The Piano Tuner

ONE

IT WAS AFTERNOON in the office of Colonel Killian, Director of Operations for the Burma Division of the British army. Edgar Drake sat by a pair of dark, rattling heating pipes and stared out of the window, watching the sweep of rain. Across the room sat the Colonel, a broad, sunburnt man with a shock of red hair and a thick moustache, which fanned out in combed symmetry, underlining a fierce pair of green eyes. Behind his desk hung a long Bantu lance and a painted shield, which still bore the scars of battle. He wore a scarlet uniform, edged with braid of black mohair. Edgar Drake would remember this, for the braid reminded him of a tiger’s stripes, and the scarlet made the green eyes greener.

Several minutes had passed since the Colonel had entered the room, drawn up a chair behind a deeply polished mahogany desk and begun to thumb through a stack of papers. At last he looked up. From behind the moustache came a stentorian baritone. ‘Thank you for waiting, Mr Drake. I had a matter of urgency to attend to.’

The piano tuner turned from the window. ‘Of course, Colonel.’ He fingered the hat in his lap.

‘If you don’t mind, we will begin at once with the matter at hand.’ The Colonel leaned forward. ‘Again, welcome to the War Office. I imagine this is your first visit here.’ He did not leave time for the piano tuner to respond. ‘On behalf of my staff and superiors, I appreciate your attention to what we consider a most serious matter. We have prepared a briefing regarding the background to this affair. If you agree, I think it would be most expedient if I summarize it for you first. We can discuss any questions you may have when you know the details.’ He rested his hand on a stack of papers.

‘Thank you, Colonel,’ replied the tuner quietly. ‘I must admit that I was intrigued by your request. It is most unusual.’

Across the table the moustache wavered. ‘Most unusual indeed, Mr Drake. We do have much to discuss of this matter. If you haven’t recognized it by now, this commission is as much about a man as it is about a piano. So I will begin with Surgeon-Major Carroll himself.’

The piano tuner nodded.

The moustache wavered again. ‘Mr Drake, I will not bother you with the details of Carroll’s youth. Actually, his background is somewhat mysterious, and we know little. He was born in 1833, of Irish stock, the son of Mr Thomas Carroll, a teacher of Greek poetry and prose at a boarding school in Oxfordshire. Although his family was never wealthy, his father’s interest in education must have been passed on to his son, who excelled at school, and left home to pursue medicine at University College Hospital in London. Upon graduation, rather than open a private surgery as most were inclined to do, he applied for a position at a provincial hospital for the poor. As earlier, we have few records for Carroll at this time, we only know that he remained in the provinces for five years. During this time he married a local girl. The marriage was short-lived. His wife died in childbirth, along with their child, and Carroll never remarried.’

The Colonel cleared his throat, picked up another document, and continued. ‘Following his wife’s death, Carroll returned to London, where he applied for a position as a physician at the Asylum for the Ragged Poor in the East End during the cholera outbreaks. He held this post for only two years. In 1863 he secured a commission as a surgeon on the army medical staff.

‘It is here, Mr Drake, that our history becomes more complete. Carroll was appointed as a doctor to the 28th Foot in Bristol, but applied for a transfer to serve in the colonies only four months after his enlistment. The application was accepted immediately and he was appointed deputy director of the military hospital in Saharanpur in India. There he gained an early reputation not only as a fine physician but also as somewhat of an adventurer. He frequently accompanied expeditions into the Punjab and Kashmir, missions which put him in danger from local tribes as well as Russian agents, a problem which persists as the Tsar tries to match our territorial gains. There he also earned a reputation as a man of letters, although nothing that would suggest the, well, let us say, fervour that led him to request a piano. Several superiors reported him shirking rounds and observed him reading poetry in the hospital gardens. This practice was tolerated, albeit grudgingly, after Carroll apparently recited a poem by Shelley – “Ozymandias”, I believe – to a local chieftain who was being treated at the hospital. The man, who had already signed a treaty of cooperation, but had refused to commit any troops, returned to the hospital a week after his convalescence, and asked to see Carroll, not the military officer. He brought with him a force of three hundred, “to serve the ‘Poet-Soldier”’ – his words, not ours, Mr Drake.’

The Colonel looked up. He thought he saw a slight smile on the piano tuner’s face. ‘Remarkable story, I know.’

‘It is a powerful poem.’

‘It is, although I admit the episode was perhaps somewhat unfortunate.’

‘Unfortunate?’

