave a regal bow to the harpists and then to the audience. Then, amidst the enthusiastic applause of the crowd, she once again slipped away through a back door.
As soon as the door closed behind the hem of the gossamer dress, Alice turned to her friends. “That woman has her disappearing act down just as well as her singing. I guess we don’t have to slip out, after all.”
“Do you suppose she saw us?” asked Peggy. “Here I thought we were doing such a good job slumping and all.”
Annie shrugged. “Who knows? She wasn’t staring at anyone like she did at the lunch tent.” She dug her notebook out of her bag. “The harpist called her McKenna Rose, right?” She froze, the realization just dawning.
“Rose!” The three women exclaimed in unison, but quietly, as the harpists had begun their next, and final, tune. Annie wrote the name in bold letters and underlined it. “You don’t suppose there is a connection between …?” Annie whispered to her friends. She drew a line from McKenna’s name to the falconer, Finley, floating a question mark beside it. “The hawk and rose design on the ferrules …?” she whispered again. She showed the page to Alice and Peggy, who nodded, curiosity glinting in their eyes.
Meanwhile, Emily’s eyes danced between the harpists’ graceful hands and the two entry points of the long room as she sat mesmerized by the music, yet ever vigilant in case Eli might show. When the music ended, the friends stood to applaud along with the rest of the audience. Though distracted by the mystery of the sporran and ferrules, they still appreciated the delicate artistry of the musicians.
As their applause subsided, Emily tugged on her mother’s arm. “Mom, can we stay a little longer? Eli might come, now that the music is done.” She turned the voltage of her pleading eyes up a notch.
Peggy looked at the watch on her wrist. “I’m not sure, Em.” Turning to her friends, she asked, “What do you two think? Can we spare a couple more minutes?”
Alice was the first to answer. “Well, it’s all right by me—I’m a sucker for young romance.” They all turned to look at Annie.
“Don’t look at me.” Annie put her hands up like she was about to be arrested. “I love romance too, young or old or anywhere in between.” She sat back down. “But let’s just stay a few more minutes, or we might push Wally and Ian beyond what they can handle!”
Peggy grinned and sat back down as well, freely watching as people milled around the room, talking to the musicians or with each other. “Can’t speak about Ian, but I’ve personally spent many years building Wally’s patience level. What’s the use of all my effort if I can’t rely on it once in a while?”