Rouge (#1 in the Cheveux Roux series) Read online

  Teeny’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. I pressed my lips together, hoping he hadn’t overheard me.

  “Are you Miss Hale?” a male voice said.

  I turned to find the fellow in question looking down at us. He had bright blue eyes, and when he smiled, as much as I wanted to dislike him, I had to confess it was very friendly. Teeny’s fingernails cut into my forearm.

  “Ow—yes,” I said.

  “They were right,” he murmured.

  “Sorry?” I leaned forward, and he blushed. It was terribly cute—not that it made a difference, of course.

  Then he cleared his throat and spoke louder. “Ready to test this thing out?”

  I peered into the rafters above. “Is it going to drop me?”

  “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

  Again, fingernails pierced my arm. “Ow!” I pulled away. “I just need to… Have you met my…” I realized it was the first time I’d introduced Teeny to anyone new. I didn’t know what to call her.

  “I’m Christina,” she said, stepping from behind me. I made way, amazed at the sudden maturity in her voice. “Hale and I share a room.”

  “Beauregard Faire,” he said, bowing his head slightly. Then he winked at her. “But everyone just calls me Beau.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you, Beau” she gushed, extending her small hand, palm down.

  I watched his confused expression as he tentatively shook her fingers, and I bit back a giggle at her failed attempt at gentility. Stage hands weren’t known for kissing hands any more than ladies were known for shaking them.

  “Let’s get a move on,” Mastiff’s other worker called from above. “Or are you three about to sit down to tea?”

  “Just helping Miss Hale with the ladder, Jim,” Beau shouted up at him. Then he turned back to me and smiled. “Do you think you can manage it?”

  At least he had some manners, although where he’d gotten them I didn’t have time to wonder. “I guess I’d better,” I said, looking up. “Teence…” Fingernails again. “Sorry. Christina, I think Rosa could use some help with the costumes now.”

  “I’ll go right away,” she said. “Will you be at lunch, Beau?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he laughed. “I’m hungry now!”

  “Me too,” she said, leaning toward him. My eyes widened.

  “Teeny. Rosa. Now.”

  She cut her eyes at me and turned to go. I shook my head. I’d worry about this infatuation later—if it was even worth the worry. Beau seemed more confused by her flirtations than tempted, and he didn’t seem the type to take advantage of a little girl’s crush.

  I made my way to the back wall where I could climb with some modesty, and for a moment I wished we still wore pantalets. The stage floor appeared much farther down from the top of the scaffolding, but I tried not to seem uneasy. Beau held the swing for me while I positioned my seat. He strapped the safety belt around my waist and clipped the second rope to it, and I was impressed by his gentle touch. For a stage hand.

  “Don’t be nervous, Miss Hale,” he said.

  “I’m not nervous,” I lied, pretending to be cavalier. “I just hope you boys know what you’re doing.”

  “We’ll ease you down slowly. Roland will set the pace,” he said. “Just try to relax and sing.”

  I squinted at the floor below, but I couldn’t make out a thing. It was all darkness with the bright lights shining in our faces.

  “This gives ‘break a leg’ a whole new meaning,” I joked weakly. Beau frowned. “It’s an expression,” I said.

  The music rose from below, and they released me on three. My breath caught as I swung out over the stage, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sing. Roland shouted up to me from the darkness.

  “Lean into it, Hale! Like it’s the most wonderful thing you’ve ever done,” he ordered.

  I flew out and was just beginning to see their faces. They were still so far away, but I inhaled and sang out the words to the final number.

  You reach for me, and I disappear.

  My heart is what you long to share…

  A loud groan was followed by a sharp crack, and my heart flew to my throat. The bench went slack, and instantly I was hurtling to the stage floor below. My arms flew out, trying to grab anything, but all I found was air.

  I didn’t have time to scream. Every muscle tensed as I prepared for the slam, but at the last moment, I heard a shout. A force jerked my waist so hard what was left of my breath whooshed out of my body in a groan. I faintly heard another shout before I was lifted by the leather belt around my middle and dropped again, this time more slowly to the stage.

  Everything was a blur. I couldn’t focus on anything but filling my lungs with air again. I was lying on my stomach, and the pain in my middle was mind-numbing. The belt had nearly cut me in half, and my arms and legs felt paralyzed. The cast and crew were around me, and I barely recognized Roland flying to my side, pulling up my blouse and checking my skin.

  “Hale?” His voice broke with panic as he unfastened the buckle at my back. “Can you hear me?”

  I tried to nod, but I couldn’t. I was still dazed. He gently rolled me onto my side, and through my haze, I saw Jim in the wings helping Beau down the ladder. When he got to the stage, Beau jogged to where I was lying. He was holding his hands awkwardly, and I saw blood running down his forearms.

