For a couple of days the atmosphere around the showground was tense. Elsa was in a terrible mood because of the way her performance had ended and Greta was annoyed. She wasn't completely sure why she was so irritated, or who or what the source of her irritation was.
One afternoon, Eve came into her tent to inform her that the twins had left the show and the Tattler sisters instantly became the only focus of her annoyance. Since they had gone, her reading and writing lessons had stopped. Ethel, Desiree and Eve had all offered to help her, but she refused. It was one thing being treated like a child who didn't know anything by Dot and Bette, who treated her with indifference most of the time anyway, but the thought of revealing her big weakness to any of the others made her feel ill.
She had tried her best to teach herself, sitting in her tent for hours on end with her alphabet flashcards, notebook and pencils and newspapers strewn around her. Greta was getting good at recognising and writing the names of her friends and was able to read simple words from the newspaper, but anything with more than about five letters completely stumped her.
One afternoon she had gone into town with Eve, Paul and Suzi in search of birthday presents for Elsa. Eve had stayed true to her promise and started teaching the young woman to drive. The trip into town had been slightly hairy and Paul and Suzi announced that if Greta was driving back to camp then they would walk. Pouting, she had reluctantly handed the truck keys back to Eve.
Since her arrival at the camp, Maggie had singled Greta out as the only other 'non-freak' in the troupe and done her best to ingratiate herself to the young woman. For a while Greta had been happy to spend time with her but when Maggie made an unkind comment about the size of Eve's hands that had changed. Disgusted, Greta had stood up from the table they were sitting at and gone to sit with Pepper and Ma Petite instead.
"Party!" Pepper's excited voice broke through the quiet of Greta's concentration and she looked up from her letters to smile at the pinhead. "Party!"
"Miss Greta, it is time for Miss Elsa's birthday party." Ma Petite added from her almost constant perch in Eve's arms.
The blonde grinned and stood up, moving across the tent to pick up the box that held her mother's birthday present. Together, they headed across the camp and into the big tent where the show owner was waiting, sitting underneath a long banner that read 'Happy Birthday Miss Elsa'.
"Oh!" Elsa gazed down at the present that Ethel, the first in line, handed her. "Oh, Ethel, you have outdone yourself!"
"They say all the movie stars use Westmore." The bearded woman told her, clearly thrilled that her present had gone down so well.
"Yes."
"You got to have the best on your big trip out to Hollywood."
"Oh… Westmore…"
"Well, come on, step lively." Ethel urged the others. "Supposed to be a party!"
"Who's next?" Elsa asked, looking at everyone waiting to give her their presents. "Greta?"
Stepping forward, the young blonde held out the small, square box she had purchased in town. Elsa looked at it curiously for a moment, before ripping off the paper and removing the lid. Her hand shot to her chest as she gazed down at the beautiful, delicate silver chain coiled inside the box. On the chain was a small silver star, inlaid with sparkling jewels.
"I wrote the gift tag myself." Her daughter told her proudly. When there was a quiet cough from behind her, she rolled her eyes. "Eve checked it afterwards for me."
"To Mother, love Greta." Elsa read aloud. "Well done, mein liebling. You are certainly improving." She lifted the necklace out of the box and fixed it round her neck. "It is beautiful, thank you."
Smiling, Greta moved back to stand beside Eve so that Paul could hand over his present next. "What have we here?" She laughed as she opened the box and then shot the man a smirk and laughed. "Ooh! Paul, you cheeky bastard!" Putting his present aside, she looked up expectantly. "Eve… What can this be?"
As Eve set the large box down carefully at Elsa's feet and stepped back, everyone waited expectantly, knowing what was about to happen. Greta grinned, biting her lip as she waited for the big surprise.
Elsa laughed as she lifted the lid and Ma Petite appeared. "I will keep you warm, Miss Elsa."
"Oh, liebchen!" The blonde reached down and lifted the tiny girl out of the box, cradling her in her arms. "Liebchen, liebchen, liebchen. Oh, my very own hot water bottle to cuddle with at night. Oh!" She looked around, her smile fading slightly at the grim faces she found looking back at her. "What is the matter? Why such long faces? This is just the beginning of our glorious week of festivities. Why so gloomy?"
