Rouge (13 page)

It wasn’t.

I opened the door to the glittering green eyes of what could’ve been Gavin’s twin brother in the passage. His evil twin brother. Before me stood a tall man with ruddy hair and broad shoulders. And a grin that made me
shudder
. I’d seen a cartoon drawing of a fox once wearing a top hat and tails—a very hungry fox, intent on satisfaction. This man reminded me of that, and I caught the door before it opened too wide.

“I was led to believe this is Miss Christina’s room.” His voice was a smooth vibration and his eyes locked on mine.

I flinched as he lifted his hand, but it passed my cheek and rested on the cravat at his neck. All my muscles were tense, ready to fight. The light from our lamp glinted off his large, gold pinky ring.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

His eyes drifted down my body and then back to my eyes. “Perhaps not formally, Miss Hale. But I’ve been watching you for years. Your talent has grown as beautifully as you have.”

I struggled to keep calm, to swallow the knot in my throat, and not to scream in terror. “Thank you, but it’s very late. And we’re just preparing for bed.”

“So many single women living under one roof.” His eyes narrowed. “It would be a terrible thing if the authorities were to hear of this. They might think something illegal was going on.”

I wasn’t sure how to answer. I didn’t believe Gavin’s own brother would turn him in, but I knew without a doubt the man standing before me was capable of anything. I knew Roland was right, whether he ever gave me specifics or not. We had to stay far away from this man.

I tried to close the door, but he caught it and pushed it open, sending me staggering back. Teeny jumped up and hastily wiped her eyes and smoothed her hair.

“Guy,” she said in a surprised voice.

I reached for her, but Teeny pushed past me and ran over to take his arm. He smiled his evil fox-smile at her and lifted one of her curls in his hand.

“
Cheveux roux
,” he murmured and lowered his hand to her shoulder, sliding it down her arm. Teeny giggled. I felt ill.

“I was so embarrassed by the way Roland acted,” she said. “You’d think.”

“Roland’s an arrogant little prig,” Guy replied, his eyes traveling over her hair, down her neck to her bodice.

I reached forward and caught Teeny’s arm, pulling her back to me.

“You have to leave now,” I said, hating the
tremor
in my voice. It emphasized my disadvantage.

Guy stepped toward me and lifted a lock of my dark hair, sliding it back and forth between his fingers. The sensation gave me a chill.

“Such beautiful young women.” I was certain I would scream then, but he stepped back to the door. “It’s late, I suppose. I wouldn’t want my little bird to get overly tired.”

“I’m not tired at all,” Teeny said. But I held her fast, blocking her with my body.

“Yes, it’s late,” I said in as firm a tone as I could manage.

“I didn’t get a chance to tell you I’m headed back to
Atlanta
tonight,” he said to Teeny. “So this is
au revoir
.”

“
Au revoir
,” she giggled.

He smiled and with a slight bow, closed the door, leaving a scent of cloves in his wake. The smell made my throat close up, and I could still see the wicked gleam of his green eyes.

I was too terrified to cry. Instead I envisioned myself taking Teeny and running as hard and as far away as we could go. There was nothing I could trade, nothing I could pawn to protect us from this. He’d be back, and I knew what he was coming for. But how far could we make it alone on the streets, me with only my voice and Teeny with less? That wasn’t a solution, but my mind was racing to find one. Fast.

Roland was at the piano pounding out Frank and Carla’s dance number, a cigarette dangling from his lips, when I found him the next morning. The dancers were moving so quickly, I could barely track them with my weary eyes. I was exhausted from a night spent searching for an answer, a way out. The few times I did sleep, I was chased by green-eyed foxes through my nightmares.

When Roland saw me, he frowned. “Did you go out last night?”

“What?” The thought of going out, leaving Teeny alone and unguarded, was the farthest thing from my mind. “Why would I do that?”

“You look like you haven’t slept,” he said, quickly removing the cigarette with his right hand while keeping the rhythm going with his left. “I thought maybe you were with Beau.”

I shook my head and looked down. “I can’t think about him now. I have worse things to consider.”

“Don’t tell me this is because of what I said.”

“We had a visitor after you left. One I expect to be back.”

Roland’s hands paused for a split second before he quickly picked up the beat again. “Guy?” He asked.

I nodded.

“What did he want?”

“To tell Teeny
au revoir,
he said. But I’m afraid he wanted more than that.” I lowered my voice and clutched Roland’s moving arm. “What do I do?”

His lips pressed together, but he was silent. After five measures he said, “I’ll speak to Gavin. Try not to worry about it.”

“Not worry about it?” My voice was a panicked whisper as my grip tightened. I was reaching my limit on fear. “I’ve seen that look before.”

He hammered the final three chords and then dropped his hands to the bench, turning to me. “You were supposed to keep her away from him.”

“You never told me why, and besides, Teeny’s active and curious. She needs reasons why, too.”

“Then maybe it’s time for her to go.”

Acid rose to my throat, and I clenched my fists. I’d never before wanted to hit Roland, but now I could see myself beating him with all my strength. His glanced at my face.

“Calm down.” He reached for my hand, but I jerked my arm back and jumped up. He stood quickly with me. “I said calm down.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” I hissed through my teeth. “After what you did to Evie.”

His eyebrows came together. “What I did to
Evie
?”

“I know all about it.”

“Sounds like you don’t know anything.” He sat down again, and I leaned toward him.

“I know you arranged for her to see two men at once.”

