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John held my hand as he led me into some sort of pub, before we entered I needed to tell him something. "John, I have to confess. Before we go in... this is my first time being in a pub. And I'm doing it in a time I'm not used to... this should be interesting." He looked shocked at the idea of someone never to have set foot in a public house. 'The Garrison.' The frosted glass read and I wondered why it had been called that. I had heard of it in a book but it was only mentioned briefly. Very evidently it was an owned property of the Shelby's.
"Come on then, let's make your first experience the best one." John said, holding the door open. I stepped in, holding the door gently and poked my head around at the establishment. The bar had been lately cleaned as you could see the marks from the wet cloth where it had been wiped. The floor was slightly dusty and you could see the imprint of multiple shoes that had scuffed against it. There were about three tables in sight and all were filled with men wearing very similar clothing.
"Harry, fetch me a whisky and some water for the lady." I nodded at John and thanked him quietly for noticing my hesitation to drink. Harry, the name of the man who managed the front of house was quick to get our drinks. John led me into a little room in the back, it was blocked off with frosted glass panels fixed into mahogany wood and that held it together. There were a few chairs and I sat in the corner and drank the water with gentle sips. John seemed to watch me and when I realised my legs were spread ever so slightly I slammed them shut and he chuckled. "Tommy was right, you do look amazing in pink." He chuckled and walked over while I remained embarrassed at the reminiscence of Tommy's abrupt compliment this morning.
Suddenly I was reminded that I had broken his rule to stay in the house.
"Oh shit." I said as I stood up and began to scrambled my coat back on. "What's wrong?" He asked, surprised at my outburst and stood up with me. "Tommy told me to stay in the house." He chuckled and I looked at him waiting for an explanation why. "I asked if I could take you out, he knows your out the 'ouse. I didn't tell 'im where we were goin' but 'ere we are." He said and I sighed from relief at the revelation I wish he had disclosed a little earlier then he did. "Sorry, he put a gun in my face this morning. I don't want to give him reason to pull the trigger this time." He choked on his whisky and wiped his mouth quickly. "He... threatened you?" I nodded, and acted almost as if it was normal... then I suddenly realised that it very much wasn't. "He put a gun in my face. He could've killed me!" I yelled, slamming my fists onto the leather sofa.
"And why are you so surprised about it?" I asked, confused once again. "Well... Tommy rarely has outburst... he's calm... all the fucking time and it creeps me out." He wriggled his shoulders and I couldn't help but giggle. We looked at each other for a moment and I tore my eyes away. "So... you're married? I think I failed to find that out. Who's the lucky lady?" "Esme... she's amazing. But it was an arranged marriage by Tommy. He wanted to unite our families since we were both having a scrap with a guy called Kimber." "Oh yeah... the one Tommy killed right?" He looked up and nodded. "Can we go out there? I'm interested in people... I'm not very social in my time because I don't fit in with people really. I wanna... try and learn about people in this time. If you don't mind?" He nodded his head hesitantly and I went out into the main bar... it seemed I attracted some attention. I walked to the bar and asked for another glass of water, and looked over at the piano.
I thought back to my younger days when I had pushed myself to do something with my time so I took music lessons that consisted of: piano, singing and violin. I liked it, but had no true passion in it. I felt I had not particular talent in anything so I wanted to try and find it. I did every club or lesson there was and the only things I found interest in was literature and history. So I combined the two and created who I am today. It's a rather strange to me as to why I believed I was secretly a music prodigy when I had no passion for it whatsoever. Strange. Nor was I extremely good at it... but I learn things quickly so that helps.
"Hmm." I said before walking over to the piano and opening it up, it was coated in a layer of dust and blew as much of it as I could before wiping it with a tissue I had in my pocket. John had made me laugh while I sneezed and it caused a little mishap. I wiped it over and pressed the E key... soon learning it was thankfully in tune. I turned and saw everyone looking at me, before taking a seat on the stall and thinking back to what I knew. I pressed a few chords to get my rhythm and tone and tried to find a fitting piece. An uplifting piece.
I then remembered I rarely learnt happy pieces and always practiced 'Moonlight Sonata' when I was sad. But often I would play Grieg.
It appeared I had the attention of most of the room and I continued to play as well as I could, using the muscle memory to remember the piece I had played often. It was stunning but something that did give you finger cramp after awhile. When I finished the peace an applause erupted. Men of all ages coming to me and kissing me on the cheek. They must've assumed I was famous or something... it was pretty rare to be able to play an instrument at this time. Some had tears in their eyes and others were just thankful.
I looked over at John who was a little shocked with my reveal of talent. "Bloody 'ell! Where'd you learn to play like that huh?" "I erm... had lessons?" I said, swerving the question awkwardly before sitting myself at the bar comfortably. The place calming down and everyone seemed to suddenly be in good spirits. She smiled at the happiness she had managed to bring. She could hear the men complimenting her with the oversensitive hearing she had always had. It only brightened her smile.
Until...
"I can't wait to get my 'ands on that one, I tell ya. She's gonna be under me like an 'orse soon enough."
