Flora's Lot by Katie Fforde (13 inch ebook reader TXT) 📕

James cameinto the room, turned to the audience and gave ashort, witty introductory speech. The audience laughed. The choir laughed. Then heturned to his singers, regarded them all,then held up a sheet with a pictureof a grinning face on it. Flora did her best to oblige him but didn't think it was a very good effort.

Theaccompanist played the opening bars of 'The Entranceof the Queen of Sheba'. The choir took a collective breathand opened their throats. 'Rejoice! Rejoice!' Theorangery had lovely acoustics. Flora forgot her nerves and began to sing with joy. 'It'sgoing awfully well,' said someone during the interval.

The choirwere back in their room where a fresh lot ofsandwiches and drinks had been laid on. Flora was sipping aglass of elderflower, not allowing herself wine until it was all over.

‘And there's a very good crowd,' saidGeoffrey. 'Someone's done really well with the ticket sales.'

‘It'sthe venue, I'm sure,' said Moira. 'People are so curious. They'd listen to anything just to get the chance to geta look at a house like this.'

‘Andthere's been a fair amount of scandal, hasn't there? Does anyone knowany details?'

‘Flora'sgoing out with Henry,' said Geoffrey, to save Flora more embarrassment. 'It's how we've been allowed to behere.'

‘It'sjust coincidence. We've only been out a few times.' Flora, aware that everyone was looking at her,found herself blushing. 'I don't knowany scandal, I'm afraid, except thathis wife left him and got most of the money.'

‘Well, however we come to be here, we'revery grateful,' said one of the altos whomFlora hadn't really got to speak to before. 'A "StatelySummer" from a church hall wouldn't have been the same.'

‘Thesandwiches are jolly good too,' said Euan with his mouth full. 'Egg andcress, my favourite.’

Eventuallyeveryone stopped eating and drinking, Jamesgathered his flock, and they filed back into the orangery.Flora felt much more relaxed now and felt she could getinto the rather complicated version of 'The Lord's MyShepherd' with her mind totally on the matter in hand.Then she foolishly looked up to see if her mother was happyand saw Charles. He was sitting at the end of one ofthe rows. She felt herself go pink and looked hard atJames, trying to concentrate. James caught everyone'seyes, saw Flora, and held up his picture of the grin again.

Justforget about him, she told herself and forced her lips to smile.

Like atongue constantly seeking out a sore tooth, Flora foundher eye go to Charles often. Dragging her eyes awayshe saw something that caused her to miss a couple ofbars and, very nearly, her place in the music. Sitting next to each other, a couple ofrows behind Charles, were William and Annabelle.

What onearth were they doing here? Together? Flora sincerelyhoped that some sort of sense of performance meant thather shock was kept private. She didn't dare look at theaudience again, and smiled in between songs with avacancy she feared might be the fast track to the Asylum forthe Bewildered. What was going on? Could shepossibly avoid seeing any of them afterwards? No, sherealised. After all, if William and Annabelle were there withCharles, in full view of everyone, she had nothing to worry about.

While theysang an English folk song with words so suggestiveFlora was almost embarrassed, she concluded that guiltwas like attraction, you couldn't just turn it on and off.If there was something going on between Annabelle and William, she wasconvinced it was all her fault. And no matter how much shetried to make herself fancy Henry, who had so much going forhim, principally his lack of a partner, she couldn't.'Riddle fol di reel'she carolled, with feeling.

As theaudience clapped enthusiastically, Flora tried to make a plan. James would saysomething, and then they'd do the encore. Then they'd file out, backto their room where they'd left their handbags and bottlesof water and music cases. Could she dash out of the side door,steal a car and escape? No, she couldn't. Even if she delvedinto the handbags for a car key, it would take her ages to find out which carthe key she stole belonged to. It was no good. She took a breathand prepared to sing 'Bobby Shaftoe', in parts, with complicatedextras. Then after more clapping, she followed Moira outof the orangery,accepting her fate.

‘Thankyou, everyone,' said James. 'That went very well, I thought. Lovely venue, Flora. Thank you very much forgetting it for us.'

‘That'sfine,' she said, hoping that the choir didn't all think she had had to sleep with Henry to get himto agree to let them use it.

‘Oh,but if you hadn't asked so effectively we wouldn't have got it,' said James,confirming, in Flora's view, that hedefinitely thought she had slept with Henry. 'And the evening wouldn'thave been quite so "Stately", would it?'

‘Iknow Henry's very grateful for the repairs David did for him. He's donewell out of it,' said Flora.

‘Ohyes, it's been good for him, too,' agreed James. 'I gather he might rentit out for functions.’

Floranodded, not knowing what to say. Geoffrey came up. 'Areyou coming out to meet our audience, young Flora?'

‘I suppose so.'

‘Come on! You were fine. They'll haveloved it. I thought the Stanforth had nevergone better, James.' James nodded. 'Iknew you could do it, if you all just concentrated.'

‘Come on, Flora. Come and meet the crowd.’

Florasummoned up a smile and followed Geoffrey out of theroom, clutching her music bag like a security blanket.

Long beforethey reached her mother and Edie, Flora spotted that they were chatting withAnnabelle, William and Charles so there was no chance of avoidingthem.

‘Darling!It was wonderful!' Her mother gave Flora a huge hugas she reached them. 'Were you terrified? You looked abit scared at the beginning, but I thought the standard was so high! It's a superchoir!'

‘Thequodlibet went well, Geoffrey,' said Edie. 'You got it right at last.'

‘Isthat the one when the men sang one melody and the women another?' asked Hermione.'The conductor explained it?'

‘That'sright,' confirmed Geoffrey. 'It's always a crowd pleaser.'

‘Youmust have wondered why the audience suddenly got bigger after half-time!' Annabelle laughed. 'Charles said he'd promised he'd come along, and so William,Beatty and I thought it would berather fun to come too. We were atdinner