Chapter Two
The next morning Leah dragged herself out of bed early and delivered, yawning, Carlotta's costumes. The Prima Donna took them with a 'Hmpf!' and slammed the door in Leah's face. Leah shrugged, not expecting any less, and found her way to the kitchens for breakfast.
Leah slipped onto the bench across from Angie and ladled herself a bowl of porridge. Most of the girls were silent, still groggy from sleep to cause as much noise as they usually do. Madame Giry walked up and down the table, making sure nobody was eating more than they should.
Madame Giry stopped behind Leah and affectionately fussed with her hair, which had slipped from its tight bun again. "Good morning dear," She said, patting her newly fixed hair.
"Morning Madame," Leah responded, sipping her tea.
"You danced very well yesterday Mademoiselle Bourdeaux," she said softly.
"Thank you Madame."
"I think," the older woman smiled, "If you keep performing like you did yesterday, you might just be able to get out of the chorus. And move on to better things…" She straightened and walked away.
Leah frowned and turned to Angie. "Do you think that's true? I only danced a small ballet yesterday."
Angie shrugged. "You never know. All you need is a chance to prove yourself. That is what happened to me." She frowned. "But I am still in the chorus though. There are not a lot of operas with more than one female villain." She shrugged again and resumed eating.
Leah toyed with the remainder of her breakfast as she toyed with Madame Giry's words in her mind.
The girls were learning the chorus ballet piece that morning. Leah shivered in her thin practice tights while Madame Giry detailed what they were to do.
They began to stretch their sleep-cold muscles on one side of the stage. The conductor motioned for the musicians to commence their own warm ups and a group of stagehands continued their work on the stage lights.
Leah winced as a joint in her knee popped. She flexed it until it was warm and continued on. Angie pirouetted over to her side. "Don't look now," She whispered. "But you seem to have captured one of the stagehands away from Carlotta," Angie winked and whirled away.
Leah spun a series of fouetté, keeping her eyes trained on one side of the stage as she spun. She saw Jim watching her intently as she practiced, not even looking at his work. Leah stopped spinning and pliéd, meeting his eyes. He smiled softly at her. Her smile was shy and his widened into a grin before he turned back to repairing a lamp.
Madame Giry called the dancers to attention. She lined them up in three rows, Leah and Angie in the middle row. "I saw that," Angie remarked as they begun slowly going through the dance steps.
"Saw what?" Leah asked quietly so as not to interrupt their teacher.
"Saw you and Jim making eyes at each other." Leah rolled her eyes and Angie continued. "Carlotta will not like that, Jim is her favourite."
"Angeline," Madame Giry called out. "If you know this ballet well enough to not pay attention, perhaps you can come up here and show everyone else what to do."
Angie blushed. "Sorry Madame," she said, and Leah snickered.
The chorus danced through the ballet until they got the hang of it, and then sped up to the normal pace, set by Madame Giry's staff striking the floor. As it was nearing time for the noon meal, they would rehearse it to the music the next day. Leah felt, if not saw, Jim watching her from time to time, and it was nearly enough to distract her. At one point Madame Giry threatened to send her back to the mirror to practice her feet positions if she did not keep up. Angie had laughed at her then, feeling better about her own chastisement.
The chorus girls walked laps around their side of the stage, cooling off. Carlotta chose that time to swan in, her usual collection of serving maids trailing after her. She sneered at the young dancers and hitched her feathered dressing gown higher around her shoulders.
Leah closed her eyes for a moment, frustrated at the sight of her, and bent to towel off her damp limbs. When finished, she straightened and came face to face with the blue-eyed stagehand. Startled, she took a quick step backwards.
"Leah," he said, and she realized she had never before heard his voice. He was not as talkative as the rest of the stagehands. "I am sorry. I think I may have wrecked your rehearsal. I did not mean to distract you."
Leah smiled nervously, twisting a bit of her skirt between her fingers. "It is all right Jim, do not concern yourself. Madame Giry has the need to reprimand at least one of us before lunch every day."
Jim smiled at her. He looked over his shoulder and a slight frown crossed his face. He turned back to her, "I have to get back to work. I would like to speak with you more sometime though, if that is fine with you?"
"Of course," she said and he nodded, and walked away, eyes twinkling.
Leah watched him go for a moment, then shook her head slightly and looked up to see what Jim had been looking and frowning at.
She looked right into Carlotta's angry face from across the stage.
