Chapter Twenty
Leah woke the next morning with Jim's arm wrapped around her. She opened her eyes sleepily and looked up at him. He was already awake and tightened his hold on her when her eyes met his.
"Good morning," he said pleasantly.
Leah rested her head against his bare chest. "Morning," she replied.
"How did you sleep?" He asked quietly and she smiled.
"Very well, thank you. Much better than I have since the night you drugged me." His chest twitched under her cheek as he laughed.
Leah propped herself up on one elbow and looked into his face. She had just realized something. "Was I the first person you have ever kissed?" She asked him.
"Yes," he said simply. "I meant what I said."
"Oh Jim," Leah said softly. "I love you too." She reached up and kissed him, loving the feel of his lips on hers.
Everyone who worked or lived at the Opera House was given the day off by the managers. And completely off as well, the girls did not have to sew or practice or anything, they were free to do whatever they pleased. Leah and Jim spent the day really getting to know each other, free from their doubts and misinformation.
Without a word between them, Jim moved his things back into her room, leaving the next room as empty as it was before. They also did not mention wanting to bring the cot back in. It remained stored away in whatever closet it was packed into.
They lounged around the whole day, doing a lot of nothing. Jim finally told her all about his childhood, and how all he wanted to do was live off of his own work. He did not want to be supported and lazy like his family.
Leah told Jim more about her mother and showed him her treasured picture of her mother, dancing the lead in Sleeping Beauty.
They did not speak about the future, they were content in the present, for now.
Work started up again the next day, and as he said, Jim was no longer a stagehand. He had to dress in the clothes of his station, but he did not change in any other way. He stayed in the House, overseeing the new modifications he had ordered, and even managed to watch the chorus girls practice for a few minutes. Leah did not see him, as she was as busy as the rest of the girls.
Jim also continued to stay in Leah's room, telling her that he was happy where he was. He did not need to move into his parent's big house. Yet.
A week passed by blissfully. Leah started to get used to Jim's new position and was happy to see that he had been telling the truth when he said that he would not change. Perhaps a ballerina and a nobleman could be together after all.
Leah went down to practice one morning, and found Angie mooning about with the same look on her face as Leah felt she must have on her own. As sound as the dark-haired dancer saw her, she rushed up and hugged Leah.
"Oh Leah!" She said excitedly. "I'm in love!"
"Really? With who?" Leah asked.
"With Alain, silly! Who else?"
"Oh, right," Leah said. "When did this happen?"
"The ball," Angie said dreamily, letting go of her friend and spun around. "The midnight bells chimed and he kissed me. He told me he's never met a girl like me before."
"But Angie," Leah said hesitantly. "Do you think the managers will be angry?"
Angie shook her head. "I am not the Prima Ballerina like your mother was. I do not plan on getting pregnant, but if I do, it will not be such a big deal." She looked at Leah out of the corner of her eye. "Speaking of the midnight bells, did Jim kiss you?"
Leah laughed. "That he did, Angeline. That he did."
They finished the general exercises for the morning and were about to head to the kitchens for lunch. Leah saw Victor hovering on the edge of the stage, inconspicuously watching them, and looking uncomfortable. He seemed to be wanting to go to the kitchens as well, but did not want to get close to them. She waited until the rest of the girls were a bit ahead, and walked back to him.
"Hi Victor," she said tentatively, and he jumped.
"Er, yes," he said. "Sorry Leah, got to go." And with that he ran off towards the kitchen.
Leah frowned and bit the inside of her lip, thinking. Now that she thought about it, the Tenor had been avoiding her for some days now, and rushing off every time she got close. Leah shook her head and sighed, she thought she knew why.
That night, she waited until Jim had eaten and was working at his desk. "Victor has been acting very strange lately," she said casually.
"Hm," he said, not looking up.
"Yes," she continued. "He seems afraid to speak to me, though I have no idea why."
Jim looked up at her quickly, then back down to his work. "Er, no idea," he said, too innocently.
Leah stood up and drifted over to him. "You would not have done anything that would have aided that, would you?"
Jim put his pen down and turned in his chair to face her. "I might have said something he did not like," he admitted. Leah raised her eyebrows and waited.
Jim took a deep breath and spoke:
"Stay away from Leah," Jim told Victor earlier that week.
"Excuse me?" The Tenor asked, looking back over his shoulder at the ex-stagehand.
"I said, stay away from Leah." Jim moved so that he was very close to the other man. "She does not need you playing courtly games with her, especially when she does not know the rules."
"I am sure I do not know what you are talking about," Victor said coldly.
"I know what you were trying to do the night of the ballet," Jim told him. "She does not want it."
"You mean you do not want it," Victor said angrily. "You just cannot handle competition," he pointed his finger, stabbing it into Jim's chest.
"You turn that finger back on yourself," Jim said quietly. "I seem to recall it was you who was furious that I danced with Leah at the gala."
Victor crossed his arms and said nothing.
"Look," Jim said. "She has told me over and over, that she is only interested in you as a friend. Go find somebody else to play your games with."
Victor had the grace to look ashamed. "It is not a game," he said, his voice hushed.
Jim raised his eyebrow and he was the one to stay silent this time.
"Well, it started as a game," Victor admitted. "But it changed."
"What do you mean?"
