Chapter Eighteen

The ballet was wonderful, Leah loved every minute of it. Though she was not sure if Victor was even paying attention to the stage. Once the lights were out, he leaned close to her, so that their arms were touching. Leah, feeling awkward, was not sure what to do. She did not want to move away and insult him, nor did she want him to think she was accepting his forwardness. Finally she just ignored him and concentrated on the ballet in front of her.

The music ended and the audience applauded warmly. Leah and Victor stood along with the rest, Leah cheering for Angie especially. The dancer had one of the major parts, even with a solo dance towards the end of it. Leah felt her body wanting to dance and could not wait until she could go back to practice.

She found herself humming the solo melody on the way back to her room, but she resisted doing any dance steps.

"Thank you for taking me Victor," Leah said to him. "It was nice to get out of my room for a while."

"Does the stagehand keep you locked up all day?" It seems Victor had adopted Jim's habit of not using his actual name.

"No," she said. "Doctor's orders. I get to go back to practice not tomorrow, but the next day. Besides, if it was not for Jim, I would be dead."

"Mm," he said, noncommittally.

They reached Leah's room shortly, fortunately, for she was getting tired. She put her back to her door and tried to say goodnight. Victor put his hands on the door at the level of her head. She looked up at him and saw an odd look on his face, making her quite nervous.

"Um, thank you again Victor, will you be well enough to practice again soon?" She asked, trying to distract him.

He nodded and moved his head closer. "I am told my ribs will be healed enough to start up again right away."

Leah pushed her back harder against the door and brought her head back, trying to keep some space in between them.

"Oh Leah," Victor said in a husky voice and closed his eyes, his face still moving closer to hers. Leah's mind raced frantically. She had two options; slap him or push him away, injuring her friend. Though if he was going to act like this whenever they were alone, Leah was not sure if she wanted him around any longer. Or she could let him kiss her. That thought made her as uncomfortable as the first choice.

Fortunately, she had to do neither, for at that moment, the door opened from behind her. Leah tumbled inside, falling neatly into Jim's arms. Victor blinked and took a step back, surprised. Jim looked down at Leah and at Victor's red face.

"Thank you Monsieur," he said and all but slammed the door in his face.


Jim looked down at Leah, who was still leaning against him. She stood up quickly and straightened her shawl.

"What was all that about?" Jim asked her.

"Er, Victor was trying to, uh, kiss me," she said quietly. "I was thinking about slapping him before you opened the door." She looked up at him, his jaw was clenched and his eyes were angry.

"You did not look as if you were fighting too hard," he said, his voice under tight control.

Leah turned around and strode further into her room, her own anger rising. What right did he have, saying things like that? Sure, he looked interested in her sometimes, she thought, but he never said anything about it. It does not seem like he wants anything further from me. "Victor is my friend," she clarified. "And only my friend. He has not quite accepted that yet, obviously."

"And you haven't relieved him of his ideas!" Jim said loudly. "Leah, either you want to be with me, or you want to be with him, you cannot have it both ways!"

Leah's anger rose. She whipped her shawl off and threw it to the ground, kicking her shoes off in the process, trying to vent her anger a little. "And you cannot tell me what to do! I tell you that Victor means nothing to me, but you do not hear it! If you do not get it, then I am not going to spell it out for you. I am tired of hinting. Besides, what I do is my own business, you cannot control me."

"Yes, that is right, I cannot control you," Jim said, still in the same spot near the door. "But I do not have to put up with your indecision either."

He turned away and Leah growled loudly in frustration. "Infuriating man!" She yelled. "You shouldn't talk! Maybe you should do some choosing as well, hmm? I also refuse to be charmed by you while you are out with another woman! I am nobody's plaything," she said.

Jim stopped, letting his hand drop from the door. "What?" He asked.

Leah took a couple of steps away. "You know who I am talking about," she said a trifle sulkily.

"Honestly, I do not," he said, coming closer to her.

"Does the name Carlotta sound familiar?" Leah said scathingly, near tears. "I have seen you disappearing into side rooms with her. Just the other day, when you told me you had to do some errands, I saw you get into her carriage, with her on your arm!" Leah turned her back to him and wiped her eyes.

She heard him come closer to her and she walked away, still hurt and very frustrated. It did not help that he began to laugh. She whirled around with her eyes narrowed. "I am glad this amuses you sir," she said coldly and walked towards the door. "If you will excuse me, I will find other quarters for the night.

"Leah, wait," Jim said, his laughter fading. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to laugh."

She reached the door and pulled it open, but Jim was quicker. He reached over her head and pushed the door closed. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. Leah looked away, not able to meet his laughing eyes.

"Leah, please look at me," Jim said softly, all traces of amusement gone. Leah blinked back her tears, and kept her face pointed determinedly away. Jim twisted his mouth once, then picked her up, carrying her over to a chair.