Angie hurried up to Leah, "We better get you out of sight quickly." She pulled her friend away from the stage, but not before Leah saw Carlotta muttering furiously to Victor.
"Oh dear," said Leah.
Leah and Angie walked through the hallways towards the kitchens. Angie looked behind them, made sure nobody was there, and turned back to her friend. "Oh Leah," she said. "If you had to flirt with Jim, why did you do it where Carlotta could see?" She asked mournfully.
"Hey!" Leah exclaimed. "He's the one who came and talked to me. What was I supposed to do, ignore him and walk away?"
"Maybe it would have been better that way. Now Carlotta has more reason to hate you, she will make your life hell."
"Yes, and she was trying to make my life easy before?" Leah asked bitterly.
Angie shook her head, then smiled wickedly. "That Jim is a handsome one though," she said, amused. "You definitely picked out a good one."
"What are you talking about? I have not picked anything. I do not even know him," Leah protested.
"Whatever you say Mademoiselle," Angie grinned and left it at that. "Oh, did you hear? The managers are throwing a gala the night after the opera. Do you think we should go?"
Leah pursed her lips, thinking. "I don't see why not. It might be nice to be able to dance without learning the steps first for once."
Angie sighed. "That, and we can get all dressed up, and mingle with the rich, and dance with handsome men all night…"
Leah laughed. "Do not get ahead of yourself yet, it is still more than a week away."
After a small lunch, the girls followed Madame Giry to a small room near the dormitories. They did not need the extra space of the stage, and practicing singing was much more distracting to others than dancing.
There was not a lot of singing for the chorus in the upcoming opera, so they did not have much to learn. They had their lines memorized within two hours and Madame Giry let them go free for the rest of the afternoon.
Angie had errands to run in the city, and Leah was left wandering the halls, not sure what to do. Most of the costumes were fixed and ready for cleaning, which would be done by the serving maids. The chorus girls were not expected to do any of the general cleaning, or work on any backdrops or props. They were usually kept busy all day, and Leah was not used to having much free time.
Leah's feet traced the familiar path down to the stage and she sat, hidden off to one side, to watch rehearsals. The actor playing Carlotta's father was in the middle of singing, and Carlotta was wandering in the background mooning over the portrait.
Leah sat on a crate and pulled her knees up to her chin. She sighed, bored, and tightened the laces on her soft soled shoes. She looked around the large auditorium; there were not a lot of people there at the moment. Maybe half of the orchestra was there, playing for the singers. The managers were most likely in their office figuring out how to bring more money into the Opera House. The stagehands had finished with the stage lamps and moved on to whatever else needed to be done, and Madame Giry was wherever she went when she was not overseeing the rehearsals.
"Not being bossed around by the slave driver I see?" Victor walked up and stood beside her.
Leah chuckled. "No, Madame Giry let us go free for the afternoon. There is not a lot for the chorus to do in this opera."
Victor smiled, and Leah relaxed. Victor had always been nice to her and Angie, despite what Carlotta thought of her. Leah admired the handsome tenor. He was nothing like the man he replaced, tall and well built opposed to short and round. Victor had soft brown hair long enough to tie into a tail at the back of his neck, and hazel eyes. "You sang beautifully yesterday," she told him.
"Why thank you," he said. "Though I look forward to the piece the two of us perform together."
"Really?" She asked, "Why is that?"
"Personally, that is my favourite part of the opera. Just the thought of it is romantic. A condemned sea Captain wandering the seas forevermore, singing tragically while beautiful Love dances, always out of his reach." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and she blushed slightly. He leaned towards her and whispered, "It is a lot more romantic than a woman falling in love with a portrait. That is for sure."
Leah stifled a laugh. "Victor!" She exclaimed instead. "I do not think a certain somebody would appreciate hearing that."
He waved his hand through the air, dismissing the thought. "And she will not hear it, do not worry yourself. Speaking of Carlotta," he said. "What have you done lately to anger her so?"
Leah shrugged. "That I do not know. I seem to anger her simply by being in existence. Whatever else I do just gives her reason to scream at me and give me more work."
Victor chuckled. "Well, whatever it is, it is working. She has been storming around for days now."
"Oh no," Leah said and rubbed her temple slowly, thinking.
Victor nudged her with his elbow. "Do not worry. If she had been planning on doing something to you, it would have been done already. Carlotta is not a patient woman. She likes her revenge to be quick and painful."
Leah nodded, remembering her past 'punishments'.
"Now, let us forget about her for a moment. Are you going to be attending the gala?" He asked her.
