by Smith, Ava
“I know you don’t but you’ve got to! Let me clarify things. Apart from you no one else can take her place. Not Isobel or Amy or even me. If you don’t dance tonight, the Odette Carmichael Theatre will close forever.”
CHAPTER 23
Claudia St. Clair wastes no time in packing up her belongings and leaving the manor house. She gets into her silver car and shuts the door but is soon joined by her father who sits in the front passenger seat.
“There’s plenty of fish in the sea, dear!” Mr St. Clair reassures his daughter.
“Oh shut up, Daddy. No one asked for your opinion.”
She starts the car and speeds down the long driveway and disappears from Daniel’s life forever. The moment Claudia leaves Daniel walks straight to his room and stares at himself in the mirror. Once again he looks like he hasn’t slept in days. Despite the furore, there is a sense of relief coupled with the feeling he has done the right thing. There’s a knock on his door but Daniel knows who it is even before they speak.
“Tell my father I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Yes, sir,” Hargreaves replies.
Daniel snatches up the contentious employment contract from a drawer, puts it inside his suit pocket and leaves the room. When he walks into the drawing room he finds his father sitting at his desk and lighting a cigar.
“Smoking’s bad for your health,” he tells John.
John looks disapprovingly at Daniel before taking a puff.
“Suppose you know what this means?” John asks.
Daniel answers jovially. “Yes, I’m poor. I don’t have a penny to my name. Except for the ballet company which is technically bankrupt. And you know something? I don’t care. Sounds clichéd but having no money actually makes me happy.”
He turns round with a conquering smile on his lips and strides to the door.
“Daniel!”
His father’s shriek makes Daniel stop in his tracks.
“I admit mistakes were made. I expected you to marry Claudia and live happily ever after,” John continues.
Daniel turns back slowly. “That only happens in fairy tales, Dad. Not in real life.”
“No, I think it happens in real life too. At least it did with your mother and me.
That is until I stopped caring and made her life miserable. I don’t want that to happen to you. So you can keep your inheritance and marry the girl of your dreams.”
Daniel shows no reaction and he may as well have been asked to comment on a blank canvas.
“You have nothing to say?” John asks.
“Keep the money, Dad.”
“What?”
“Keep it. Let me focus on the company instead.”
“You really don’t want it, do you?”
Daniel takes the employment contract from his inside pocket and drops it on a nearby coffee table.
“I just want to be bold for once in my life,” Daniel says. “Take a chance.”
“First sensible thing you’ve said, son. Only sensible thing you’ve said.” The pair chuckle together and John suggests softly, “Well? Shouldn’t you be going after her?”
Daniel nods to his father and rushes out of the room while John takes another puff of his cigar. He drops the cigar on a nearby ashtray and opens up one of the drawers. Underneath a tidy stack of invoices, receipts and bills lies John’s most treasured possession. He takes out the framed photo of his wife and son together and places it gently in front of him.
Meanwhile, Daniel drives out of the manor house courtyard a happier man. He passes the lake and the swans flap their wings and screech in high volume. Daniel is not an expert in ‘bird speak’ but he suspects it’s a pat on the back rather than an insult. When he arrives at Sarah’s home he parks his car by the kerb and dashes up the drive. He rings the doorbell a couple of times but there’s no answer. So he goes round the side and peers in through a window but he can’t see anything and he pulls himself away.
“Where are you?” he murmurs.
* * *
Some 20 miles away, Sarah arrives at the theatre in Elizabeth’s car. She and Elizabeth hardly exchange a word during the journey and, quite honestly, Sarah has no idea what she’s doing here. She knows she won’t be able to finish the dance; in fact she’ll be lucky to get through the second act. Elizabeth stops the car outside the theatre and Sarah grimaces as she looks up at the building.
It’s still early and the production isn’t due to begin for another four hours, this gives Sarah enough time to either prepare for her dance or to run. As she walks toward her newly constructed changing room, she passes a few dancers who are already there. They turn to her one by one and can’t believe what they see. Sarah walks into a private section of the changing room and shuts the door. She catches sight of her Swan Queen costume which hangs on the wardrobe door and walks up to it. Of course, she’s not due to wear it until the matinee tomorrow. Sarah remains inside the changing room and barely takes her eyes off the costume. The hours drift by until she hears the theatre clock chime 5.00pm, that’s when her breathing hastens and she opens up a drawer full of makeup items to distract herself.
