5. Chapter 5 #3
‘Break!’ Odette snapped, and marched between the curtains and down the stairs.
She blinked fiercely, pressing a finger into the dip behind her earlobe, but the buzzing only burred louder, and for a few terrible breaths, she feared it might be stuck there forever.
Thankfully, as she reached the bottom stair, it eased, then faded completely.
Feet clattered somewhere behind her, but Odette stormed on until she reached her dressing room.
She threw the door open, turned to slam it behind her—only for Karl to catch it with the toe of his shoe.
‘No. No, no, no, no, no. No!’ Fury pumped through her, amplifying with each word. ‘I will not perform for her. You will have to find someone else. She is a moralising, judgemental—’ She swallowed the word. ‘She has no place in the theatre—’
‘If she brings her pocketbook, she has every place in the theatre.’ Karl sounded as adamant as her, although he kept his tone more measured. But then, of course, he could. ‘She has been supporting Ezra for more than a year. You think I can simply pluck a new composer from out of thin air?’
‘Find someone else.’ She poked a finger at his chest. ‘I will not sing her morals, I will not—’
‘You do not have the luxury of making demands!’ Karl bellowed, his voice splitting with anger.
‘You broke your own rules. You flew too close to the sun, and now you have to pay the price!’ His hand bunched into a fist, crumping a sheet from the score, the notes folding in on themselves.
‘You believe this is only about you?’ His tone lowered but did not soften.
‘Think of the cast. Of Sidonie, who has come from Paris for a chance to sing with you. Or Gustav, who turned down a significant role in Covent Garden because he wanted to be part of something new. Think of the musicians who spent hours practising for the auditions. You may top the playbill, but not everything is about you!’
Karl slumped against the wall, his anger consumed. Odette took a tentative step forwards and tugged the music from his hand. He released it, and she smoothed the creases against her thigh. Her eyes darted over the notes, absorbing the octaves and semi-quavers.
‘This is very good,’ she said. ‘He understands my voice. He can stay.’
Continuing to smooth the paper between her fingers, Odette turned back towards the stage and crept up the stairs.
In the brief shadow, alone, she hung her head and allowed a small wave of grief to wash through her.
So many years, so much hard work… and all for naught.
If she didn’t perform, her name, her reputation would become forever associated with a sordid affair with a petulant man.
It didn’t matter that none of it was true.
And Karl was right. She had known the prince was more enamoured of her than most. She’d had no interest in him, and yet she had encouraged his attentions, flirted more than she should.
He was a powerful man, and many flocked around him.
At the time, the attention had seemed like a blessing for the show, a boon to her reputation.
But why should she carry the weight of his failing marriage?
Why was she the one branded with every consequence, while he took no responsibility whatsoever?
Because every play had a villain, and in this drama, that role belonged to her.
Odette slipped through the gap in the curtains, but at the threshold, where shadows turned to light and velvet gave way to the expanse of the stage, she stumbled into someone.
Fast and firm, Cassius grasped her before she could fall.
He turned her around to face him, his hand clasping her biceps to hold her steady.
A flash of anger sparked inside her, but before she could strike out in pre-emptive defence, he brushed a gentle thumb over her sleeve in a soothing gesture.
‘She’s gone,’ he said. ‘I put on my grumpiest conductor voice and told her the cast had far too much work ahead of them to join her society, and if she wanted them to perform at their peak, she needed to let them work. I also might have let slip that you and I were sharing an intimate pot of tea with a chaperone when the scandal occurred. I thanked her for her support against the press intrusion, expressed how much it concerned me, given what might have happened if the man had found you alone. And explained that you were still very emotional. She’s not very good at managing compliments like that. Might be worth remembering.’
Now tears did well in her eyes. Because wasn’t that the truth? Neither Karl nor the press had even thought of her safety. They’d all assumed that, if the man had found her alone, she would have simply got what she deserved.
Cassius’s frown deepened. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and dried her cheeks, dabbing them with mute efficiency, like a costumer applying her rouge.
‘An intimate pot of tea?’ she asked, covering her gratitude with a small laugh. ‘Is there such a thing?’
‘I didn’t know how she would feel about champagne.
And cheap vodka was not likely to help, was it?
’ He tucked his handkerchief away just as Karl’s heavy steps resounded behind them.
‘Come along,’ he called over his shoulder as he crossed the stage.
‘Let’s discover whether this composer is any good.
Because I will not accept anything but the best for my Odette. ’