Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
The rehearsal for the show had ended hours ago.
At present, Suzette and Irena were at their leisure, seated within what amounted to Irena’s best attempt at a parlor.
The murky white tent’s flaps were closed, and the music box sounded in the background, giving the two women a feeling of privacy.
Indeed, it was as perfect an atmosphere as any, were a person of the mind to admit the secrets of her heart. However, Suzette was not so inclined.
She said, “Tell you about what?”
“Come now, Suzie. This is me you are talking to.”
Suzette scowled at her grandmother. “I have no idea what it is you are asking of me.”
“Today. You. Black Lion. You threw your hat to him.”
“Only because he greeted me.”
“Yes, but why did he greet you?”
Suzette paused.
“Yes?” Irena encouraged.
“Well, we do know each other. We met in England, actually.”
“In England?”
“Yes, he ran over me. He hadn’t meant to, of course, but…”
“He did what?”
Suzette didn’t answer. She tried to change the subject instead. “Irena, have you told Mr. Cody your true age?”
“Of course I have, dear. I signed a contract,” said Irena matter-of-factly. “But let’s return the subject to Black Lion…”
Suzette twisted in her chair, and, though the chair was more than comfortable, she was not.
“Well?” prompted Irena. “Are you going to tell me about it?”
“About what? There’s nothing to say, really. On that day in England, I was trying to find you. But I ran into the man, he pushed me in the mud, I got angry at him, and he proposed.”
Irena’s head came up. “He proposed?”
“Well, he meant it as a jest, I would venture to say. He told me because we had spent so much time in one another’s company, that to save my reputation, he would have to marry me.”
Irena was perched at the end of her seat. “Now, this does sound like something he would propose. And what did you say back to him?”
“I laughed at him.”
Irena bobbed her head. “Yes, I can see why you might have done this. And then?”
“That’s all there was to it really. We had a moment’s conversation, and then I went my way and he went his.”
“Hmm… And yet, there must have been something unusual about it for you both, for him to have bestowed the honor of his attention on you…and, might I add, for you to throw your hat to him.”
Suzette remained silent.
“Unless you have seen him in between the time then and now.”
Suzette frowned. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is this: A man does not shower attention on a person when he is performing, unless the person…means something to him. Come, Suzie dear. Tell me everything.”
Suzette shut her eyes, opened them and looked Irena directly in the eye. “I suppose I will have to tell you the truth.”
“This is an excellent idea.”
“After all, you will probably hound me about it until you learn every little detail.”
“I should think so.”
“Then, I guess I am forced to tell you that we are married.”
An uncomfortable, deep and protracted silence followed the announcement. “Did you say married?” Irena said finally.
“I did.”
Irena, who had been practically ready to pop out of her chair, did the opposite and flopped back into it. “Married?”
“Don’t tell me you, too, are prejudiced against him or our marriage because he is Indian. To do so would be the height of hypocrisy, since I know that you are here for no other reason than to find an Indian man whom you profess to love.”
“It’s not because I am prejudiced. Rather, I am…shocked.”
“Well, as long as you are shocked, I might as well tell you another bit of information which I have not told anyone else, except Black Lion. And I only told him because he guessed the truth. Are you prepared for this next?”
Irena sat up stiffly. “No, but tell me anyway.”
“Very well. If you must know, I am pregnant.”
“By Black—”
“Oh, no! No, no, no. By William, of course.”
“Oh,” said Irena. “And William knows of this?”
“Yes.”
“And…”
Suzette sucked in her breath. “I imagine I should tell you about the entire happening, shouldn’t I?”
“This would be best, yes. I did hear of your broken engagement… Your dear mother wrote to me about it. And I learned also that Lady Blair tried in every way she could to damage your reputation…because of me joining the Wild West Show, your mother tells me.”
“Yes. Lady Blair did try to blacken my character, but she was not as successful as she might have thought. Indeed, on my last evening in England, I sang to a full house, and were it not for this small problem, I would be there now, attending to my reputation without any needed help, I might add.”
“The problem you speak of is your pregnancy?”
“Yes. When I discovered my condition, I made William swear to tell no one about it, not even his mother.”
“And I suppose he agreed readily?”
“Yes. I do believe he was frightened he might be forced to marry me and stand up to his mother. I must say, she is rather formidable.”