"We miss the twins." Ma Petite told her. Beside Greta, Pepper nuzzled into her side and the young woman wrapped her arm around her shoulders instinctively.
"Did they say anything before they took off about why they wanted to leave?" Jimmy asked, leaning forward in his seat.
"Maybe we should go search for them?" Paul suggested. "They might be lost or–"
"No!" Elsa shouted, making everyone jump. "Enough about the twins… I will have no more of this. We bring them in, give them a home… a family… and how do they repay us? By disappearing into the night!" She took a deep breath. "So, no more about the twins, do you hear me? Now, I demand you start having fun this instant, or I'll put one of you up against that wheel…"
As she stopped shouting, they gradually dispersed, none of them in the mood for a party, but knowing that Elsa was completely serious about her threat. Greta had watched her practising and knew that her mother was only about eighty per cent accurate with her aim. There was no way she wanted to risk being the woman's practise target.
They struggled through the rest of the day and that evening's performance, before night fell properly and they were able to take their leave and go to bed. In their usual spots on the bunk, Eve and Greta lay side-by-side staring up at the ceiling, each buried deep in their own thoughts.
Sneaking a sideways glance at the older woman, Greta wondered what she was thinking about. She traced the familiar features slowly with her eyes, mapping the face she already knew as well as she knew her own. With a deep sigh, Eve turned onto her side, facing the blonde.
"What?"
"Nothing!" Greta defended herself.
"You were staring at me."
"No I was not." The blonde lied. Then she sighed. "I was just wondering what you were thinking about?"
"Where do you think the twins are?"
Greta screwed up her nose, thinking hard. "Elsa said they ran away. They could be anywhere."
"You believe her?" Eve asked, arching an eyebrow. "I mean, I know she's your Mom, but…"
"I have known her for a couple of months, Evie. I barely know her."
"A couple of months is easily long enough to know how you feel about someone." The brunette told her softly.
Greta looked at her carefully, feeling as though Eve was looking straight into her soul. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest and then started to beat at record speed. Drawing breath became difficult and a heat settled heavily in her belly. The young woman swallowed thickly.
"I mean… do you trust Elsa?" Eve continued; breaking the moment and making Greta inhale sharply.
"I do not know… no… I… I am not sure." She rolled back onto her back and stared up at the roof of the caravan. "I want to trust her, but there is something..."
"I know exactly what you mean."
"She is my mother and I love her… I do love her… but I think that if she thought I was seriously threatening her career… I might disappear like the twins."
Eve propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at the younger woman worriedly. "Is that why you're so against this new act with you and Jimmy? Do you think it might cause problems with Elsa?"
"That is one reason…" Greta agreed.
"And the other reason?"
The blonde chewed her lip for a moment before meeting Eve's eyes. "He is not my type."
"Do you really think Elsa would do something you?" Eve asked after a moment of silence.
"I do not know if she would do anything to me… I hope she has not done anything to the twins… I do not believe she would actually harm them… but I think she might be behind their disappearance."
The older woman sighed and lay back down. "Come here…" She wrapped an arm around the younger woman who snuggled into her side contentedly. "Try and get some sleep… maybe something will turn up tomorrow… perhaps the twins will come back."
They had just drifted off to sleep, when the caravan door opened. Greta's eyes flicked open at once and she sat bolt upright, glaring at whoever had entered without knocking. She was out of the bed and across the floor before the intruder had taken two steps.
"Who is it?" She growled dangerously in a low voice, pinning the figure to the wall of the caravan with surprising strength.
"It's Paul!" The man spluttered out, trying to push her away.
Letting go of him and wincing apologetically as Eve flicked the switch and turned the lights on, Greta stepped backwards. "Sorry…"
He frowned at her, but then looked at the older woman. "Elsa wants to see everyone in the big tent. Now. Can you wake up Suzi and the pinheads?"
Nodding, they did as requested. Eve went to collect Suzi, while Greta headed off to wake up Salty and Pepper. They blinked at her in confusion as she took their hands and led them gently towards the big tent. Others were already waiting there when they arrived, but the two innocents on either side of Greta refused to let go of her hands, blinking around anxiously.
