Inventing Wonders

Chapter 8: And If I Go Crazy

The haughtiness of provincial ladies made Lara's eye twitch more than her interactions with Anna. Moreover, a spoiler: vacationing in a place where rumors about you spread faster than Rowling's tweets about women and menstruation is a bad idea. However, Lara, who understood the principles of creating sensational content, carried herself with dignity. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, she overstepped out of habit: spoke impulsively and used less than appropriate language, behaved unlike an unmarried lady should. But one's own reputation was one thing—Lara's was already quite ambiguous but loud, and everyone knew that any publicity was publicity. But ruining Anna's reputation was a faux pas.

So, when that evening in Madame Weitzman's living room, the words were spoken:

"Larisa Konstantinovna, we have heard of your musical talents. Would you be so kind as to perform something for us?"

Lara, who could confidently play only Alena Shvets' "Loser," shrugged and coquettishly said:

"Forgive me, dear Ekaterina Andreyevna, but today I am not in voice. I fear I caught a chill on the way and prefer to spare my vocal cords."

"Oh, nonsense!" Madame Weitzman persisted. "My daughter Natalie recently visited my sister in the capital. All they talk about there is your talent."

The plump woman, in a dress showcasing the family's wealth all at once, clearly wanted to catch Lara in a lie. But since it wasn't Lara who spread the rumor about her talent, it wasn't her fault if she couldn't live up to it.

Anna watched the scene unfold with bated breath. She, more than anyone, knew about Larisa Konstantinovna's talents. And the trouble lay not just in the talents but in the repertoire. The first time Anna heard Lara humming, "I don't need your wallet / And I don't need a bag from you / You know you're not my dog / And I'm not your b... (bi-bi)," she blushed, turned pale, and quickly stopped listening to such a vulgar tune. Over time, Anna got used to the common and crude songs, but she quite reasonably assumed that the local audience was not ready for such performances.

"I fear that many rumors circulate about me, and it would be rather frivolous to believe every one," Lara smiled sweetly.

"Such modesty does not become a lady," Lara heard a sharp comment directed at Natalie Weitzman.

"I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, I am not trying to elicit more flattering words and make you beg. But music is scarcely among my talents," she glanced around the living room and added, "I could recite poetry if that would entertain you."

"Larisa Konstantinovna, we must insist," finally intervened Natalie, who had recently married well, as her mother had already mentioned five times.

In truth, this persistence distinguished the local audience from that of Petersburg. Of course, with such straightforwardness, Lara had fewer chances to disgrace herself, but this insistence annoyed her. After all, she still belonged to a modern highly psychological society where everyone knows that no one owes anyone anything. Here, Lara deserved credit: she understood well that in society, everything must be harmonious, and thus relationships should be mutually beneficial. Simply put, living among people meant being dependent on them. But in this situation, Lara would prefer to spread non-toxic ideas just to avoid the piano torture.

"Well, if you insist, I have no choice but to perform a piece for you. I certainly won't sing; my throat, as it was five minutes ago, is causing me great discomfort," Lara stood and casually approached the instrument.

She felt like she was at an economics exam, where the only thing she knew about the subject was the teacher's name. If it was a remote exam, her father handled everything from the next room. In the current situation, Lara decided to use the "remote access" scheme again.