He didn’t even flinch. “Like I said. You don’t know anything. I said for you not to worry about it. I’ll handle this situation with Guy.”

Then he began to play a song I’d never heard before. He continued playing and for a moment I stood there watching him, the old swagger back, stringing together notes into a flowing melody.

“How do you like this?” he asked.

“It sounds like breaking dishes,” I snapped, turning to leave.

Roland’s hands stilled over the keys and he stood, catching my arm. He turned me back and caught my eyes. “Trust me.”

“I can’t do that anymore.”

* * *

As inexplicably as he’d started, Gavin stopped coming to rehearsals, and the mood in the company relaxed. I still avoided Beau at every turn. I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted anymore. My plan had suddenly become urgent.

But since our last encounter, he was more persistent. My heart was thudding in my chest Thursday night as I went to the ladder for my finale climb. He was waiting at the top when I moved away from the steps in his direction, and I tried to calm my breathing before I had to sing.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” he whispered. I walked to the bench without answering. “Hale?” he said. The pleading tone in his voice made me ache, but I wouldn’t look at him.

He touched my arm before I took my seat. My back was to him, but I stopped moving. “I meant what I said to you,” he said softly.

A hitch caught my breath as I faced him. My eyes were glistening with tears, but I fought to keep them back as I took in the shape of his mouth, his straight nose, his dark blue eyes. I shook my head and looked down again.

“It’s too late,” I said. “I
do
have to stick to my plan, and it
does
have to be carried out now.”

His hand found my chin and he lifted my face. Then he smiled and leaned forward, lightly kissing my lips. “Let’s talk some more first.”

His touch sent a painful longing through me, but there was no time to argue—with him or myself. The music rose, and I quickly took my position before I swung out over the waiting spectators. I glanced back once to see him watching me, smiling.

* * *

Freddie almost beat me to my dressing room after the show. I was still in my peacock costume when I heard his familiar tapping at the door. Teeny was again absent, but knowing Guy was in
Atlanta
gave me slight relief. I quickly pulled on my dressing gown and stepped to the door. A giant bouquet of red roses met me before my devoted suitor.

“You get better with every performance,” he said as I lifted the heavy roses from his arms. “And you sing with such emotion.”

I turned back and stepped toward him, leaning against the doorjamb as he lifted my hand. “You’re too kind,” I said, trying not to think of the source of my emotion.

Something was different about Freddie’s visit tonight. I could tell by the way he spoke and the serious look on his face. He removed his hat.

“Darling,” he started. Then paused. “We’ve been seeing each other like this for several months.”

“Yes?”

“Well,” He looked concerned as he stepped closer to me. “I suppose you might’ve expected me to feel this way. I mean if you knew me at all.”

“What is it?”

Fear, my constant companion, pricked at my back. What if he’d discovered the truth? What if he knew I wasn’t a lady, that I was one step above a street tramp, and that I lived in a brothel? That Teeny was a foundling and not my cousin. Oh, God, I couldn’t lose Freddie now.

His gray eyes caught mine and his voice lowered. “I was hoping you’d know… that I so want to kiss you.”

Relief hit me with such force, I almost grabbed him around the neck to molest his mouth. In the moment it took me to recover, Freddie immediately began backpedaling.

“Forgive me,” he stammered. “I didn’t mean to startle you with my impetuosity. I was only thinking, it
has
been so many weeks now, and I was sure…”

“Freddie,” I said, smiling and gazing at his lips. “I’ve so wanted to kiss you, too.”

He quickly caught my waist and leaned forward, pressing our mouths together. I opened mine at once, but he jumped and pulled back, cheeks flushed.

“I say,” he muttered, then cleared his throat. “Your lips are wonderfully soft.”

“And yours are so warm,” I made my voice breathless, pretending to be overwhelmed by my first kiss. “Did I do it right?”

“Oh, yes. You did it perfectly.” His eyes moved to mine, and I blinked slowly. I reached forward again to touch his hand. He took it in his.

“Can we try it again?” I whispered.

His cheeks grew slightly redder, but he leaned forward. When our mouths touched this time, I parted my lips slowly and slipped my hand up to his cheek. He held me a beat longer, before his tongue tentatively touched mine. Then suddenly, as if feeling a shock, he stepped back and cleared his throat again.

“I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t mean to be too forceful.”

“Oh, Freddie, it was exotic,” I smiled. “I hope we can do it again.”

His eyes went to mine, and he smiled as if we now shared a secret. When he spoke, his voice was low.

“I hope so as well. And I wonder… my dear Hale,” he studied my eyes. “Is it possible you might ever think of me as more than just a dedicated fan?”

“Freddie, I hope
you
know,” I touched his arm. “I’ve always thought of you as more than a fan.”

The smile on his face was utter delight, but
Rosa
appeared, pushing her way between us to enter my small room. He straightened and perched his hat back on his head. “Then perhaps we can discuss something a bit more
engaging
tomorrow.”

My heart jumped. “I’d love that!”

He caught my hand and raised it to his lips again. “For now, then. Goodnight. Dear.”

I leaned against the entrance and exhaled, watching him disappear down the passage and out the side exit. But I quickly straightened up when Beau stepped around the corner at the far end of the hall.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was waiting for him to leave so we could talk.”

I nodded, my heart beating faster with each step he took closer. He stopped in front of me, and for a moment we couldn’t speak. I was certain his thoughts were with mine—on our last time together. He stepped forward and pulled me to him. I tried to resist, but it was no use. I wanted to be in his arms.