Outside the Odette Carmichael Theatre, streams of people dressed in formal wear line up to enter the auditorium. Among them is Mrs Hays, the elderly lady who Daniel was speaking with on that first day. She gazes round to see if she can spot him, but she can’t find him anywhere and sighs in disappointment. Felicity and Andre were supposed to be selling the programmes together, but Felicity wouldn’t be caught dead selling stuff to anyone. So it’s left to Andre to once again pick up the pieces. He has trouble keeping up, though, as the programmes are selling like hot cakes. Felicity watches Andre from a corner and can’t believe how many people have turned up; astonishingly, the opening night performance was sold out within two days and it was all thanks to Sarah’s shrewd marketing campaign in Hyde Park. After a few minutes Felicity has seen enough of Sarah’s triumph and while everyone makes their way into the theatre, she makes her way out.
By now it’s approaching 5.30pm so there’s a whole hour and a half before the transformation. However, Sarah’s not the only one worried about the performance and Elizabeth’s taken to drinking large cups of coffee to calm herself. She walks through the long corridor sipping intermittently from her coffee mug and nods to each of the dancers. They can see what she’s going through and Amy steps forward telling her,
“Don’t worry, Miss Smith. We won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t, Amy,” Elizabeth replies with a smile.
As soon as Amy leaves, Elizabeth turns slowly to Sarah’s part of the changing room and stares at the door. She needs to speak with Sarah urgently, so she moves her hand quickly to the doorknob, but fails to move it any further.
“You’ll be fine, dear,” Elizabeth whispers.
Just behind the door, Sarah sits in front of her dressing table and gazes at herself in the mirror. After a few more minutes of contemplation she applies a sequence of paints, powders and eyeliners on to her face and gradually transforms herself into the Swan Queen. Her normal precision falters and it ends up looking messy and unprofessional. It’s unlikely anyone will notice but Sarah is a perfectionist and she rubs her face raw and starts again. Just then there’s a loud knock at the door. “Look, whoever it is, go away,” she cries.
Isobel barges in and is already in costume. She takes one look at Sarah, walks up to her and says, “I don’t know what’s going on but you need help.”
Isobel starts to apply the make-up again and does so with much greater precision. In the midst of it Sarah looks in the direction of the stage. She can sense the rest of the dancers, including Amy, Ian and Robert take up their places. Since Sarah’s not on for another 25 minutes it gives Isobel time to tie Sarah’s hair into a classic ballet bun and attach the white feathers and tiara on to her hair. Now all Sarah needs to do is change into her Swan Queen costume.
“You’re a prima ballerina to die for!” Isobel comments.
Isobel crosses the ro
om and opens the door when Sarah calls out, “Hey,” Isobel turns and Sarah jokes, “Break a leg!”
The girls giggle and Isobel leaves shutting the door after her. Sarah removes her clothes and steps into her Swan Queen costume taking care not to get any make-up smears on it. When she finishes the task she steps in front of the mirror and sees herself for the first time as the mythical beauty. The dress is delicate and beautiful and hugs her petite frame like a second skin. The diamond encrusted tiara she wears sparkles in the light and her ballet shoes, although not pristine, adds to the overall elegance of her costume. Music blares out from the auditorium and Sarah gasps. In 15 minutes it’ll be her turn to walk on stage and as she closes her eyes she can see the movements of her fellow dancers in her mind. She knows that Ian will be performing his solo and that five minutes later Robert and Amy will be dancing the pas de deux. The minutes count down like seconds and Sarah opens her eyes as it’s time for her to take her place. She steps out of the changing room and can feel her heart pound with every step. A myriad of dancers, stagehands and other theatre-folk are watching her with anticipation and Sarah nods to them before entering the stage.
The gruelling second act begins and Sarah and Ian dance the love scene. All that hard work seems to be paying off as their performance is flawless. But act three is when Sarah really shines. She transforms herself into the evil Odile and encompasses a look of pure wickedness. She devours the dance rather than glides through it. She exudes confidence with every step and when she looks into Ian’s eyes, it’s hypnotic. Sarah finishes the remnants of this enticing act and the audience leap to their feet. Sarah and Ian watch a wave of adulation sweep across the auditorium and are truly touched. If this were the end Sarah could leave and everything would be fine, but there’s one more act to complete and by the time she comes off stage it’s nearly 6.50. Everyone backstage congratulates Sarah on a job well done, but all she can do is make a beeline for a bottle of water and gulp it down.
“Slow down, you’ll choke yourself!” Elizabeth rebukes.
