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A Falcon Falls

Written by Kerryn Offord

Saturday Morning, December 31, 1633, Grantville

"Swan Lake! How does she expect us to do Swan Lake? And in Magdeburg. The woman is raving."

Harvey Matowski glanced back up the road. Nearly half a mile away, just outside the high school, he could see the headlights of a bus as it started its next run carrying patrons home from the ballet. He was surprised that it had taken this long for his wife to explode. "Yes, dear."

"There aren't even any suitable buildings. You realize she expects us to put on a performance on an open air stage."

"Yes, dear."

"The whole thing is impossible. And did you hear Her Ladyship? I should move my ballet school to Magdeburg. It's all right for her, but my people have to stay near their jobs. If I move the school to Magdeburg, I'll lose half my senior dancers, and as for the youngsters . . . they have to stay with their parents. If I move the school to Magdeburg I'll lose Cathy McNally." Bitty wailed.

"I'm sure Mrs. Simpson doesn't mean you should move the school immediately, Bitty. Just start thinking about moving. I'm sure some of the dancers are going to want to move to Magdeburg anyway. For a start, there's Carl. I know he's still at the party networking for work for Kelly Construction in Magdeburg."

"Bloody Carl. Bloody Army. If it wasn't for the Army I'd still have Joel to lead and I wouldn't need Carl."

"Yes, dear."

"I'm cold, Harvey." Bitty sniveled, rubbing her hands over her bare arms and shoulders.

Harvey draped the coat he had been carrying over her shoulders. The cocktail dress Bitty was wearing might have been comfortable in the cafeteria where the first night "Meet the Cast" dinner and cocktail party was being held. However, it had never been designed to keep a woman warm outside in the early hours of a mid-winter morning. He was surprised that it had taken his wife this long to cool down enough that she could register the ambient temperature. Mary Simpson must have really upset her.

"My feet hurt."

It was a plaintive cry, but totally understandable. Not only had Bitty been on her feet since the early hours of the previous day, but high heels were not suitable for stalking in high dudgeon half a mile down a road.

Next morning

Bitty looked at the sorry remains of what had been a favorite pair of high-heeled shoes. They were badly cut up from last night's extended walk on the road. Maybe Uncle Mark or his partner Hans Bauer could repair them. It was no use crying to Harvey. He'd only point to the small mountain of shoes littering her wardrobe and ask what was wrong with the other few dozen pairs. Men just didn't understand a woman's relationship with her shoes.

The exertions of the last thirty-six hours were coming firmly home to roost. Her feet still hurt, but she was used to that. Years of en pointe dancing had almost immunized her to foot pain. It was the total lack of energy that was so distressing. While she dressed Bitty wondered where Harvey was. When she opened the bedroom door, the smell informed her that he was busy in the kitchen. Hurrying as best she could, she followed the tantalizing smells to their source.

****

After inhaling the last of the pile of blueberry pancakes and syrup, Bitty finally noticed the empty kitchen. "Where is everybody?"

"They were up and had breakfast earlier. I insisted they leave you to wake up naturally."

"Did they have pancakes, too?"

"No, love. I made them especially for you. After last night you needed a pick-me-up, so I made your favorites."

"Thanks. I really needed them. But it's a pity the girls and Joseph are gone. I wanted to talk to them about Mrs. Simpson's commitment for us to do Swan Lake to celebrate Independence Day."

Harvey shook his head. "I'd wait until the end of the Nutcracker season. They have enough to worry about just getting through this weekend. No need to give them new worries just yet. There'll be plenty of time next week.

Saturday, January 7, 1634

Bitty stood back and watched while Amber Higham passed out the paychecks for the previous weekend's short season of Nutcracker. There was an air of noisy celebration among the younger dancers as they compared checks. For most of the boys and girls it was more money than they ever had at one time before.

Glenna Sue Haggerty called out. "Miz B, when's the next season of ballet, and which one are we doing?"

The room went silent. Everybody waited on Bitty's response. She wasn't really ready for this, but she couldn't keep putting it off. "Mrs. Simpson is arranging a season of performances of the arts in Magdeburg around the fourth of July. She has asked that I put on a short season of ballet."

"Where in Magdeburg, Mom?" Bitty's elder daughter Staci turned to Carl Schockley. "Carl. You've been there. Is there anywhere suitable for a performance?"

