The next day, Phillip awoke with a dry mouth and pounding headache, still sat in his chair in Barnum's office. For once he was not dreading the day ahead of him. He rubbed his eyes and looked across from him to see P.T. working away.
He was dressed in different clothes, and looked a lot more refreshed than Phillip probably did, he assumed that Barnum had gone home last night, leaving Phillip to his slumber. He smiled sheepishly at his business partner, feeling quite embarrassed at having fallen asleep in his office.
"I thought you could do with the sleep," Barnum told him, looking up from his paperwork. "Something told me you needed it."
Phillip nodded silently not looking at the face the older man was pulling, and picked up the flask that had fell on the floor in the night. It was completely empty.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Both men turned in the direction of the sound, to see Phoebe Whitlock stood at the door. Phillip was in awe of her natural appearance, to say the least. Without her bright, purple wig, her hair was the colour of a raven's wings and half was pulled away from her face, tiny curls springing free. Her skin glowed, even without the help of any glitter or spotlights. She was still tall, and graceful, trading her pink costume for a dark blue dress. She still stood tall however, but she wouldn't meet either of the men's eyes as she spoke to them. She was a strange blend confident and fearful.
Conscious of what Phoebe would think of him, stinking of booze and wearing clothes from the previous day, Phillip tried to smoothen his hair down instead, and sat up straighter.
"Yes Phoebe, what can I do for you?" Barnum asks, with a friendly tone.
"Mr Barnum, sir, I was wondering if you wanted my help with your paperwork again?"
The whole set-up of Barnum's circus was so unlike anything Phillip had witnessed before. Never in polite society would a lady presume a man needed help with his business, especially a coloured woman. He didn't want to presume about her intelligence, but he wondered how she had access to enough education to be able to help P.T. And yet, both felt almost normal here.
"Thanks for the offer Phoebe, but I think I'll get Phillip to take on some of the work now that he's awake. There's no need to put extra pressure on you, you already do so much to help out. I don't know if anyone has fed any of the animals yet though." Barnum replied smiling. Phoebe thanked him and turned to leave, when he stopped her. "Also, you don't have to call me sir, no formalities needed here. You've shouted at me for messing up my financials enough to be comfortable using my name."
"Well if you'd organize yourself, I wouldn't have to P.T. and I guess it's just force of habit." She chuckled.
"We're all equal here," Barnum assured her, with a warm grin. "Plus, you're a star. The star. You don't need to worry about losing your job."
Phoebe looked at Phillip, for the first time since she had stepped in as though she barely noticed him. She took in his upper-class attire, that while dishevelled was still finer than her own. She didn't know how equal he thought it was. She simply smiled and nodded before she left the office.
Phillip and Barnum watched her retreating figure disappear down the stairs.
"Poor girl," Barnum sighed, shaking his head. "I can't imagine the kind of life she's had to live. All her life she's been treated as inferior to everybody else. Came all the way here hoping for a better life and is treated even worse, with no money to go back to England. I don't even know if she hasn't any family, she may only have W.D. and Anne. She can be so bold and fun and suddenly she'll be so scared that if she takes one step out of line, I'll send her packing."
"Why can't she get other jobs if she's so scared? Is she in danger?"
Barnum looked at Phillip, incredulously. "Phillip - she's black. She's always in danger," he told him, his tone so serious that Phillip felt his heart sink. "I know Phoebe can handle herself, she's tough. Not many people can do what she does every night. Recently, however, we've had some threats, made towards Phoebe and the other coloured acts. Patsey, Nnemoma, Mswati, Queenie, W. D. and Anne - they're all vulnerable. Hai, Dang, Chang and Eng too. I'd prefer she'd be here where we can protect her than out there. I don't even like them to leave this building alone."
Phillip shocked to hear how many of Barnum's - their - circus acts were in danger. It was horrifying, that all these talented people were at risk simply because they were different ethnicities. He was outraged. Ashamed, mostly. He had always known that there was injustice in the world, but he had never seen the full extent of its effect. He had barely glimpsed it at Barnum's circus, but that glimpse was more than most saw.