  “Is she hurt?” His voice was desperate. “Miss Hale?”

  “You need to come with me,” Jim was pulling him, but he jerked away.

  “Is she going to be okay? I tried to hold her.”

  Roland’s cool hand went to my forehead. “Can you hear me, cher?”

  I looked into his dark eyes and was able to nod this time. “Can’t breathe,” I whispered. His forehead relaxed.

  “Oh, god,” Roland exhaled, dropping his head. “She’s okay.”

  A low murmur crossed the group, and Roland inhaled raggedly. Then he sniffed and lifted me in his arms. “I’ll take you to your room.”

  Jim was leading Beau away, and I glanced just in time to see Carla pulling his hands back. Inch-thick bloody lines tore down both his palms, and his face contorted as she poured red-orange mercurochrome on them.

  “Shredded your hands all right, but it’s lucky you caught her,” I heard Jim saying. “She’d be dead.”

  I shuddered and leaned my head against Roland’s shoulder. He tightened his grip around me. “This will not happen again,” he said through clenched teeth as he carried me to my dressing room.

  Roland placed me on the bed. “I’ll get Rosa to come and check you over,” he said and someone handed him a small bottle. “Here, drink this.”

  He gave me a capful of bitter brown liquid. I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes as consciousness slipped away.

  Chapter 4

  When I opened my eyes again, it was night. My lamp was lit, and when I saw my nurse, my breath caught. Evie was leaning with her back against my bedside holding one of Rosa’s books. I hadn’t seen her since her birthday, and I’d been too frightened to ask anyone where she was. She looked at me and smiled.

  “There she is,” she said in a soft voice. “How’re you feeling now?”

  I nodded, easing myself up to a sitting position. “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Oh, since yesterday. Doc gave you more laudanum for the pain and said you should sleep it off.”

  “Where’s Teeny?” My voice was thick and rough.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Evie said. “She bunked in with Rosa last night.”

  I pulled up my shirt to reveal a hideous purple and black line around my torso.

  Evie gasped. “Oh, god, Hale!”

  “Better than being dead, I guess,” I tried to joke.

  “Are you in pain?”

  “Only when I move.” I leaned gingerly against the pillows, trying to be still.

  My old friend slid her fingers under my hand. With her other she patted the top of it. We were quiet several minutes
, and all I could think about was not asking how she’d been or what had happened to her. She didn’t meet my gaze, and I wondered if she knew what I was thinking. A tap at the door broke the silence.

  “Yes,” Evie called. Roland peeked his head in.

  “How is she?” he whispered.

  “Ask her yourself.” Evie stood and moved to the head of my bed. Roland came and knelt beside me. His hand went where Evie’s had been around mine.

  “I could kill those apes,” he grumbled. Then he looked up at me and smiled. “But I’m glad to see you’re awake. Moving around some?”

  “As little as possible,” I said. “Still sore.”

  He sat on the side of my bed. “I’ll never get that image of you falling out of my head.”

  I looked down.

  “Got rid of that Jim,” he continued. “Seems young Beau warned him that pulley wasn’t strong enough to hold more than fifty pounds.” He paused, and I watched his jaw clench. “I could’ve beaten him to death for putting you at risk like that. He should’ve said something.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I’m okay now.”

  “Lucky for him.”

  I remembered the blood. “His hands—”

  “The girls are all calling him a hero,” Evie said. “They’re taking dibs on who gets to help him change those bandages.”

  “The girls are idiots,” Roland grumbled. “They should save their tricks for the fellows with money.”

  “He was brave,” she insisted. “Reached right out and grabbed that rope. It was flying by, and he just grabbed it. Shredded his hands, but he caught you.”

  I shuddered at the memory of his wounds. “I should thank him.”

  “You just take it easy,” Roland said. “We need you ready to go for tomorrow night.

  “Tomorrow? But what about tonight?” I tried to jump up but was halted by a sharp pain in my torso that made me gasp. “I have to sing tonight. No one else can do the numbers!”

  Roland caught my shoulders. “Easy.”

  “She’s a trouper,” Evie said. “Don’t worry, cher. They’ve already worked it to do everything but your parts tonight.”

  My worried eyes found Roland’s, and he shrugged. “We’ve added some extra dance numbers, more Frank and Carla. It won’t be the same without you, but we’ll make it work.” He stood and then leaned back to kiss my head. “Sleep.”

  Evie followed him to the door and he stopped. He spoke to her in a low voice, but I could hear part of what he said.

  “Will that work for you?” he asked. I watched Evie nod and look down.