"I was thinking about it," Leah said cautiously.
"Would you care to be my date?" Victor bowed slightly, formally.
Leah frowned. "I had thought that you would be going with Carlotta."
Victor shrugged. "Carlotta prefers to go alone. She thinks she will look more available to the rich attendees."
"I see," she said slowly.
"Come on," he insisted. "I think it could help your career quite a bit. Being seen on the arm of the main Tenor, I could introduce you to all the important people."
Leah liked that thought, and her uncertainties vanished. "All right then, thank you Victor, I would love to attend the gala with you."
He smiled and took her hand, kissing the back of it. "Good," he said. "It will be a grand night."
The music in the background ended and Victor straightened. "I had better go," he said, looking in Carlotta's direction.
Leah nodded quickly and he headed out onto the stage, towards the Prima Donna. Leah watched him go and, thinking about their conversation, wondered if he liked Carlotta as much as everyone thought.
"He asked you to the gala?" Angie asked her later that night. "Why?"
"I don't know," she said, a bit hurt at her friend's tone. "Besides, he said it might help my career, being seen with him."
"Yes, I can see why you would want to go with him," Angie replied. "But did he say why he wants to go with you? I mean, what about Carlotta?"
"Well, no, he did not mention why." Leah sat up straighter on her bed and clutched her pillow to her chest. "Maybe he does not worship Carlotta like we thought he did. He could just be acting, you know, to stay on her good side."
"Hmpf," Angie pushed herself into a sitting position, holding herself up with her arms. "He must be one hell of an actor. Just, be careful, Leah, all right?"
"I will be fine, Angie. Everything will be fine." Leah rolled over, turning her back to her friend and closed her eyes, wanting to sleep.
Sometime later Leah heard Angie lie down and roll over, but she fell asleep and missed the fact that Angie remained awake for hours.
Time flew by, drawing the Opera House closer and closer to their production. They rehearsed the full opera with the full orchestra every day and finishing touches were made on costumes and sets. The nervous tension that always accompanied a performance was in full effect and Madame Giry had her hands full trying to keep some of the more excitable chorus girls calm.
Leah woke up the morning of the opera, her stomach fluttering in excitement. The last rehearsal had been yesterday, and everything was ready. The chorus girls spent most of the day getting their hair and makeup done and getting their costumes sorted out. Leah and the twins were more elaborately done up, as they were doing more than just the chorus ballet. Leah tried not to move her face overly much, she felt as if she was wearing a mask. Her solo costume was beautiful, she thought. It was soft pink with pearl embroidery, and the long skirt reached her knees, made of floating chiffon.
She and Angie were seated at a small table in the kitchen early that evening. The opera was set to begin in an hour, and the girls were having a cup of tea to settle their nerves. They sipped carefully, not disturbing their stage makeup, and chatted about nothing in general.
Leah heard somebody walk up quietly behind her. She turned, "Good evening Jim." She said and he smiled.
"I wanted to wish you luck tonight Leah," he said quietly.
"Why thank you Jim!" She said, smiling as widely as her makeup permitted. "Will you be watching?"
"Of course," he said and smiled softly before turning and walking away.
"Oh Leah," Angie sighed when he was gone. "He likes you. You should go to the gala with him instead."
Leah shook her head, but smiled. "I do not know if he is going. Besides, he did not ask me."
"You should have asked him," Angie said quietly.
"Leave it be Angie." Leah finished her tea. "Now come on, we had better get going."
Leah danced across the stage, letting the music flow through her. The music poured into her soul and she poured her soul into her dancing. She was Love and the music was all that mattered.
She heard Victor singing sorrowfully off to her right, and she danced away before he could reach her. She flirted with her steps and enticed with her arms, but always remained too far away for him to reach.
They had a full house; every seat in the House was full. But Leah did not notice. She did not even notice the conductor or those playing their instruments. She only had eyes for the sea Captain and ears for the music that mourned with the lonely sailor.
The music slowed and stopped, Victor reaching out to her. Leah was steady in her finishing pose, facing away from him, eyes to the heavens. Love was not for him. She paid him no notice.
He watched her, unseen, deep in the shadows and felt his heart cry out for her. She glided across the stage, her slippered feet barely touching the ground. The man trailed after her like a fool in love, but he pushed the Tenor from his mind. She was all that mattered. He had been watching her since she began at the Opera and now he was sure she was meant for him. Soon, soon they would meet and she would love him as much as he loved her. She was perfect. And she would soon be his.