"You ungrateful ingrates!" Elsa raged as they stood in front of her. "I rescue you from the squalor of your miserable existences and this is how you repay me? Huh? With accusations… disgusting rumours! Now, which one of you believes that I had anything to do with the disappearance of those girls? Huh? Speak up! But you're not shy about gossiping behind my back, are you? Go ahead, say it… say it to my face!" She pummelled Jimmy's chest furiously, apparently growing angrier as he refused to react.
"Els–" Greta started, horrified at the break down her mother appeared to be having, but Eve reached out and put her hand on the younger woman's shoulder, not moving her gaze from their boss.
"Toulouse, have you forgotten where I found you? Huh? Shackled to that chain gang, chipping away at rocks with that pathetic baby pickaxe? Huh? Have you forgotten who bribed the guard to let you out? Who?!"
"Elsa, you got it all wrong." Jimmy told her, stepping forward hastily as the woman shoved Toulouse roughly.
"You two…." Elsa turned and pointed to the pinheads on either side of her daughter. "Rotting away in that shit-smeared orphanage! Huh? Even your sister didn't want you anymore! Your family sent you away! You'd still be lying there in that urine-soaked mattress, starving, gnawing on rats if I hadn't pulled you into the spotlight." As she moved to the table where the boxes containing her birthday presents were strewn, Greta wrapped her arms tightly around the whimpering figures beside her, shushing them gently. "Look at these. Look at these! Trinkets… shabbily made… confectioneries! They're all meaningless! Meaningless! Meaningless!" Everyone flinched as the women threw her presents around angrily. "You should be ashamed… after everything that I have done for you, huh? Everything that I have sacrificed for us… for our family… and I still have not won your trust."
"Elsa, calm down, please. Of course we trust you." Jimmy tried to reassure her.
"Prove it to me!" She demanded.
"How?" Ethel asked desperately. "Tell us a way! How can we convince ya?"
Elsa looked around for a moment, before turning and banging both fists on the wheel behind her. "The wheel. Nobody leaves here until one of you is strapped in and proves to me your unadulterated trust and loyalty. I will settle for nothing less."
"I'll do it." Jimmy volunteered in a low voice when no one spoke.
Filled with panic at the thought, Greta dropped Salty and Pepper's hands and stepped forward, shaking her head. "No, I am your daughter, I will do it."
"No." Paul shook his head and walked towards Elsa, emerging from the shadows. "It should be me."
Elsa held his gaze for a moment, before nodding and indicating that he should be strapped onto the wheel. Greta watched as Eve and Jimmy did the honours, staying back with the pinheads. They had grabbed hold of her hands once more, clinging on and whimpering quietly. She was not sure whether it was the current situation that was upsetting them or the harsh words Elsa had thrown at them during her rant.
As soon as they stepped back, Elsa checked how secure the belts were. Paul smiled down at her. "Try not to miss."
"I always miss, darling." She told him with a blank-eyed smile. "That's the point." Selecting three knives from the rack, she turned to her captive audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the most death-defying scene. It takes but a split second for this knife to travel from my fingertips to the edge of the wheel. A split second that separates life from death… spin the wheel, Eve."
The Amazon took a breath and looked apologetically at her friend attached to the target board, before doing as she was ordered. As soon as it was in motion, she hurriedly moved backwards out of the line of fire. Paul stared defiantly at Elsa, waiting for her to begin.
Greta's stomach was in her mouth as she watched her mother throw the first knife. Her hands were starting to hurt with how hard Salty and Pepper were clinging onto her. The knife embedded itself in the wood to the right of Paul's head and she exhaled sharply, glad that the first threat was over.
"Now you may think that this man's destiny rests in Miss Elsa's hands." She announced in a low, theatrical voice. "But fate is the true master of us all." She threw the second knife and it ended up in the wood between Paul's legs. There were strangled cries and screams from around the tent. "And yet… fate is not unkind. Reversal of fortune can be swift. The pauper can be made king."
There was a hesitation before Elsa released the third and final knife. It buried itself in Paul's guts, blood blossoming from the wound instantly. There were screams from the audience, but Greta's eyes were fixed on her mother. For a split second before she slipped into her guilty routine, she was sure that there had been a smile on her face.
"Get him down! Get him down!" Jimmy ordered, leaping forward at once.