"Hey!" Leah protested. He ignored her, sitting down and setting her on his lap.

"Now, please listen to me. I will let you go when I am done speaking, and you can stay or you can still leave, your choice." He kept his arms around her, and they were firm when she tried to shift.

"Leah," he said. "I have resisted Carlotta's un-subtle advances from the day I stepped into the Opera House. Every time you saw me 'disappearing' with her, it was because she came up with a legitimate excuse that I could not refuse. Or," he shrugged. "If I were to refuse to speak with her, I would easily lose my job. That day you saw me outside. She threatened me to get in her carriage with her." He looked at her and saw that she was listening now. "She threatened your career if I did not join her. Inside," he chuckled. "She said that she was tired of playing around, and that she wanted me to be her formal escort from now on. Her lapdog, basically. I told her I would not be her escort if my job, or even my life, depended on it." He relaxed his arms around the dancer, but she remained still.

"I jumped out of her carriage about a block from the Opera," he said. "And I did have errands that I needed to do."

Leah moved and Jim let her stand up. "How do I know that is true?" She asked, her voice low.

"Have I lied to you yet?" Jim countered. "Or you could always ask the Soprano, though I doubt she will acknowledge that I was in her carriage at all."

Leah walked to her vanity and stood in front of it. She pulled out the hair pins and let her mass of hair fall free. She looked into the mirror, not seeing herself.

"I am tired," she said finally. She turned back to him, her eyes clouded. "I should get some sleep. I want to exercise with the chorus girls tomorrow."

Jim took a step towards her. "Leah, you should wait-" She spoke again, overriding his voice.

"I am just going to do some stretches and warm up. I will not do anything to over-tire myself."

Jim sighed and locked the door. He opened the door to the bathing chamber, walked through to the other side and opened the door into the next room. Leah was still standing in the same spot as before, staring at the ground.

"I have moved my things into the next room," he told her when she looked up at him. "But I would like you to keep this door open at all times, alright?"

"Alright," Leah said. "Goodnight Jim."

"Goodnight Leah."


The next morning, Leah woke early, feeling truly well. She washed up and dressed in her practice tights, wrapping a large sweater overtop and tying it tight. She left a note on the table for Jim and went downstairs for breakfast.

The kitchen was noisier than she was used to, but the heat was familiar and she welcomed it. She saw a blur of dark hair before it impacted with her, hugging her tight.

"Leah!" Angie cried. "What are you doing down here?"

"Well Angie, I thought I would get something to eat," Leah said once her friend let her go.

"Har har," Angie sat back down, Leah finding a seat across from her. "I mean, are you coming back to practice?"

Leah nodded, taking a bite from a fresh roll. "I feel completely better," she said after swallowing. "The doctor said I could start again tomorrow, but one day is not going to hurt anything."

"Well we will not be starting work on the new play until after the New Year's ball. The managers are giving us some 'time off'," Angie snorted. "All they are doing is not giving us something specific to be working on. You can be sure that Madame Giry will not let us be idle for more than a day, much less a week."

"That is fine with me," Leah said. "It gives me time to get back to where I used to be. I hope I did not lose much."

"You'll be fine, Leah," Angie said, drinking the rest of her tea. "You have been dancing for how long? Missing a week or two is not going to harm you much."

They finished eating and followed the rest of the chorus girls to the stage. Leah lagged behind, still rather uncomfortable with the amount of noise the girls were making. They were close to the stage when all of a sudden the girls went quiet and bowed their heads respectfully or fearfully, Leah was not sure. She rounded the corner and saw Carlotta leaning against a wall, watching them go by.

Leah's eyes unfortunately came into contact with the Prima Donna's. Carlotta narrowed her dark eyes at the younger girl. "Chorus girl," she snapped, still glaring at Leah. "Come here!"

Leah looked at Angie through the corner of her eye before bowing her head. The girls were all gone now, she could not even hear them. She carefully stepped closer to Carlotta, the Prima Donna looking like an angry cat about to pounce. Carlotta pulled a small wrapped package from a dress pocket and shoved it down the front of Leah's sweater.

"Wha?" Leah had time to ask before the Soprano slapped her hard across the face.

"Thief!" She yelled loudly, grabbing Leah by the wrist. "You filthy little thief!" She pulled her towards the stage, shouting and slapping at Leah with her free hand. Leah's protests were all cut off by Carlotta's overpowering voice and hand.

Carlotta succeeded in pulling Leah onto the stage, twisting her wrist while she was at it. One of the managers was on the stage at the time, watching the conductor work with the partial orchestra. He looked up at their loud entrance. "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded.

Carlotta shoved Leah to the ground. She fell on her already battered wrist, twisting it further, and bit back a cry of pain. The Soprano stood over Leah menacingly, and the dancer stayed where she was, not daring to move.

"This chorus girl stole from me!" Carlotta shouted with her mighty lungs.

"I did not!" Leah said from the stage floor.

