Hello everybody! I wanted to submit something for the April Challenge, so I decided to write a tone poem for one of the most heart-wrenching-but-also-really-good stories by Agatha Christie. If any of you have not read "And Then There Were None", it's the best murder mystery EVER. One of the victims is named Vera Claythorne.
"Like the other characters, Vera has a dark secret. At her last job, she was governess to a spoiled little rich boy named Syril Hamilton. She let Syril drown so that [the boy's] relative, Hugo, would inherit his money and then be rich enough to marry her. An inquest cleared her of any wrongdoing, but Hugo, certain that Vera had let Syril die, would have nothing more to do with her. Throughout the novel, Vera’s guilty memories of her crime plague her. She often thinks of Hugo and feels as if he is watching her." (credit to Sparknotes for he summary)
Vera Claythorne was in love with a man named Hugo Hamilton, but because Syril (his spoiled nephew) displaced him for the inheritance, Hugo was too poor to marry her. She was Syril's governess, and she was supposed to watch and make sure Syril didn't drown as he swam in the river--but as she watched, she realized she wouldn't want to protect Syril if he were in danger. (If Syril were to die, Hugo would inherit, and thus be rich enough to marry her.) So she let the boy drown.
No one could prove she had let him die, and so she was acquitted. But Hugo knew. He knew she had let the boy die--so he left her, and she was heartbroken. She lived the rest of her life with that guilt.
Vera: Violin Hugo: French Horn Syril: Flute
(when the flute is first introduced, it is the thing that stops Vera and Hugo's notes from reaching perfect unison--this reflects how the boy kept them apart inadvertently) (I made it 3/4 to reflect the waltzy style of the time)