Carl shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of. There are a few guildhalls and the like. They might be suitable for taking class or putting on small musical recitals, but until the opera house is built, there isn't going to be anywhere to perform for an audience."

"Carl's right," Bitty interrupted. "However, Mrs. Simpson wants an open air performance in Hans Richter Square."

Staci looked shocked. "Where did she get a dumb idea like that, Mom?"

"Kirov's Gala performance in Red Square was on television before Christmas. She seemed to take the view that if the Russians could put on a performance of ballet on an open air stage, then we should be able to."

"Oh. So, Mrs. Simpson wants us to put on a collection of scenes from selected ballets?"

"If only. No. She wants Swan Lake."

"What! But Mom. That's impossible. There's no way we can find enough dancers."

Bitty smiled wryly. "You and I know that. However, I don't think Mrs. Simpson is really aware of the problem. Which leaves us with a second problem. She's already told her society friends that we'll be doing it. If we let her down, well, we can kiss Mary Simpson . . . and her patronage, goodbye.

There seemed to be some brightening of faces at the prospect of Mary Simpson dropping her involvement with the company. Bitty acted quickly to correct their misconceptions. "And no, that would not be a good thing. Mrs. Simpson made a valid case for a move to Magdeburg. And she's right. We'll never make the company pay here in Grantville, and when we move, I'd much rather have her on my side than against me."

"Move the company? Is Mrs. Simpson going to provide enough money to support the company? I mean, most of us have jobs. We can't just move to Magdeburg because she wants you to move the company."

"Magdeburg's out for me," Babette Goss said. "If I go anywhere it'll be to Erfurt to be with my husband."

Lynette Fortney held up her hand. "If you're short of people, I might be able to get a transfer to the law courts in Magdeburg,"

Bitty looked at her remaining senior dancers. Glenna Sue Haggerty and Natasha Fortney were supposed to start teacher training after they graduated from high school. Richelle Kubiak was also graduating this year, but she already had a job lined up with her foster mother and would probably be staying close to Grantville. Marcie Haggerty had a year to go in her teacher training. Bitty's younger daughter Melanie had only been training as an electrician for a year and wasn't sufficiently qualified to find work in Magdeburg yet. That left her daughter in-law Alice, her elder daughter Staci, and Casey Stevenson. "Alice, do you think you could get a transfer to Magdeburg?"

"I don't know, Mom. I don't think the Air Force has anything going in Magdeburg."

Carl Schockley spoke up. "If the Air Force won't hire you, Alice, Kelly Construction will. We need trained drafts people. Heck, if you're interested I can probably sign you on now and start you on your way to Magdeburg on the next train. Believe me; we need people with your training."

Bitty sighed. "I guess that means you'll be spending a lot of time in Magdeburg this year, Carl?"

"Yes, it's my turn to be based in Magdeburg."

Bitty turned her attention to Staci and Casey Stevenson.

"I'd like to help you Bitty, but what can a physical education teacher do in Magdeburg?" Casey looked over at Staci. "Staci's a bit better off having done the ESOL course, but what can a couple of teachers do in Magdeburg?"

"Teach."

All eyes turned to the source of the comment. "What do you mean, Elisabeth Sofie?" Casey asked.

Stepping forward, a little embarrassed at suddenly being the center of attention, Elisabeth Sofie tried to explain. "Fraulein Casey, you are a teacher. An up-time teacher. What you should do is start a school in Magdeburg. A secondary school for girls. Something that will take girls from schools like St. Veronica's Preparatory Academy and prepare them for the new women's college, or just to teach the advanced skills that the wife of a successful merchant or land owner needs. My Tante Dorothea Sophie has a secondary school at Quedlinburg. If you wish, I can ask her if she thinks it is possible."

"Thank you, Elisabeth Sofie. If your Tante Dorothea Sophie thinks a secondary school for girls in Magdeburg is a good idea, Staci and I will look into it."

****

Bitty, who had stepped back from the discussion, stared at Elisabeth Sofie, names tumbling through her mind. Somewhere she had heard the name Dorothea Sophie before. With a shake of her head she turned her attention back to her students. "Back to our original problem. What are we going to do about Mrs. Simpson and her open air performance of Swan Lake?"

"Offer some alternative." Joseph Matowski called put.

"What do you mean, Joseph?" Bitty asked her younger son a little tersely.

