A/N: I don't own these characters; I'm just engaging in a bit of wish fulfillment. I promise to try to update more regularly going forward. Thanks for the reviews; they help me come back for more. This chapter is short; I've been struggling with Merante's POV and where I want him to go. It is hard to keep him arrogant but likeable at the same time.
Chapter 8
The sun had just about disappeared as Mérante sunk into the chair of his new office. He'd just returned from Lucien Pepita's funeral, and as of this morning, the ballet was his. Lucien wasn't even in the ground and l'Opéra's board of directors had already changed the nameplate on the door. There were many things Mérante was looking forward to in his role as director of l'Opéra, namely, that he would finally be able to debut his ballet, Le Deux Pigeons, but the day to day workings of l'Opéra simply bored him.
He pulled open a drawer in the desk, pulled out a ledger and started reading. Endless, boring lists of expenses, revenues, payroll. At the thought of payroll he smiled briefly; he would not mind the new salary. He was nearing thirty, after all, and should buy a proper home in town. Lucien had left him a small sum, and with all he'd saved in Russia he'd be able to live the life of a true gentleman. He stopped just before closing the ledger when a familiar name caught his eye: Odette Richard. According to her page in the ledger, Odette was working off an astronomical sum in service to l'Opéra. Mérante did some quick maths in his head and was horrified to realize it would take the young maid an additional forty-nine years to be free of her debt.
Mérante shut the book with finality, shaking his head of such thoughts. What was she to him? A mystery with a pretty face. He sighed and headed to the practice rooms to work out a particularly vexing piece of choreography and get his mind off of those haunting blue eyes.