Chapter Thirty-two - And Then There Was Fear
One of the dressers helped Meg fasten the dark crimson bodice of her whore's dress over the white lace chemise.
There were so many costume changes, Meg wondered how she would survive until the entr'acte without collapsing.
And then there was the fear…fear for him.
Checking the laces of her black shoes on last time and making sure the rose was securely pinned in her upswept hair, she hurried to take her place in the black and scarlet bedchamber at the rear of the stage with Piangi.
The stout Italian gave her a wink as he adjusted his black mask and struggled to keep his cape from sliding off the shoulder of his Spanish jacket.
Over the music…his music…she could hear the confused muttering of the audience.
Through a narrow gap in the striped curtains, she could see the mock flames at the center of the stage, beyond it, she could see Carlotta surrounded by the swaying dancers.
Here the sacrificial lamb utters one despairing bleat…Don Juan triumphs once again!
At those words, Meg threw back the curtain and twirled out onto the stage.
Gendarmes…so many of them.
As she paused to catch a little sack of coins that Piangi threw her as he too emerged from the bedchamber, she saw the Vicomte sitting in Box Five, an armed policeman beside him.
They were in the pit, too, and in the wings. Their rifles were held at the ready.
Brandishing the Harlot's pay, Meg whirled again and gave her head a saucy toss before exiting the stage.
The dresser handed her a loose white shirt and she began to change into a replica of Don Juan's costume for the scene where the Harlot disguises herself as a man to help Aminta free her lover from a Castellan prison.
As she tied the black cummerbund around her waist, she looked up into the flies.
Are you there, Erik? Please…stay away…don't risk your life for her.
She heard Christine's voice, so clear and pure, as she made her entrance as Don Juan's next conquest.
Meg hurried along the back of the stage to join her mother, almost colliding with two more gendarmes.
She heard his voice…Erik's voice close by.
You have come here, in pursuit of your deepest urge…in pursuit of that wish which til now has been silent, silent.
Those were Don Juan's words…Piangi's lines to sing… but it was Erik's voice.
Meg almost stumbled over the brace of a backdrop as she realized he was there on the stage…
She had all she could do not to scream to him…
Erik…no!