"Its obvious to everyone we can't do Swan Lake, and you said you didn't want to get on the wrong side of Mrs. Simpson. The only way to stay on her good side is to offer an alternative when you tell her we can't do Swan Lake."

"And does the font of all wisdom have any idea what we could put on?" Staci asked sarcastically.

Joseph smiled. "Yes."

"Well? Speak, little brother. What is this great idea you have?"

"The life and death of Hans Richter." With barely a pause for his audience to absorb what he had said, Joseph started speaking again. "Just think of it. A ballet in three acts telling the story of Hans Richter, from lowly mercenary to hero of Wismar."

Some of the girls laughed, but Bitty nodded. "That might actually work." The idea had merit. However, creating a totally new ballet presented a few problems. The only advantage was that here and now, they could create their own rules as to what a ballet should contain. "Casey, Alice, you both studied some choreography at college didn't you?"

"Yes, Miz B. We both did some papers. Are you really thinking about Joseph's suggestion?" Casey answered.

"It's the best idea I've heard since Mrs. Simpson dropped her little bombshell. If you and Alice could come to my place, we can start working on it."

****

Ever since Elisabeth Sofie mentioned her Tante Dorothea Sophie, Bitty had been worrying the thought that the name was familiar. Seeing Elisabeth Sofie being collected by her cousin Countess Emelie had jogged her memory. Laughing, she looked at her startled companions. "I've just remembered where I heard the name Dorothea Sophie."

"Well, Mom, don't hold us in suspense. What's so special about Elisabeth Sofie's Tante Dorothea Sophie?"

"I think you've all forgotten who Elisabeth Sofie is. Do you remember the ladies that turned up at rehearsals with Mrs. Simpson?" At their nods Bitty continued. "One of them was an Abbess Dorothea Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg. She rules the Damenstift of Quedlinburg."

"Oh! When Elisabeth Sofie talked about her Tante Dorothea Sophie having a secondary school, she really meant her secondary school. Not one that just happens to be close to where she lives, but one she runs," Staci said.

Tuesday January 10, 1634. Grantville

"Fräulein Casey, Fräulein Anastasia, I have talked to Tante Dorothea Sophie and Papa. They think the idea has merit. Also, Papa suggests that such a school would benefit from having a suitable patron." Elisabeth Sofie ducked her head for a moment before looking back at Staci and Casey, then in a rush, she said, "Papa suggested that the school could be called 'The Duchess Elisabeth Sofie Secondary School for Girls.'"

Staci and Casey looked at each other, then at Elisabeth Sofie. "Why would you want to be patron of a school?"

"Papa thinks it would not hurt for me to develop a public profile as a person of influence. And under the circumstances, starting with a school would be ideal."

"Why do you need a profile as a person of influence? And why would a school be ideal?"

"It is to protect my inheritance. Papa has no faith that his heir will respect his will."

January 1634, Grantville

Bitty led Lady Beth Haygood to the four watching young women. "Lady Beth, I'd like to introduce you to the Grantville Ballet Company's brain trust. There are my daughters Staci and Melanie, Joel's wife Alice, and Casey Stevenson. They helped me put together the proposal for the ballet on the life and death of Hans Richter."

"Did Mrs. Simpson go for Joseph's idea then, Mom?" Alice asked.

"Yes, love. She had already been getting reports of problems from Marcus Wendell, so she was ready to compromise. Mary loved the idea and is happy for us to work on it. She's even authorized a budget to get the music prepared, just as soon as we can work out what music we want. I'll be checking with Marcus to see what is and isn't possible over the next couple of days."

"So the useless little runt has finally managed to justify his existence," muttered Staci.

"He's never going to let anyone forget it either," Melanie agreed.

"Staci! Melanie! That's no way to talk about your brother. We'd really be up the creek without a paddle if he hadn't come forward with his idea."

"Yes, Mom. Sorry, Mom."

"Did you ask Mrs. Simpson about helping with the school, Miz B?" Casey asked.

Bitty shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Casey. I totally forgot. I'll try and talk to her tomorrow."

"School?" Lady Beth asked, looking with interest at Casey.

Casey nodded. "We were talking about moving the company to Magdeburg and how one of the problems would be how could we earn a living. Melanie is training to be an electrician, which will be a trade very much in demand. Alice already has a firm offer to work for Kelly Construction as a draftsman, but all Staci and I are qualified to do is teach. One of the down-time dancers suggested we should think about opening a school for girls in Magdeburg and offered to talk to her family, and the Duchess Elisabeth Sofie Secondary School for Girls was born."

