By the Seaside

E

egglegg

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Bennett threw open the shutters on the windows of his small room and nearly jumped for joy when he saw just how nice it was outside. Just the sort of weather he had been hoping for. Playing music out in the rain was no fun at all. He threw on some clothes, washed his face, gathered his things and then stood for a moment, looking out the window at the small town below. He’d stopped in a little sea side town and hoped to make enough money to stay there for a while. He only planned to stay at the little inn he had found for around a week, just long enough to make enough money to move on to the next town. He never stayed anywhere long but this town was so charming that he might just have to visit it again some time. He closed the window and left his room, rushing own the stairs with his accordion cradled carefully in his arms. He was very protective of it, even when it was locked safely away in its bulky case.

He smiled widely as he walked out of the inn and took in a deep breath of the salty air. After a quick stretch he walked off down the street and began looking for a good place to begin playing. Off to the side, but not so far out of people’s way that they wouldn’t be inclined to stop and throw some money into his hat. After a solid twenty minutes he decided that down by the docks would be a good place to start. They were fairly busy after all, and it was important that as many people as possible heard him playing, plus the view from where he sat was lovely. Taking off his hat and placing it on the ground in front of him he began to play a rather cheerful and clearly French inspired tune, watching those that passed by him carefully, watching to see if people were enjoying his playing. He was nearly finished his first song when he noticed a young lady walking nearby and he couldn’t help but stare. He caught himself and pulled his eyes away, but they wandered back over to her and he was staring once again. How rude.
 
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Paige nibbled on her jam and toast, content to keep her eyes on her own plate and leave her mother to her own breakfast. It was far too early in the morning to incite the tension so thinly veiled between the two women and the last thing Paige wanted was to aggravate her mother. It was best to bow her head and get through the meal as quietly and as quickly as possible. However, the woman across the table had other plans. She hemmed and hawed over her eggs and exaggerated long, drawn out sighs as she sipped on her coffee. Paige concentrated on her toast, sinking her teeth into the crunchy starch to drown out the performance. She would not touch the bait, she would not! But try as she might to avoid the inevitable conversation, the young woman could not stop her mother from bringing up the topic herself. The older woman forcefully set her coffee cup down on its saucer and began the daily reprimand.

"Harvey has started seeing that little Wilkens girl."

"Has he?" Paige dabbed her lips with her napkin.

"How can you be so nonchalant, Paige? He was one of your more persistent suitors! Who will come calling on you now? Who will marry you now and care for you when I am no longer able to support you? You are 24 years old and less and less likely to find a husband. Oh, where have I failed you, darling?"

"Mother, there is more to life than being a wife. If I don't like the man, I certainly don't want to spend the rest of my life with him."

"You sent him away," it was more a pained statement than a question. "Paige, how can you tease me so? Have you no compassion?"

Paige set her napkin on her plate and pushed it away from herself to excuse herself from the table, droning out her mother's cries as she left the room. What was a girl to do? Her mother wouldn't hear of her becoming a school teacher, nor a spinster. It was her mother's greatest fear that by not marrying, she and her daughter would magically turn into Mrs. and Miss Bates from Jane Austen's Emma.

Wandering into the front hall, Paige donned a bonnet, shawl, and parasol and set out for a walk while her mother composed herself. The constant sea breeze always succeeded in bringing colour to her otherwise pale cheeks and a balm to her troubled thoughts. Keeping to the footpaths, she hurried from the townhouse, past the milliner's shop, and down toward the docks. The lively music of an accordion wafted past her as she hopped down the stone steps to the docks and brought a smile to her face. Paige meandered towards the busker, following the small crowd of townspeople who gathered around to listen to the young man play yet staying far enough away to still feel the breeze against her face.

What she wouldn't give to be free to sail away like the ships rising and falling lazily on the waves, like the notes floating overhead in the breeze. She clasped her hands over her bosom, simply enjoying her own little world and unaware of those around her until she felt a pair of eyes settling on her like a weight. Paige frowned slightly at this interruption and scanned the crowd until her eyes landed on the busker himself. Why was he staring at her? Was her bonnet sitting funny? She tugged on the strings and felt along the brim. No, no it was sitting correctly. Was there jam on her lips? She licked them consciously. Why was he staring at her? Unable to come up with another reason, Paige stared right back.
 
Bennett watched as the young lady sat looking out at the ships. She looked so peaceful sitting there enjoying the morning air. He looked away momentarily when her eyes fell upon him and he smiled at the man beside him who had just tossed a coin into his hat.

“Thank you sir” he said quietly and continued playing, a new song now. It was only seconds before he looked back to the lady across the way that had captured his attention so entirely. It would seem that his staring had made her self-conscious and he almost felt bad for it. He supposed that she wouldn’t give him a second glance now and was surprised to find that soon she was staring right back at him.


He flashed her a grin which showed off his less than perfect teeth and held her gaze as he continued his playing. Thinking that perhaps if they continued this exchanged, she would feel he had begun to play just for her. That and her lovely brown eyes had enchanted him. Most men would say there was nothing special about brown eyes but he’d always found blue eyes to be too cold and green eyes to be too shocking. There was warmth to brown eyes that attracted him to them.

Once the song he had been playing came to its conclusion he paused. He wasn’t sure quite what to do. If he had been playing a smaller instrument he could have gotten up and walked over and serenaded her, but no he was stuck with this big bulky thing. After contemplating it for a while longer he quickly gathered up his things and walked over to her, setting up shop again just a little ways away from her.

“Do forgive me miss, I hadn’t meant to make you uncomfortable by staring.” He looked up at her from under his eyelashes as he settled himself back into a good position for playing. “May I make it up to you with a song of your choosing?”
 
The smile was not lost upon her, nor the steady gaze of the man as he glided his accordion into another song. But his smile, though not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, was infectious and Paige could not help but offer him a small one in reply. He really did play so very beautifully.

She had seen such antics before, a performer flattering and charming his audience for coin, and had no doubt this was his intention now. But why her? She had no distinguishing marks of beauty, nor had she encouraged him in any way for he had instigated the exchange between them. Paige was not yet done puzzling through this when the man sauntered towards her and boldly settled in nearby, drawing her fully into the attention of the small crowd as he spoke to her. She blushed and murmured something about it being forgiven. Then he proposed to sing just for her? Paige could feel her blush grow as her heart fluttered a little in her chest.

"Now it is your turn to forgive me sir, for I have no coin with me this morning," she said shyly, holding out her hands to display her lack of a reticule. "But if you still wish it, I have always been fond of Loch Lomond."