‘We are getting ahead of ourselves, Mr Drake, but I am of the mind that this matter with the Erard has something to do with the “soldier” attempting to become more of a “poet”. The piano – and, granted, this is just my opinion – represents a – how best to put this? – an illogical extension of such a strategy. If Doctor Carroll truly believes that bringing music to such a place will hasten peace, I only hope he brings enough riflemen to defend it.’ The piano tuner said nothing and the Colonel shifted slightly in his seat. ‘You would agree, Mr Drake, that to impress a local noble with recitation and rhyme is one thing, to request a grand piano be sent to the most remote of our forts is quite another?’

‘I know little of military matters,’ said Edgar Drake.

The Colonel looked at him briefly before returning to the papers. This was not the kind of person ready for the climate and challenges of Burma, he thought. A tall, thin man with thick, greying hair which hung loosely above a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, the piano tuner looked more like a schoolteacher than someone capable of bearing any military responsibility. He seemed old for his forty-one years; his eyebrows were dark, his cheeks lined with soft whiskers. His light-coloured eyes wrinkled at their corners, although not, the Colonel noted, in the manner of someone who had spent a lifetime smiling. He was wearing a corduroy jacket, a bow tie and worn wool trousers. It all would have conveyed a feeling of sadness, the Colonel thought, were it not for his lips, unusually full for an Englishman, which rested in a position between bemusement and faint surprise and lent him a softness which unnerved the Colonel. He also noticed the piano tuner’s hands, which he massaged incessantly, their wrists lost in the cavities of his sleeves. They were not the type of hands to which the Colonel was accustomed, too delicate for a man’s, yet when they had greeted each other, the Colonel had felt a roughness and strength, as if they were moved by wires beneath the callused skin.

He looked back to the papers and continued. ‘So Carroll remained in Saharanpur for five years. During this time he served on no fewer than seventeen missions, passing more time in the field than at his post.’ He began to thumb through the reports on the missions the Doctor had accompanied, reading out their names. September 1866 – Survey for a Rail Route along the Upper Sutlej River. December – Mapping Expedition of the Corps of Water Engineers in the Punjab. February 1867 – Report on Childbirth and Obstetric Diseases in Eastern Afghanistan. May – Veterinary Infections of Herd Animals in the Mountains of Kashmir and Their Risk to Humans. September – the Royal Society’s Highland Survey of Flora in Sikkim. He seemed compelled to name them all, and did so without taking breath, so that the veins on his neck swelled to resemble the very mountains of Kashmir – or so thought Edgar Drake, who had never been there or studied its geography, but who, by this point, was growing impatient with the notable absence of a piano from the story.

‘In late 1868,’ the Colonel continued, ‘the deputy director of our military hospital in Rangoon, then the only major hospital in Burma, died suddenly of dysentery. To replace him the Medical Director in Calcutta recommended Carroll, who arrived in Rangoon in February 1869. He served there for three years, and since his work was mainly medical we have few reports on his activities. All the evidence suggests he was occupied with his responsibilities at the hospital.’

The Colonel slid a folder forward on the desk. ‘This is a photograph of Carroll in Bengal.’ Edgar waited briefly, and then, realizing he should rise to accept it, leaned forward, dropping his hat on the floor in the process. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered, grabbing the hat, then the folder, and returning to his chair. He opened the folder on his lap. Inside was a photo, upside-down. He rotated it gingerly. It showed a tall, confident man with a dark moustache and finely combed hair, dressed in khaki, standing over the bed of a patient, a darker man, perhaps an Indian. In the background there were other beds, other patients. A hospital, thought the tuner, and returned his eyes to the face of the Doctor. He could read little from the man’s expression. His face was blurred, although strangely all the patients were in focus, as if the Doctor was in a state of constant animation. He stared, trying to match the man to the story he was hearing, but the photo revealed little. He rose and returned it to the Colonel’s desk.

‘In 1871 Carroll requested to be moved to a more remote station in central Burma. The request was approved, as this was a period of intensifying Burmese activity in the Irrawaddy River valley south of Mandalay. In his new post, as in India, Carroll busied himself with frequent surveying expeditions, often into the southern Shan Hills. Although it is not known exactly how – given his many responsibilities – Carroll apparently found the time to acquire near fluency in the Shan language. Some have suggested that he studied with a local monk, others that he learned from a mistress.

‘Monks or mistresses, in 1873 we received the disastrous news that the Burmese, after decades of flirtation, had signed a commercial treaty with France. You may know this history; it was covered quite extensively in the newspapers. Although French troops were still in Indo-China, and had not advanced past the Mekong, this was obviously an extremely dangerous precedent for further Franco-Burmese cooperation and an open threat to India. We immediately began rapid preparations to occupy the states of Upper Burma. Many of the Shan princes had shown long-standing antagonism to the Burmese throne, and . . .’. The Colonel trailed off, out of breath from the soliloquy, and saw the piano tuner staring out the window. ‘Mr Drake, are you listening?’