“But she is his mother, not his jailer, and he should have done right by you.”
“I do think so as well, particularly since I was under the impression we were to be married within a matter of days when the deed happened. I know it was wrong of me to relax my guard with him, but it seemed a harmless flirtation at the time since we were to be married soon. I never suspected Lady Blair might call the whole wedding off.”
Irena pulled her mouth into a grimace. “I should go home. I don’t have to be here. As a matter of fact, I shall go home. For when I do so, you can be married in an honorable way.”
“I am already married in an honorable way.”
“Yes, but…”
“Surely you do not think Black Lion is anything but honorable?”
“Of course he is. But it is, after all, because of me that you are in this predicament. Therefore, I will settle it.”
“No,” said Suzette. “I forbid you to do so. The situation has changed. I no longer love William, and I no longer wish him to be my husband. Not only did he fail to defend me against his mother, he also proved himself to be a cad. If anything, Irena, what you did saved me from a terrible mistake.”
“It is kind of you to say these words to exonerate me. But never did I envision my actions would ruin your engagement. And now that I know the details of it, I would make it right. If you are with his child, then you should be married to him.”
“No, I should not be,” said Suzette. “And I am not going back to England at this time. I am married to Black Lion, and I intend to remain married to him.”
Silence greeted this statement. “I see,” said Irena at last. “Tell me, have you had your wedding night with him yet?”
Suzette raised her chin. “If you mean has the marriage been consummated, I have this to say about it: this is between myself and…my husband.”
“Of course. You are right.” She smiled. “But have you?”
“Irena! I refuse to answer your question. Clearly, I can see that if I say no, then you might try to urge me to annul the marriage. If I say yes, the marriage is consummated, what will you do then? Confront him?”
“I will confront him with this sooner or later regardless of your answer.”
“No, you will not,” said Suzette.
“But I—”
“The man does me a favor. If you must know, I have married Black Lion because I will not marry William, and I will not have my child born out of wedlock. Black Lion understands all I require from him is his name, nothing more. And pray, do not speak to him of our marriage, either for it or against it.”
Irena remained silent.
“You must not,” said Suzette. “I will have your word on it.”
“And why should I give it?”
“Because if you do not, I will not detail to you the rest of the adventure.”
“There is more?”
“Oh, yes, indeed. There are my plans for the future to tell, and also I have not yet disclosed to you what happened between myself, William and Lady Blair.”
Irena drew her brows together, frowning at her granddaughter. “That’s blackmail.”
Suzette pressed her lips together and crossed her arms in front of her.
“Had I known Lady Blair would take such a stand with you,” said Irena, “I would never have agreed to this engagement with the Wild West Show.”
“I know you would not have done it. Now, do you give me your word?”
“I cannot. I have become close to this young man who is now your husband, and a happening such as this can fester between people if they do not have it out. However, I will promise you this: I will speak to him intelligently, gently, and I will not accuse him.”
Suzette weighed the possibilities, for she knew she would receive no better promise than this. She sighed before saying, “I guess this will have to do.”
“Yes. And now, tell me about William and Lady Blair. Besides being a mother’s boy and breaking your engagement, what has set you so against him?”
Suzette hesitated for a moment. “It could be no more than a trifling which has set me against him, perhaps.”
“A trifling?”
“Well, maybe more. He did, only a few days after our engagement was broken, set his attentions upon my understudy, Miss Abernathy. It was whispered about the opera that he had promised to accelerate Miss Abernathy’s career in the opera.”
“And, of course, there is no worse crime he could have done to you.”
“Do not jest—as you well know, it is a point of contention with me. How could I have not seen him for what he truly was? What was wrong with me to not be aware of how he could so easily dally with another woman, and one whom I not only knew, but one who still aspired to become a prima donna.”
“But sponsoring a diva is not the same as—”
“I first saw the two of them together after a performance,” Suzette interrupted. “He came backstage. I was there, and yet, although he did acknowledge me slightly, he went directly to her. I saw them leave together. I saw him kiss her.”
“Ah,” said Irena. “I begin to understand. This being the case, naturally you cannot marry him.”
“Indeed not.”
“And so you decided to follow me? So you might marry Black Lion?”
“No. I followed you because I was angry with you, and because I needed to leave England, William, his mother and those memories behind me.”