"What sort of help are you hoping to get from Mrs. Simpson?"

"We aren't really sure yet, Mrs. Haygood. But she has all sorts of connections. We desperately need someone to help. Staci and I don't have any idea what's involved and we're not sure we can impress the parents. They'll look at us, see a couple of young women, and either try and talk down the fees, or take their daughters elsewhere."

"What you are looking for is a school principal then? A mature person with administration experience?" At Staci and Casey's nods, Lady Beth continued. "What sort of salary package are you offering?"

Staci and Casey exchanged blank looks. "That's one of our problems. We don't know how much we should pay. We don't even know what a teacher should be paid, how much we should be charging, or how many teachers we really need. We don't even know what questions to ask."

Lady Beth smiled. "So you need someone to do the work of getting your school up and running from scratch, and then to keep it going?"

"And who works cheap." Casey smiled as she said it. "We know getting the perfect person is a pipe dream, so we might as well ask for the impossible."

"Actually, girls, I think I know just the person you need. An up-timer with just the right qualifications comes to mind. She won't be cheap exactly, but well worth the price if the numbers add up."

"Who, Mrs. Haygood?"

"Please call me Lady Beth. I might be interested."

"You?" Bitty asked.

"Yes. It would be a perfect solution for me. I want to be with Jere in Magdeburg, but there's nowhere suitable to send Bethie Ann. I've just about resigned myself to waiting until she's old enough to leave school. However, if your school can take her, then I can go to Magdeburg to be with Jere. Of course, it would be even better if I had a job in Magdeburg to look forward to. Can you tell me a bit more about your school? Who is Duchess Elisabeth Sofie? And how much money is she putting up?"

"Elisabeth Sofie is one of our down-time dancers. Her father, Duke Johann Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg, is offering us title and the rents for a village with about fifteen hundred acres just outside the walls of Magdeburg. He's also offered to arrange a long-term lease on some land inside the walls for the school. And said we can use some of the rooms in his new town house while the school is being built."

"So you have a noble patron, a lease on some land, and you own a village and farm land that will help support the school? Sign me up."

Late January, 1634 Grantville

"Well, I'm sorry, but if you want any of the Sibelius, then you're going to have to stick to canned music for a while," Marcus Wendell said. "Even the piano score will take a while to transcribe, and if you want any of the music rearranged, that'll take more time."

"I guess that means we have to do what we did with Brillo."

"What did you do for the Brillo performance?" Marcus asked.

"We made a tape."

"Ah!" Enlightened, Marcus looked from Bitty to the Sibelius CD and the boom box. "So you don't really need a live orchestra for the ballet?"

"I was promised a live orchestra, Marcus."

"Yes, yes I know," Marcus answered. "But, if worse came to worse, you don't absolutely need a live orchestra, right?"

"Marcus, have you any idea how hard it is to perform to a tape? Do you realize just how difficult it is to restart without a signal from the conductor?"

Marcus didn't know much about ballet, but he had dealt with enough stage shows as a teacher to know that the conductor needed to keep an eye on the stage to keep the music in time with the action. "Bitty, I understand what you're getting at, but there're problems in Magdeburg. Have you thought about the acoustics of the square?"

"I wouldn't have thought it had any." Bitty answered without giving the question much thought. "Aren't you going to use amplifiers and stuff? I'm sure Mrs. Simpson said something about borrowing the Navy's PA system."

"We were. I mean, we are. We were planning on borrowing one of the church control boards to run everything, but none of them can cope with the number of different input devices we'd have to use. And it's going to be pushing it to get enough good quality microphones for everyone."

"Are you saying you can't deliver live music for the ballet?" Bitty asked.

Marcus's posture collapsed with a heavy, heart felt sigh of utter frustration. "No. I'm not saying we can't deliver. Just that you should look at developing a backup plan. We're having a little trouble with the down-time performers. They've had a few problems adapting to the new instruments, and some of them are having difficulty with the new music." He gave Bitty a wry grin. "They find it too dissonant."

"If you need any help making the tape I can probably loan you a couple of my people, and with a finished tape, transcribing to get a complete score should be much easier."