Victor sighed. "After the gala, I obviously realized what I had done. One day during rehearsals, she just looked so, so peaceful when she was dancing. She seemed happy. But then she closed up when I wanted to speak to her afterwards. I had to keep her up in the air until she agreed to speak to me. I don't know what it was, but, I… I think I love her."
Jim narrowed his eyes.
"I mean it," Victor said loudly.
"You had her, you blew it, and you lost her. Now that she has no interest in you, you want her again." Jim shook his head. "It is too late for you. She loves me and has told me so. I want you to stay away from her."
"It is none of your business what I do!" Victor said angrily.
Jim shrugged. "It is my business now, especially if Leah is involved. Besides, I am a patron now, and contributing to this House and your lifestyle. Stay away from her, or I will make sure you are kicked out."
"Ha!" Victor laughed. "The managers would not remove me because the word of one out of many patrons."
"Fine," Jim said, unruffled. "Then I warn you not as a patron, but a man. I will beat the living hell out of you," He took a step closer to him, a note of warning and threat in his voice now. "I will make what the Phantom did to you seem like a slap on the wrists."
Victor took a step back. "Why such threats?" He asked shakily. "I do not think Leah would appreciate hearing that coming from you."
"I am doing this to protect her from you," Jim said, his voice back to normal. "She is too innocent for your type of 'games'. Now leave us alone."
Of course, Jim did not tell her everything he said to Victor, only that he warned him to stay away. He also did not mention that Victor thought he loved her. She did not need to hear that.
But his harsh words to the Tenor had their effect, and the man stayed far away from the both of them. While he avoided Leah, he practically ran in the opposite direction when he saw Jim. Though the newest patron did not mind at all.
Leah made her way slowly up to her room one night, sore after a day of intense practicing. She unlocked her door, their door, she reminded herself and stepped inside. She lit the lamp on the small table and looked down at the square card she had stepped on.
She blinked and her heart thudded painfully in her chest. She had not heard from the Phantom in so long, she had half-hoped he had disappeared forever. Clenching her fingers in a fist, she reached down and picked up the card between two fingers. She flipped it over.
'Stay away from Jim or I will hunt you down and kill you. He is not yours, he is meant for another, as you are meant for another. You will go to the one you are supposed to be with and never see Jim again.'
Leah frowned. The Phantom had never mentioned Jim by name before, it was always 'the stagehand'. She held the card closer to the light. The writing was off, she noticed. It looked as if someone had been trying to mimic the Phantom's writing, and almost succeeded. The card itself was not the right shade of white either. She felt her fear vanish and anger take its place.
Leah almost crumpled the card, but left it undamaged, thinking furiously. Who would want her to stay away from Jim? Victor maybe, but he would not threaten to kill her. Ah, she thought. She left her room quickly, leaving the door open and almost ran to the Prima Donna's chambers.
She slammed her fist into the door repeatedly and constantly until it was opened, Carlotta's smug face appearing in front of her. She raised a perfect eyebrow and looked down at the angry dancer.
"Yes?" She asked arrogantly.
Leah shoved the note practically under her nose. "Is this yours?" She asked coldly.
"I've never seen it before in my life," Carlotta said, her nose in the air.
"Only you would be so desperate to get what you want," Leah hissed. "That you would be willing to threaten anybody in your way. It does not matter that Jim does not want you, either you will have him or nobody will, is that right?" Carlotta was silent. Leah stepped forward, almost nose to nose with the Soprano until she backed into her room, Leah following closely. "I am not afraid of you Carlotta, not anymore. You cannot push me around any longer."
Carlotta straightened her shoulders and seemed to pull herself together. "You should be afraid," she said quietly, maliciously. She flicked her eyes to one side and Leah looked in that direction. She saw a vase of black roses on a small table, a handful of off-white cards lying under them. Her eyes widened and she looked back to Carlotta, who had her smug look back on her face.
"That is right," The Prima Donna said in the same tone. "I have become aware of someone who shares the same…interests as I do. He desires the same thing that I do, you and Jim separated."
"Carlotta, you do not understand who you are dealing with. The Phantom is insane."
Carlotta shrugged. "As long as I get what I want, it does not matter what happens to you. If he is insane," she shrugged again. "It is you that will be dealing with him, not me." She smiled and Leah trembled slightly. She pushed Leah from her room. "Oh," she said once Leah was in the hallway. "And speak to me in that insolent tone again and you will not have to worry about what the Phantom will do with you. You will have to worry about me." She slammed the door in Leah's face.
Leah stared at the solid wood for a moment before turning and walking away. Her thoughts were quiet and she had trouble focusing on anything. She went back into her room and closed the door. Jim walked up to her quickly and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Leah! There you are," he said, his voice strained. "I came up and the door was open and you weren't here. What happened?"
Leah wordlessly handed him the note. He read it and looked at her in question. "Carlotta," she said.
"What?"
"She is plotting with the Phantom. She wants you and he wants me, and now they are apparently working together to reach those ends." Leah shivered and Jim took her in his arms. He led her over to the cushioned bench and sat down.
"Don't worry," he said into her hair above her ear. "Carlotta cannot harm me physically, and I would not care if she did. It would harm me only if you were hurt." He looked in her eyes. "If we were careful before, we must be extremely more so now. They will strike at us through you."
Leah leaned against Jim's chest and wished they were back when things were easy. She had to worry about rehearsals and chores, not about jealous leading ladies and insane ghost-like men. How could they be more careful, when the Phantom could get in and out of their room whenever he wanted?