Edgar turned back, embarrassed. ‘Yes . . . yes, of course.’

‘Well, then, I will continue.’ The Colonel looked back at his papers.

Across the desk, the tuner spoke tentatively. ‘Actually, with due respect, Colonel, it is a most complex and interesting story, but I must confess that I don’t yet understand exactly why you need my expertise . . . I know that you are accustomed to give briefings in this manner, but may I trouble you with a question?’

‘Yes, Mr Drake?’

‘Well . . . to be honest, I am waiting to hear what is wrong with the piano.’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘The piano. I was contacted because I am being hired to tune a piano. This meeting is comprehensive with regards to the man, but I don’t believe that he is my commission.’

The Colonel’s face grew red. ‘As I stated at the beginning, Mr Drake, I do believe that this background is important.’

‘I agree, sir, but I don’t know what is wrong with the piano or even whether or not I can mend it. I hope you understand.’

‘Yes, yes. Of course I understand.’ The muscles in his jaw tensed. He was ready to talk about the withdrawal of the Resident from Mandalay in 1879, and the Battle of Myingyan, and the siege of the Maymyo garrison, one of his favourite stories. He waited.

Edgar stared down at his hands. ‘I apologize, please, please, do continue,’ he said. ‘But I must leave soon, since it is quite a long walk to my home, and my interest is mostly in the Erard grand.’ Despite feeling intimidated by the Colonel, he secretly savoured this brief interruption. He had always disliked military men, and had begun to like this Carroll character more and more. In truth, he did want to hear the details of the story, but it was almost night, and the Colonel showed no sign of stopping.

The Colonel turned back to the papers, ‘Very well, Mr Drake, I will make this brief. By 1874 we had begun to establish a handful of secret outposts in the Shan territories, one near Hsipaw, another near Taunggyi, and another – this the most remote – in a small village called Mae Lwin, on the bank of the Salween River. You won’t find Mae Lwin on any maps, and until you accept the commission, I can’t tell you where it is. There we sent Carroll.’

The room was getting dark and the Colonel lit a small lamp on the desk. The light flickered, casting the shadow of his moustache across his cheekbones. He studied the piano tuner again. He looks impatient, he thought, and took a deep breath. ‘Mr Drake, so as not to detain you much further, I will spare you the details of Carroll’s twelve years in Mae Lwin. Should you accept the commission, we can talk further, and I can provide you with military reports. Unless, of course, you would like to hear them now.’

‘I would like to hear about the piano, if you don’t mind.’

‘Yes, yes, of course, the piano.’ He sighed. ‘What would you like to know? I believe you have been informed of most of the details of this matter in the letter from Colonel Fitzgerald.’

‘Yes, Carroll requested a piano. The army purchased an 1840 Erard grand and shipped it to him. Would you mind telling me more of that story?’

‘I can’t really. Other than hoping to repeat the success he found in reciting Shelley, we can’t understand why he would want a piano.’

‘Why?’ The piano tuner laughed, a deep sound that came unexpectedly from the thin frame. ‘How many times I have asked myself the same question about my other clients. Why would a society matron who doesn’t know Handel from Haydn purchase an 1820 Broadwood, and request that it be tuned weekly, even though it has never been played? Or how to explain the County Justice who has his instrument revoiced once every two months – which I might add, although entirely unnecessary, is wonderful for my affairs – yet this same man refuses an entertainment licence for the annual public piano competition? You will excuse me, but Doctor Carroll doesn’t seem so bizarre. Have you ever heard, sir, Bach’s Inventions?’

The Colonel stuttered, ‘I think so . . . I’m certain I must have, but – no offence is intended, Mr Drake – I do not see how that has anything to do with . . .’

‘The thought of living for eight years in the jungle without Bach’s music is horrid to me.’ Edgar paused and then added, ‘It sounds most beautiful on an 1840 Erard.’

‘That may be, but our soldiers are still fighting.’

Edgar took a deep breath. He could suddenly feel his heart beating faster. ‘I apologize. I do not intend my remarks to seem presumptuous. In fact, every minute of your history makes me more interested. But I am confused. If you so disapprove of our pianist, Colonel, then why am I here? You are a very important person; it is rare for someone of your rank to spend several hours interviewing a civilian, even I know this. I also know that the War Office must have invested a tremendous sum in shipping the piano to Burma, let alone purchasing it. And you have offered to pay me generously, well, fairly in my opinion, but, from an objective perspective, generously. Yet you seem to disapprove of my commission.’

The Colonel leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Very well. It is important that we discuss this. I am open in my disapproval, but please do not confuse that with disrespect. The Surgeon-Major is an extremely effective soldier, an unusual person perhaps, but he is irreplaceable. There are some, very high within this office, who have a great interest in his work.’

