Free Fianna Kelly Versus the Jeebees: A Collection of Steampunk Stories by Harry Dodgson Page B

the Men,
But let her chide and call them bad,
the folk must all agree
    When
it came time for the chorus, I called out "Everyone sing along!" and
they uncovered another light to shine on Bradan. He had the words displayed for
all to see.
    BLYTHE
SANDY IS A BONNY LAD
    The
band played it slower than usual so he could keep up with the word changes and
everyone could sing.
    AND
DEARLY HE LOVES ME
    BLYTHE
SANDY IS A BONNY LAD
    AND
DEARLY HE LOVES ME
    HE
DOES
    AND
DEARLY HE LOVES ME [v]
    His
light was covered again after the chorus while I sang the next verse. When the
next chorus came, he was lit again and the audience joined in. We did it one
more time for the last verse and chorus. When the song finished, I curtsied and
left the stage while the audience applauded. Felix helped Bradan down the steps
to make sure he didn't topple over. All the lights were uncovered and the band
continued with their next song.
    It
took a minute or so for the spots in my eyes to go away. I figured that someone
would have to invent a way to light up the band while keeping the lights out of
their eyes if they wanted to keep doing it. Felix and Mary danced while Bradan
and I just stood by the stage and listened. I was thinking about how nice it
would be to listen to a band playing music whenever I wanted. I recalled that
someone had invented a device to do that. I'd have to ask Felix if he could
build one for me.
    Bevin
walked to the edge of the stage near us and addressed the audience. "We
have one more song for you to end the evening. Who wants to hear Fianna sing
while I play 'The Hokey Cokey'? [vi] Let's give her some encouragement!"
    I
didn't need to be coerced to sing, but Bevin believed the audience should
always have an opportunity to express their appreciation. There was a decent
amount of applause as I came back onto the stage. We hadn't asked for anything
with the arc lights, but the men working them got into the mood and shown one
light on the two of us and the other three onto the dance floor. I let Bevin play
once through the song as a solo and joined her as it started again.
    That
was a long song since we did all the verses and I needed a drink when we
finished. Mary had thought of that and had glasses of cold lemonade for Bevin
and I as we left the stage. I asked her about them being cold and Felix
interrupted with his usual 'benefits of science' line.
    We
all walked outside to watch the fireworks show coming next. I really did know
where I was and what was going to happen, but when the first rocket went up I could
only think of jeebees attacking. I looked back at Bradan and was comforted by
the lack of warnings. It was a minute or two before I managed to relax and not
jump at every loud noise. They had some spectacular blossoms this year.
    I
was cold and tired on the way home and I allowed Felix and Mary to do all the
talking. I thought about crawling under Bradan and getting a short nap. It
would be comfortable and warm there, but would leave my dress all wrinkled and
I needed to wear it again tomorrow. I settled for leaning on Mary. She was warm
too and said it was the least she could do for me.

• September 2
     
     
    The
next day started about the same. The wagon ride felt shorter since I knew where
we were headed. I took Bradan around the outside of the tents today and we
arrived at our spot much faster because we didn't need to manoeuvre through
people. I saw a lot more people here today; I'd guess at least twice the number
of those here yesterday.
    The
professor was back early in the morning. He excused himself for bypassing me
while he talked directly to Bradan for at least an hour. I didn't mind being
left out of the conversation as I had no idea what it was about. The letters on
Bradan's chest didn't make any sense to me either. The professor thanked me as
usual when he left.
    Felix
and I were very busy talking to people. Yesterday we were able to take breaks
with just one of us at our assigned spot, but today was different.