Page 13 of The Searching Songbird

Devon's marketplace was similar to Tallis's, though perhaps not quite as large. But there were still plenty of shop stalls with colorful canopies and the smell of freshly cooked food wafted through the air, making her stomach rumble. They wandered through the crowd, peering into the different stalls, until the aroma of seasoned meat caught their attention.

“Ooh, that's it!” Lily exclaimed, pulling Kenny over to the stand. There was a long line of people waiting, and as they went to stand at the back of it, Kenny started to dig around in his pockets. Pulling out a few coins, he turned to look at Lily, his expression doubtful.

“I only have three drams. Not sure how much that'll get us...”

“Don't be silly,” she protested. “I have enough for both of us. The skewers were my idea, after all.” She reached into the pocket of her skirt, only to find it empty. Wrinkling her forehead in confusion, she checked the other pocket, which was just as empty as the first. And then it hit her. Slapping her hand against her forehead, she groaned in disbelief. “I left my purse in my cabin! I was so excited to get off the boat, I wasn't thinking clearly.”

“Aw, that's all right. I bet I can get us at least one to share, anyway.”

She frowned. “I don't want you wasting your hard earned money on me...” She trailed off as she spotted an old man with a long, gray beard and a guitar standing in front of a low wall playing for coins. His hat only had a few coins in it, likely his own. A few people smiled at him as they passed, but otherwise, no one seemed to pay him any mind.

“Hold that thought,” she murmured, watching the man play. He wasn't bad. He was simply lacking showmanship, a little pizzazz. She flashed Kenny a grin before pulling him away from the line. “I've got an idea!”

She walked over to the old man, then stood back and waited patiently for him to finish his song. When he had, she approached him with a friendly grin. “That was great!”

He returned her smile with a gap-toothed one of his own. “Thank ya, miss. I'm glad someone enjoyed it, anyway. Rest o' this crowd don't seem ta like music much.”

“Whaddya say we change their minds? Fancy a duet? You play, I'll sing, and we'll split the take fifty-fifty.”

“Well, now, I'd be right pleased to play with sech a fine lass as yerself, but I can't promise we'll get anythin' out of et. Ain't barely made more'n a dram all day.”

She shrugged. “We'll still have the pleasure of making music, even if we do come up empty. And that's incentive enough for me. Shall we?”

Laughing, the older man nodded. “All right, then. Ya know 'Loveless Lucy'?”

She was the one laughing now. “Why, yes, I do, but don't tell my papa I sang it in public.”

“An easy promise, seein' as I don't know yer pa,” the old man responded with a wink. His fingers started to pick out the beginning notes, and Lily tapped her foot along with the rhythm. A few people glanced their way in passing interest, and Lily grinned back at them before launching into the opening verse.

“I knew a girl named Lucy Dell,

She sure knew how to treat me well,

Her breasts were full, her hips a bell,

My lovely Loveless Lucy.”

A handful of people stopped to watch, and she started dancing, clapping her hands and stomping her feet as she went.

“I asked the girl if she'd be mine,

She said 'Why, that would be just fine,

I didn't know I was fifth in line,

With lovely Loveless Lucy.”

The old man kicked up the beat, his gnarled, old fingers moving over the chords with surprising speed. Lily matched him as she hopped up onto the wall, twirling her skirts around in circles and thinking how lucky it was she'd worn her rainbow of petticoats beneath her bright, blue skirt that day. She sang on and on, and before long there was a large crowd gathered in front of them. She saw Kenny gaping at her from where she'd left him, his eyes round and his mouth open wide. She threw him a wink before launching into the final verse, and his freckles soon disappeared beneath a layer of red.

“I gave her all I had and more,

She bled me dry till I was poor,

And just like that, she was out me door,

That lovely Loveless Lucy.”

She jumped down off the wall with a flourish as the old man struck the last note. He set his guitar to the side and slapped his knee with a “Whooeee, that was good,” as the crowd burst into applause. Several people came forward to throw coins into the hat, and someone in the back called for an encore. The call was picked up, the crowd egging them on for more, and soon they were back at it with a jig.