"What do you claim she stole, Señora?" The manager asked her.

"My necklace! My beautiful emerald necklace!"

"Do you have this necklace?" He asked Leah, not unkindly.

Leah shook her head. Carlotta sneered, bent down and pulled the small package from Leah's shirt. "Then what is this?" She yelled, unwrapping it to display the green gems.

"You just shoved that th-" Carlotta cut her off before she could say anything further.

"You stole it, you dirty, sneaking thief!"

The manager put a hand on Carlotta's arm, pulling her back. "Do not worry Madame. I will deal with her." He bent down and pulled Leah to her feet. "Please come with me, Mademoiselle." He ushered Leah from the stage and into a small office near the front of the building.

The manager directed her to a chair, and Leah sat down. "I did not steal anything!" She cried, blinking back tears.

"I know Mademoiselle, do not fret," he said, sitting down behind the desk. "You have been sick for quite some time and I know that last night was the first time you left your room for a while. Even if you did take the necklace, I doubt you would be silly enough to keep it on your person afterwards. Carlotta is trying to cause trouble. What I want to know from you, is what have you done to anger her so?"

Leah sighed. "I do not know Monsieur," she said quietly. "Carlotta has hated me from the day I stepped foot into this Opera House. And," she said, hesitating slightly. "It does not help that Jim was taking care of me when I was sick."

"I see," he said thoughtfully. "Well, do try to stay out of her way. I will see what I can do."

"I am not in trouble Monsieur?" She asked softly.

"Of course not, dear child." He chuckled. "Now run along before Madame Giry does get you in trouble."

Carlotta was gone from the stage by the time Leah got back. She sighed in relief and joined the other dancers, standing near Angie in the back. Angie looked over to her, but Leah shook her head, she would tell her later.


Leah's strength continued to improve and her balance returned swiftly, as if it had never left her. Soon enough, she was back at her previous level of skill and that made her very happy.

She did not see Carlotta again after her first day back, which Leah was thankful for. Victor was a little awkward around her now, but he did not try to get her alone again.

Two days before New Year's Eve, Victor approached her after the afternoon's exercises were over. "Leah," he said, drawing her attention. "The managers would like to see you in their office."

"Me?" Leah asked. "What for?"

Victor shrugged. "Don't know. Do you want me to walk you there?"

Leah nodded and clasped her hands together nervously. Was Carlotta getting her in more trouble? She hoped not, Leah could not afford to be kicked out of the Opera. She had nowhere else to go.

Too soon for Leah's comfort, they reached the small office. "I will wait for you out here," Victor told her. "Do not worry, I doubt it is anything bad."

Leah nodded and knocked on the door lightly. She heard a voice calling her inside and pushed open the door. She stepped inside and closed it behind her, turning to face the two men.

"Please sit down," the shorter one said.

Leah sat in the same chair she had before and looked up at the men fearfully.

The taller manager looked at her for a moment. "Why so tense Mademoiselle? You are not in trouble."

Leah sighed, visibly relaxing and the men chuckled. "We asked you here today, Miss Bourdeaux, to invite you to the ball in two nights' time."

"Really?" Leah asked, finding her voice.

"Yes my dear. Some of our patrons have requested your presence there, along with many of our guests. You, unfortunately, missed the last performance, and they would like to be reassured that you are still around."

"Oh," Leah said. "I was planning on going anyways."

"Of course," the smaller man said. "But now you have our formal invitation for you and a partner of your choice."

"Alright…" Leah said, not sure what he meant.

"We are simply saying that we would like you to be there and you are there as our guest," the taller man said. "We are honouring you by giving you more importance in front of our paying patrons," he explained.

"Oh. I see," Leah said. "I thank you for your consideration. I am honoured by your invitation and I will be there for sure."

"Thank you Mademoiselle," they said, bowing slightly to her.

Leah stood up to leave. Just as she reached the door, the smaller man spoke once more. "Oh, and Miss Bourdeaux? We are glad to have you back. You can be sure we will keep you safe in the future."

"Er, thank you Monsieurs," Leah gave them a small curtsey and left the office.

Leah closed the door with a sigh and turned to the expectant Victor. "It is alright," she said quietly. "All they wanted to do was invite me to the ball."

"Really? That is really good Leah! I have heard that is how Carlotta started out, being formally invited to big events more and more until the patrons wanted her as the Prima Donna. Do you get to bring a partner?" Victor asked her.

"Yes I do," Leah said, distracted.

"Would you care to be my partner? I could make up for the last ball. And I swear I am not acting on Carlotta's orders." They headed for the kitchens, where everyone was having dinner. They reached the large doors and Leah turned to Victor.

"I am sorry Victor, but I already have a partner," she said.

"What? But you just got out of the office!" He said, confused.

"Yes, I know," Leah said, and seeing Angie, headed towards her, leaving Victor standing at the doors, still perplexed.