‘But not yourself.’

‘Let’s just say that there are men who lose themselves in the rhetoric of our imperial destiny, that we conquer not to gain land and wealth, but to spread culture and civilization. I will not deny them this, but it is not the duty of the War Office.’

‘And yet you support him?’

The Colonel paused. ‘If I speak bluntly, Mr Drake, it is because it is important that you understand the position of the War Office. The Shan States are lawless. Except Mae Lwin. Carroll has accomplished more than several battalions. He is indispensable and he commands one of the most dangerous and important posts in our colonies. The Shan States are essential to securing our eastern frontier; without them we risk invasion, French or even Siamese. If a piano is the concession we must make to keep him at his post, then it is a small cost. But his post is a military post, not a music salon. It is our hope that when the piano is tuned he will return to his work. It is important that you understand this, that you understand that we, not the Surgeon-Major, are hiring you. His ideas can be . . . seductive.’

You don’t trust him, thought Edgar. ‘Just a concession, then, like cigarettes,’ he said.

‘No, this is different. I think you understand.’

‘So I should not try to argue that it is because of the piano that he is indispensable?’

‘We will know when it is tuned, won’t we, Mr Drake?’

And at his words the piano tuner smiled. ‘Perhaps we will.’

The Colonel sat forward. ‘Do you have any other questions?’

‘Only one.’

‘Yes, what is it?’

Edgar looked down at his hands. ‘I am sorry, Colonel, but what exactly is wrong with the piano?’

The Colonel stared. ‘I think we have discussed this.’

The tuner took a deep breath. ‘With all due respect, sir, we discussed what you thought wrong with a piano. But I need to know what is wrong with this piano, with the 1840 Erard that sits somewhere in a jungle far away, where you are asking me to go. Your office has told me little about the piano besides the fact that it is out of tune, which, I might add, is due to the swelling of the soundboard, not the body as you mentioned in your letter. Of course, I am amazed that you did not anticipate this, the piano going out of tune. Humidity works horrors.’

‘Again, Mr Drake, we were doing this for Carroll. You will have to make such philosophical enquiries of the man himself.’

‘Well, then may I ask what it is that I need to mend?’

The Colonel coughed. ‘Such details were not provided to us.’

‘He must have written about the piano somewhere.’

‘We have only one note, strange and uncharacteristically short for the Doctor, usually a man of eloquence, which made us somewhat sceptical about the request until it was followed by his threat to resign.’

‘May I read it?’

The Colonel hesitated and then passed a small brown piece of paper to the piano tuner. ‘It is Shan paper,’ the Colonel said. ‘Supposedly the tribe is famous for it. This is odd because the Surgeon-Major has never used it for any other correspondence.’ The paper was soft, a handmade matte with visible fibres, now stained with a dark ink.

Edgar looked up. ‘These are spare words to justify sending a man to the other side of the world.’

‘Mr Drake,’ said the Colonel, ‘your reputation as a tuner of Erard grands is well known by those in London who concern themselves with music. We anticipate the duration of the trip to be no longer than three months from when you leave to when you return to England. As you know, you will be rewarded well.’

‘And I must go alone.’

‘Your wife will be well provided for here.’

The piano tuner sat back in his chair.

‘Do you have any more questions?’

‘No, I think I understand,’ he said softly, as if speaking only to himself.

The Colonel set the papers down and leaned forward in his seat. ‘Will you go to Mae Lwin?’

Edgar Drake turned back to the window. It was dusk, and wind played with the falling water, intricate crescendos and diminuendos of rain. I decided long before I came here, he thought.

He turned to the Colonel and nodded.

They shook hands. Killian insisted on taking the piano tuner to Colonel Fitzgerald’s office, where he reported the news. Then more words, but Edgar was no longer listening. He felt as if he were in a dream, the reality of the decision still floating above him. He felt himself repeating the nod, as if doing so would make real his decision, would reconcile the insignificance of that movement with the significance of what it meant.

There were papers to sign and dates to be set and copies of documents to be ordered for his ‘further perusal’. Doctor Carroll, explained Killian, had requested that the War Office provide a long list of background reading for the tuner: histories, studies of anthropology, geology, natural history. ‘I wouldn’t worry yourself too much with all of this, but the Doctor did ask that we provide it for you,’ he said. ‘I think I have told you all you really need to know.’

As he left, a line from Carroll’s letter followed him, like a faint trail of cigarette smoke from a salon performance. It is much easier to deliver a man than a piano. He thought he would like this Doctor, it was not often that one found such poetic words in the letters of military men. And Edgar Drake had great respect for those who find song in responsibility.