Read Online The Irish Lover by Lila Dubois - Free Book Online Page B

excerpt from The Harp and the
Fiddle
     
    Copyright Lila Dubois, 2012
    All rights reserved, Samhain
Publishing
     

Chapter One: The Fiddle
Meets The Harp
     
    At the edge of the castle grounds, where the
gardens gave way to mowed grass, but before the wild tangles of
bramble that skirted the tree line, a large stone barn with a
pitched roof and dovecote stood tall and proud in the afternoon
sun. It was called Finn’s Stable, though no one knew or remembered
why. It simply was. It had been half fallen down when Caera took on
the job of special events manager at Glenncailty Castle. Two years
ago, the castle had been a crumbling and dilapidated private
residence. Now the castle was renovated and the outbuildings of the
estate were coming to life, starting with her love, Finn’s
Stable.
    Today the gravel and stone path than led to the
concert and event venue was clogged with trucks from RTE, Ireland’s
national broadcaster, as film and sound crews hauled equipment in
through the heavy wood doors. RTE was going to film a special event
in Finn’s Stable tomorrow night. Free Birds Fly was a concert with
some of the best young Irish musicians in the country. They’d be
performing traditional songs as well as their own original music.
There were even guest musicians coming from America and Australia,
both countries that owed much of their musical inheritance to their
Irish immigrants.
    Between now and the doors opening tomorrow
night there were plenty of details for Caera and her team to
oversee, not the least of which was the layout.
    “I could change it to a smaller stage in the
middle and have the audience seated all around. They’d be the
background.” Caera eyed the space as she mentally set up the
theater in the round.
    “I don’t want to be forever editing the tape
looking for someone with fingers in their nose.” The producer from
RTE looked both bored and irritated. He’d made it clear that he
thought it was a waste to bring the event out to Glenncailty,
rather than hosting it in Dublin.
    “What if you took down the drapes and filmed
during the day? The glen is beautiful.”
    When they repaired the crumbling walls and
added a new wood roof, she’d opted to replace one of the short
walls with glass, offering an unrestricted view of the woods behind
the stable. She wanted a way to let in the late summer sun and
allow people see the wild beauty of the unmanicured wood. Normally
the windows were a prized backdrop, providing either a view of the
green glen or the black of night. Finn’s Stable had become the
choice for ceilidhs and parties for those not only in the local
village, but in the surrounding parishes. Currently, the stage was
placed in front of the windows, opposite the stable doors. It had
never been a problem, and Caera had been applauded for her choice,
but according to the producer, windows were a difficult backdrop.
The RTE team had put hideous matte black curtains over the windows
on a frame of PVC pipe. Caera had to bite her tongue as they dulled
her sparkling gem of a venue.
    “Neither of us wants the headache of changing
the time of the concert.” The producer for RTE, the national
broadcaster, crossed his arms. Caera pressed her lips together and
took a few steps to the side, resting her hand against the stone
wall of the stable-turned-event space. She was working very hard to
be polite to the man who hadn’t had a good word to say since he got
here.
    “Maybe we can use the windows.” The producer
considered the pipe and drape. “We could light the trees outside
and angle the interior lights to minimize the reflection.” The
producer wandered away to talk to the lighting director he’d
brought.
    Caera hesitated, wanting to go with him and
give her input, but knowing that to the Dubliners—Dubs—she was just
a country girl and what she said wouldn’t matter. It was hard to
step back and let them decide what to do. Tomorrow would be Finn’s
Stable’s first time on TV. She didn’t