Sarah slams the bottle down, takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She keeps her back to Elizabeth so she has no idea how stressed Sarah looks. It’s time for the last act and all Sarah needs to do is hold it together for two 15 minute sessions. She joins the other ‘swans’ currently on stage and dances quite well. Elizabeth looks on and claps her hands in time with the music, giving them instructions under her breath. The music signals a change and the swan dancers run backstage and rejoice, they have performed well, and no one is happier than Elizabeth. Isobel catches her breath and wipes the sweat from her brow. She smiles at Amy, confirming a job well done, but sensing something, she walks slowly back to the side, where she watches Sarah perform. Sarah once again dances to the full house in the auditorium. The audience, who only a few minutes ago gave her a standing ovation now watch her with disdain. A few of them squirm and a few more shake their heads. Her performance is lacking something now and she’d be the first one to admit it. Isobel is joined by Amy, who comments,
“Is she OK? She looks drained.”
Isobel replies with a concerned, “I hope she makes it.”
Sarah moves across the floor and uses everything she has to complete the first 15 minutes. The curtain falls and she staggers backstage while set designers rearrange the set for the finale. Elizabeth says something to her but Sarah ignores her and practically runs away. She somehow makes it to the changing room, slams the door and breathes very quickly. When she holds up her hand she sees a couple of her fingers grow longer and a helpless grimace crosses her lips.
Backstage things aren’t looking much better. Elizabeth has no idea where Sarah is and she starts to look worried. The clock is ticking and Sarah should have been back two minutes ago. Elizabeth signals Andre to come forward and tells him,
“I want you to go on stage and tell everyone the show is cancelled.”
Andre nods slowly and is about to reply when he sees Sarah walking up. He stares at her like he’s watching a phantom and so do the others. She is as white as a sheet and is sweating profusely, but she manages to make it to the side ready for her entrance. A torrent of thoughts races through her head, the most important of which is, “how can I complete this dance?” She’s already lasted longer than she thought she could, but then no one else can take her place and the theatre will close if she doesn’t finish. This is one week she could’ve done without. She actually wishes her Uncle Victor was with her. After all, he is the only one who really understands what she is going through. The orchestra starts the introduction and she turns sharply to the front. Her eyes show real fear and her feet move forward and move back. That’s when she hears Elizabeth’s calming voice,
“You can do this.” Sarah turns to Elizabeth who is standing beside her. “You always could,” Elizabeth reaffirms.
Sarah nods and walks on stage.
As the curtain rises Sarah begins to dance but her moves look cumbersome and lack finesse. She can feel the time of change approaching but perseveres nonetheless. And then the inevitable happens and her fingers change and become longer. Her breathing becomes laboured. Every move is agony and she can barely lift her arms, let alone appear graceful. She spins but her knees buckle and she tumbles to the floor. She looks down to the floor and fights back tears. The audience, fellow dancers and Elizabeth watch her helplessly. After a long few seconds Sarah picks herself up and runs backstage – where she sees Daniel waiting for her.
“You have no idea how difficult it was for me to find you,” he says calmly. Sarah looks down and sobs as Daniel walks up to her and explains. “I’ve learnt a lot about myself these last few months. I’ve learnt that I’m selfish and egotistical and crude. And something more... I’m stupid.”
Sarah continues to look down while Daniel speaks, “Because I never appreciated how wonderful you are... But if you could forgive me... Take it one step at a time.”
He lifts her chin up slowly and sees that her eyes have turned black.
“I promise I’ll love you for the rest of my life.”
He kisses her and Sarah closes her eyes. Her entire life flashes before her like a cinematic review. She sees her mother cradling her in her arms. The first ballet lesson she takes with Miss Chermont. The fortuitous night she meets Daniel at the lakeside. And the day she visits the manor house, the day she fell in love with him. Daniel draws back after a lingering kiss but Sarah still has her eyes closed. When she opens them her eyes are back to their normal dark brown. She holds up her hand to see her fingers have not changed. Sarah jumps up and hugs him while Isobel, Elizabeth and Amy look on with smiles.
“Thank you! You don’t know what this means to me!” she exclaims.
Daniel touches her hair gently but when he hears several audience members start to jeer it makes him glance to the stage.
“I think they want you,” he says tenderly.
Sarah releases him and turns back to the stage.
Within a matter of minutes the curtain goes up and clouds of dry ice engulf the stage. Various audience members both young and old look at one another and nod. And Sarah stands in the centre, poised for the dance. She begins and her movements are precise and perfect and her expression sublime. She has become the Swan Queen once again and Daniel watches from the side with tears in his eyes. She twirls, dips, leaps and pirouettes. She moves round the stage with effortless grace. This is her best performance yet and those who watch her know it. She once again gets lost in that other world, only this time there’s no bird man to stifle her. The music rises and Sarah completes her dance to coincide with the last few bars of Swan Lake and a barrage of fireworks. The audience riots into applause and the theatre thunders. Sarah looks up. She smiles and curtseys.
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