Another knock on the door broke the silence they had fallen into. Hoping Phoebe had returned, Phillip snapped his head in the direction of the door. Instead he saw Lettie Lutz, with a concerned expression on her face. She was wringing her hands nervously, and sounded out of breath. Clearly she had rushed there.
"What is it, Lettie?" Barnum inquired, eyebrows furrowed. He leaned forward in his chair, tense.
"There's an issue, with the lion. Something in his paw," she replied, through her gasps for air. "He won't settle."
This wasn't the bad news Barnum had been expecting when Lettie appeared, and breathed a sigh of relief. Laughing, he relaxed in his chair. "Oh, that's no problem," he chuckled. "Phillip here will be more than happy to assist you, won't you?"
Barnum hadn't left Phillip with a choice. Reluctantly getting up out of his seat, he nodded, swallowing. Lettie also appeared unsure, but didn't argue, and gestured for him to follow her to where they kept the lions. His heart hammering away inside his chest, he could barely hear what Lettie was saying, the pounding echoing in his ears. He suddenly remembered that Barnum told Phoebe to go to animal enclosures and Phillip became even more worried. He caught words, such as mauled, claws, and no escape, which did nothing to calm his nerves.
He could hear the lion before he saw it. Passing the open corridor where many acts would prepare for the show, Phillip and Lettie turned a corner to the pen, where the lion was kept, in it's enclosure. Increasingly worried, Phillip had expected to see a great, ferocious beast, roaring and snarling. Instead, he found Phoebe sat in the pen, with the lion sprawled across her lap. His initial thought was that Phoebe was in danger, that the creature had her pinned down. She was very slender after all, whereas the lion was the size of a wagon. Then his fear turned into astonishment. The lion was purring, just as a cat would. Phoebe was singing to him softly, stroking his mane. There was no terror in her expression, no alarm. She was comforting the animal, whilst the official lion-tamer proceeded to pull whatever was ailing the lion from his paw. The lion flinched as the object was removed, and reared his head, baring his impressive teeth. The lion-tamer scarpered, sweat dripping from his brow, whilst Phoebe continued to soothe the lion with her soft hands and sweet voice.
"How is she able to do that?" Phillip muttered, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding in front of him.
"It's unbelievable, isn't it?" Lettie grinned, watching Phoebe cuddling the lion. "She's been with circuses since she was 10, one had a lot of animals and she learned how to get them to trust and love you. The lions think of her as part of the pride, one of them."
Another lion appeared, a female. She nuzzled Phoebe's head. Soon the two lions were on the floor, at her feet, whilst Phoebe caressed them both, laughing. Her laugh was just as beautiful as she was, and infectious too.
W. D. appeared at Phillip's shoulder, and followed his gaze. "Phoebe's always been good with animals, started trying to adopt all the strays, kept bringing them to our apartment and hiding them." he explained, arms crossed.
"She certainly has a way with them," Phillip replied, nodding.
"I suppose it's cause she knows they can't let her down," W. D. added, watching Phillip closely. "That they ain't gonna mess her about. Take advantage, get bored of her, leave her for something better - that sort of thing. Do you understand, Mr Carlyle?"
Phillip knew exactly what W. D. was suggesting, and gritted his teeth. W. D. was worried about Phillip hurting his friend, which is fair enough, but there were more subtle ways of getting his message across. Less aggressive ways. Besides, Phillip had no intentions of hurting Phoebe; he wouldn't dream of it. He would never take advantage of her, never grow bored of her, and never leave her for something better - for there was no one better. "I understand," he finally said, through tight lips. "But you have nothing to worry about - "
"Oh, I know," W. D. interjected, before Phillip could finish. "Because you're gonna stay away from her."
With that W. D. left Phillip's side. Phoebe was still giggling and playing with the lions. She caught Phillip's gaze, and smiled courteously, nothing like the blinding grins she gave everyone else. Feeling disheartened, Phillip turned back to Lettie and asked if there were any more jobs that needed doing.