Well Played (Well Met #2)(68)
A nervous laugh bubbled out of me. “Oh, you don’t have to watch us. In fact, please don’t.”
But he shook his head. “No chance I’m missing this.” He laughed at my defeated groan. “Now go on. Marshal your troops.”
“Yeah.” I squared my shoulders. The girls were waiting, after all. One more kiss from Daniel, and I went to join the Gilded Lilies. They were still milling around, looking bored and a little lost now that the morning’s meeting was over and everyone else had moved toward their places for opening gate.
“Hey, Stacey.” Caitlin waved as I approached. “So, Dahlia’s not here. I told Mr. G, and he told us to wait here.” Her face scrunched up in confusion. “But gate’s like really soon. We need to do something, right?”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Dahlia told Simon she can’t be here today.” I stopped short when I realized that Caitlin wasn’t the only one of the Lilies that I knew. “Sydney?”
“Hey, Stacey.” She gave me a little wave and tugged on the bodice of her dress. “It’s Syd now, actually.”
“Oh. Of course,” The last time I’d seen Sydney Stojkovic she’d been five years old, sitting in the back of the minivan when Mr. Stojkovic picked Candace and me up from one cheerleading competition or another. Now she was in high school. Time really was passing by too fast.
“Hey,” I said, still trying to get my mind around Syd not needing a car seat anymore. Then I got my mind back on topic. “So you all know, obviously, that Dahlia’s out today.”
Syd rolled her eyes. “Dahlia got a new girlfriend a couple weeks ago. Betcha that’s where she is.”
“Probably.” I brushed that off. “The good news is, I used to do this, so I’ll sing with you all.” I wasn’t sure how this announcement would go over, and I reminded myself that I’d been cool when I was younger, dammit. I’d been a cheerleader. These girls would have been lucky to hang out with me then. Surely they could get through a day with adult-me without rolling their eyes.
Thankfully, Caitlin was on my side. “Oh, that’s really good!” She nodded vigorously before turning to the others. “Stacey helped me learn the songs this year. And she’s an alto, like Dahlia.”
Thank God. I tried to not make my relief too visible.
Syd nodded, but her eyes focused behind me. “Who was that guy you were with just now?”
“Hmm?” I turned around to see Daniel disappearing up the hill, and I took a second to appreciate the way he looked in a pair of jeans. Denim was really underrated for what it could do for a man’s . . . assets.
“That’s her boyfriend,” Caitlin said with authority. She was enjoying the fact that she knew me better than the other girls did. Maybe there was something to this Fun Aunt role after all.
“Is he?” Syd raised her eyebrows at me. “He’s cute.”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “I think so.”
It turned out Simon was right. I did know all the songs the Gilded Lilies performed. Those practice sessions I’d had with Caitlin had been practice for me too. I just hadn’t known it. Performing with the girls was like riding a bike, but it was a surreal experience. Like those dreams where you’re suddenly back in high school and it’s finals week, but you haven’t gone to class all year. Performing was familiar, but it wasn’t quite the same. When I’d been a Gilded Lily, we hadn’t had set performance times; we’d just strolled the lanes of the Faire and sung a song or two as we went, adding color to the whole day. Now we were actual performers, setting up mostly on a small stage toward the front of the Faire, near the gate. We hustled to get up there before gate opened, and by the time the first patrons came in we were midway through the first verse of “Greensleeves,” our voices in perfect harmony. The girls were good singers, and I realized almost immediately how much I’d missed winding my voice around others in soaring harmonies. Yep, just like riding a bike. It was even fun. My irritation at not spending the day with Daniel faded, and I let myself relax into the music.
We performed short sets of four or five songs each, leaving us time to wander the lanes. I fell into the role, turning my character of Beatrice into the unlikely guardian of a quartet of sisters. I stopped patrons as they walked, asking the men if they were eligible bachelors. “Would you be interested in a bride? I desperately need to get these girls married off and out of my hair—er, I mean, I want to have their futures secured. Of course that’s what I meant! So are you eligible?” I purposely targeted some obviously married men, who usually laughed and hid behind their wives. Once in a while we found a small clearing or a stage where a show wasn’t taking place, and we performed a song or two. Small crowds gathered whenever we did, and though I kept a wary eye out for a black-clad redhead, so far Daniel hadn’t seen any of our performances. I couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or disappointed.
By midafternoon we found ourselves near the Marlowe Stage, roughly twenty minutes before the Kilts’ next show. The guys were nowhere to be seen, and the benches for the audience were mostly empty, except for a few people here and there taking a break in the shade. Perfect. We could do a couple songs and be on our way before they got back.
I led the girls up onto the stage. “Have we done ‘Drunken Sailor’ yet?” I couldn’t remember if I’d practiced that one with Caitlin or not, but it was a standard. The girls should know it.