"Oh my god!" Elsa exclaimed clapping her hands over her mouth and letting her eyes widen with horror. "What have I done? No, no! It was an accident."
No one paid her any attention, surging forward as Jimmy and Eve lowered Paul gently to the ground. The knife was still sticking out of his wound and the woman moved to pull it out before anyone could stop her.
"No, Evie, don't!"
It was too late however. It came out with a sickening sound and a fresh fountain of blood oozed out. Pushing through the crowd, Greta dropped down beside Paul and yanked at the sleeve of her sleep shirt. She ripped it off and bunched it into a ball, pressing it hard against the wound. He cried out at the sensation, but she shook her head apologetically at him and continued to apply the pressure that was causing him such distress.
"We need a doctor." Ethel shouted as they tried to stop the blood loss.
"I'll see to it." Elsa promised. "Take him to the caravan."
Eve and Jimmy hoisted him between them and, with Greta still pressing the fabric on his wound, they hurried from the big tent. It was difficult to manoeuvre through the narrow doorway of his trailer, but they managed and laid him carefully on his bed.
"Get me some warm water, some clean strips of fabric and a needle and thread." The blonde ordered calmly, settling herself on the mattress beside the injured man. "And some alcohol… preferably gin or vodka, but whisky will do." She looked up at Jimmy seriously and shook her head. "Do not bring any old scheiße… it has to be the good stuff."
No one questioned her, simply hurrying to do as she had asked. Greta carefully rid Paul of his shirt and smiled apologetically as the movement caused him more pain. She used the water to carefully clean around the wound and mop his brow, before dipping another of the rags into the alcohol and using it to sterilize the area where the knife had entered his body, reducing the risk of infection.
Paul cried out as the alcohol burned and stung, but Greta did not stop what she was doing. Jimmy moved to hold the injured man still so that the young woman did not have to content with his flailing and writhing as she carefully disinfected, stitched and dressed his wound.
"Did you get hold of the doctor?" Jimmy asked as Elsa entered the caravan.
She nodded. "I did. How is he?"
"I have done what I can but I am not a doctor. It should keep him stable until he can have proper treatment, though." Greta told her, rinsing Paul's blood off her hands in the bowl of water, before drying them on her shirt. "I will go and get some clean water."
Leaving the caravan she made her way quickly across the camp, tipping the bloody water out onto the ground as she went. Rinsing the bowl quickly, she filled a pan with water and moved it to the stove, setting it to boil. While she was waiting, she heard someone enter the tent. Recognising the footsteps, she didn't bother to turn around.
"Where did you learn all that doctoring stuff?" Jimmy asked her, watching as she removed the pan and tipped the water carefully into the bowl.
"On the streets." She explained distractedly, tipping some gin into the hot water and stirring it with a spoon. "There are no doctors when you are living like that, but there is plenty of need for one. You pick things up; you have to in order to survive."
"Let me." Jimmy offered as she picked up the bowl. Nodding, Greta replaced it on the table and allowed him to carry it. They headed back towards the caravan. "You think he'll be OK?"
"It is hard to say. The wound is deep, but I think the position is quite lucky. I have seen men survive with more serious injuries."
They entered Paul's caravan and found that Elsa had left. In her place was a young woman who looked frantic with worry. Not bothering about who she was, Greta pushed past and dipped a cloth in the bowl Jimmy had placed on the side before using it to dab at Paul's forehead gently.
"Penny?" Jimmy looked confused. "You're back."
"I knew something had happened to Paul when he didn't turn up to meet me tonight."
"There was an accident. Greta has been treating him as best she can until the doctor turns up." Seeing the brunette looking questioningly at the blonde, he nodded in her direction. "Greta Mars, Elsa's daughter. She turned up just after you left looking for her Ma. Greta, this is Penny… she's a townie, but she stayed with us for a while. She's alright."
Greta nodded and handed Penny the damp cloth. "There is nothing more I can do at the moment. Keep wiping his forehead. The wound has been sterilised and stitched… the dressing will need changing in a couple of hours. I can come back and do it if you would like?"
"Thank you…"
"You are welcome." The blonde told her with a weak smile.
Nodding at Jimmy, Greta left the caravan and went in search of Eve and the others, absolutely exhausted and ready for bed.