Susan, I'm curious about how Anna knows the song in the first place. Granted that gently-bred girls picked up some unlikely stuff in those days, as soon as you listed the song title (I'm familiar with it), I found myself wondering where on earth she'd been hanging about to pick that one up.

Also, army widow or no, surely she's in mourning of some sort? Granted, moving army with all the exigencies entailed by that, but dancing? I think she'd need to be more than a little tipsy to forego convention to that degree.

One other question: she's the widow of an officer, yes? Would Tracy or anyone else allow her to walk back to her tent unescorted, through possibly the dregs of the Peninsular army? They weren't a genteel group, by and large.

Sorry to be blighting - it really is a pretty scene you're envisioning - but, well, questions.

walk back to her tent unescorted

Oh, good point. Heck, just being out after dark on her own in peacetime would be enough for whispers to start. Would the social mores be more stringently followed in such situations?

I don't know that the dance, at least in public, is possible in that era, unless you want to deal with the scandalous repercussions in the rest of the book. I like the idea of the two of them realizing that they're harmonizing (on a less risque song). If you want to stick with The Trooper and the Maid, maybe she could be trying to sing along with an unfamiliar tune and catch his eye just as she realizes the implications of the words. If you really want the dance scene, I think it has to be out of the public eye. Perhaps in her numb state she leaves the dinner unnoticed, just thinking about getting back to her tent and being alone. Her attention is caught by the music and she sings along. Jack realizes that she's alone and gets up to escort her back to her tent. When they're alone but can still hear the music, she's caught up with a wild desire to dance to the catchy music.

deb, it's actually not that song that she knows, but another less racy one they're singing before it.

One other question: she's the widow of an officer, yes? Would Tracy or anyone else allow her to walk back to her tent unescorted, through possibly the dregs of the Peninsular army? They weren't a genteel group, by and large.

Good point. How about this version? Some suitably respectable person escorts Anna back to her tent, which is fairly near the campfire, and leaves here there. Since it's a beautiful night and there's music and dancing going on, rather than going inside and trying to sleep, she sits just outside to listen to the singing and watch the dancing from the shadows. Jack isn't part of the group by the fire at this point because he's out checking that the sentries are posted properly or somesuch. With duty done, he's on his way to join the singalong, sees Anna, and stops to talk to her. This conversation either leads to them ending up together in the group by the fire, or they stay on the sidelines but end up singing and/or dancing together.

Better?

(xposted with Ginger)

Ah, that answers the question about her knowing the song, but would they even break into "Trooper" with her there?

The Jack-finds-Anna works much better to my mind, and is far more true to the conventions of the period. You really don't want seven thousand indignant experts writing you rude letters....

I like the image of her listening to the music just inside/outside her tent, thinking of everything she's missed in her unhappy marriage. Maybe even a wistful thought on what she can't participate in due to the requirements of society.

edit: When Jack pauses to speak to her, he can be embarassed by whatever song is being sung, and she can be confused and ask what it means.

I know very, very little about the social customs of the time you're writing about but this scene has captured my imagination (and made me sigh, lovely). so my idea:

I liked the idea of her walking by and seeing him there in his element and them making a connection at that point. Could the bad guy officer who catches on to the attraction be the one walking her back to her tent? And could she hesitate to watch the group and start singing the song she does know quietly (and along with Jack). Then she and Jack realize they are singing together, share an intense look, and begin to harmonize to the end of the song. And Tracy catches on immediately to the current flowing between them (sorry for the awful metaphor, you know what I mean, the kind of look that is so intense it is almost as powerful as a touch).

You really don't want seven thousand indignant experts writing you rude letters....

I know. Especially since I'm picky about these things myself. But sometimes you get an image in your brain that's just so pretty that you're willing to move heaven and earth to make it happen, y'know? But I think this new version will be nearly as pretty and offer better opportunities for dialogue.

I like the image of her listening to the music just inside/outside her tent, thinking of everything she's missed in her unhappy marriage. Maybe even a wistful thought on what she can't participate in due to the requirements of society.

Mmm, yes.

this scene has captured my imagination (and made me sigh, lovely).

Thanks! One of the hardest things for me as a writer is to take a visually evocative scene like this with all kinds of hidden undercurrents and capture it on the page--my gifts run more to dialogue and a good historical voice. So if just the basic description I gave is enough to make you feel this way, I'm either getting better, or the scene is so good it's going to come through despite my deficiencies!

the scene is so good it's going to come through despite my deficiencies!

I think it summarizes one of the primary themes of fiction: yearning for things you can't have, especially when you're trying to fit yourself into expectations.