Late February, 1634, Grantville

"Staci, Casey, Alice, how are you all? I've just this minute arrived back from Magdeburg. That bit of land inside the walls the duke's agent has found is ideal. It's just off a main road where they plan to install a tramway sometime in the future. That'll increase the radius from which you can draw pupils. And being just down the road from the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg's townhouse means the location can't be better."

Staci waited until Lady Beth paused for breath. "So you're still interested in running the school then, Lady Beth?"

"What? Oh yes, definitely, and some of the up-timers in Magdeburg are also interested in your school. I spoke with Rowan Washaw and she was very enthusiastic." Catching the blank looks, Lady Beth elaborated. "Rowan is getting the St. Veronica's Academy in Magdeburg up and running. That'll be a useful feeder. And I've found a possible extra up-time teacher. Ceci Jones. She did English at college and is certified to teach. Currently she's running a single room school for the children of up-timers, but she likes the idea of having the support of other teachers."

"I know Ceci. We did the ESOL training together." Staci said.

Lady Beth nodded absently, "Good, now, Abbess Dorothea Sophie has given me a list of local families she's been forced to turn away from her school in Quedlinburg. I've spoken to some of them, and as long as the abbess approves the curriculum and graduates are qualified to enter one of the proposed new colleges, they're interested. A couple of the families commented that a local school with up-time teachers would be much better than having their daughters go to Quedlinburg as boarders." Lady Beth gave the girls an apologetic smile. "I think they mean 'a lot cheaper.' Anyway, I know you were planning on starting with just a fifth and maybe a sixth grade, and introducing new grades as the pupils advanced, but a number of the potential fifth and sixth graders have older sisters. It would save the parents a lot of trouble if you could accommodate the older sisters as well."

"I guess that will be okay," Staci said. "But what sort of numbers do you think we'll have, and can we earn a living?"

"To pay the rent on the school, a living wage for you and Casey, me, Ceci Jones, and a handful of down-timer teachers and other staff, and provide everyone with room and board, I estimate we will need something like one hundred and eighty pupils to break even. The abbess thinks that your first year you should easily get thirty fifth graders and maybe twenty sixth graders, with another twenty or so pupils spread over the higher grades. Based on the parents I spoke to, those numbers seem possible. You should expect to reach break even point and be adding more staff inside five years."

"So what do we live on for the next five years?" Staci asked.

"The rents from the village," Lady Beth replied. "They won't be high, but if you can encourage the tenants to adopt some of the up-time farming techniques they should grow fairly quickly, especially the way Magdeburg is growing. Of course, if you had some capital to invest, the farm yields could increase much faster."

"If we had investment capital for what?" Casey asked.

"Farm productivity on the property is low because of the damage years of rampaging armies have inflicted. The tenants are farming with the bare minimum of tools and draft animals. If you can raise some money to supply modern farm implements and draft animals, not only will you improve the estate's chances of attracting tenants, but the rents you'll be able to charge will be higher."

March 1634, Grantville

Bitty joined the rest of the company watching the pair on the practice floor rehearse their moment of glory in A Falcon Falls. She held her breath as they approached the finale of the routine. It was supposed to end with a particularly spectacular hands free fish dive, and this was the first complete dance through at normal speed.

"Joe's looking good, isn't he, Mom?"

Staci's words echoed Bitty's thoughts. "Yes. It'll be nice having a reliable lead male again."

"Hey, Carl's reliable."

"When he's around," Bitty muttered, giving Staci a meaningful look.

June 1634, Hans Richter Square, Magdeburg

Lady Beth led Bitty through the crowd of spectators to the enormous stage that dominated the southern edge of what was an extremely large public square.

Bitty gestured to the people who were spread over the bleachers and sitting on blankets on the ground. "Who are all the people?"

"Just normal people. They started coming out during their lunch break to watch the stage being built. When rehearsals started, there was a surge in interest."

"Why are you letting them watch?" she demanded, her waving arms reinforcing her dismay at what she is seeing. "Rehearsals should be away from the public gaze. That way the magic isn't lost."

"Bitty, there just isn't anywhere big enough to rehearse in Magdeburg. At least, not with a suitable floor." Lady Beth paused while Bitty filled in the blanks.

"Stone floors?" At Lady Beth's nod she shuddered.

"Or undressed timber," Lady Beth added

Bitty nodded. "Okay, so the floors had no ...