  “They’ll tip you extra for your silence,” he said.

  She didn’t look up at him. “If Gavin says it’s okay.”

  Roland gently patted her cheek. “Leave that to me.”

  Cautious hope filled me as I watched them. They could only be talking about one thing, but was it possible that Roland could actually help her? He didn’t have any money, and he’d never seemed able to change anything. But maybe he could?

  Evie shut the door behind him and walked back to where I lay. “Just you and me tonight,” she breathed, sitting and picking up her book. “Want me to read to you? This one’s blazing. Might read it before my next visitor.”

  I tried to smile, but the thought of what she meant made my throat tight.

  “I think I’ll try and sleep if I’m actually being ordered to.” Then a flash of panic hit me. “Where’s Teeny?”

  “In the wings watching. She’s convinced the show’ll be just awful without you. Actually we’re all pretty curious.”

  I was quiet a moment, but I needed to know. “So you’re not dancing at all now?”

  Her eyes flickered to mine. “No need for that.” She tried to laugh, “And Fiona’s glad to have me gone, I’m sure.”

  I nodded and looked down. I’d known Evie so long, I didn’t want to make her feel ashamed. I thought of how proud she’d been to be a dancer, and I wondered if she ever thought of leaving now that her fate had turned. Now that she was selling herself for money.

  “It’s not so bad, you know,” she said, reading my mind. “I mean, the first one was bad. It wasn’t how I’d planned it to be.”

  Her voice trailed off and her eyes looked past me at some memory.

  “Did it hurt?” My voice was barely above a whisper.

  She sniffed and pushed her hair back. “First time always hurts,” she said. “But Gavin found an older fellow. He was gentle.”

  “Oh, Evie.” Tears were threatening in my eyes, but I fought them back. If she could talk about it without them, certainly I could listen without them. For her.

  She stood and walked over to my bed, straightened the blanket and fluffed my pillow. “No need to go all sentimental,” she said. “I knew what went on here. I could’ve left.”

  “You wanted to be a dancer.”

  “I was never any good.” I watched as she studied her hand a moment, spreading her fingers. “I will miss having a family.”

  My whole body was clenched and painful and tears were threatening again. “I’m so sorry.”

  She dropped her hand. “Well, don’t worry about me. And now Roland’s found these two gentlemen who want me exclusive.”

  “Roland—? But he…” I couldn’t finish. Roland was supposed to be on our side! How could he be helping Gavin?

  “I know, and I wasn’t sure at first. Especially as I see them at the same time.”

  “The same time?” I bit my lip. “What does that mean?”

  She studied my face a moment. “I promised to keep it a secret, so I probably shouldn’t be saying.”

  I realized I was leaning forward and stopped. Evie waited, but sickness was in my stomach. I didn’t want to know what it meant, and I couldn’t believe Roland betrayed us.

  “Then you shouldn’t say,” I said, my voice flat. “Goodnight.”

  She frowned. “You’re tired?”

  I nodded and pulled the blanket over my shoulder. She didn’t believe me, but she didn’t pursue it. I felt like my world had tilted sideways as I closed my tear-filled eyes. I’d grown used to trusting Roland, but now I realized I’d been acting like a child, trying to escape the knowledge that it was up to me alone. I was the only one who could change our fate here.

  A long time passed before I drifted into an anxious sleep, and when I awoke much later, the room was dark. Evie was gone, but Teeny was curled up beside me. I turned and saw her bright head sleeping on the pillow, and I curled with my arms around her. She whispered words in her sleep, and all I could think about was Freddie.

  Chapter 5

  The revised show dominated the morning rehearsal chatter. I moved slowly to the coffee, trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

  “She’s up and moving!” Roland called as he crossed the stage to where I stood. I didn’t meet his eyes. “Still smarting?”

  I nodded, focusing on my cup.

  “This came for you last night. Mr. Lovel, I presume.” He pulled out a small box with a card and handed it to me with a flourish. I took it quickly. “We can practice whenever you’re ready.”

  He gave my arm a squeeze before returning to the piano, but the warmth his affectionate gestures used to give me was gone. Looking anywhere but at him, my eyes landed on Beau standing nearby. The hero. I needed to thank him, but Minette had him cornered. She was wearing a low-cut bustier, and her ample bosom was pressed against his arm as she described some problem in her dressing room with dramatic sweeping gestures. He seemed confused and quite distracted by her assets.

  I decided to save my thanks and carried my cup with the package to a small table where Teeny sat watching the pair, an annoyed expression on her face.

  “What do you have?” she whispered, leaning forward.

  “A gift from Freddie.” I placed the box on the table and opened the card, a plain ivory sheet folded in half. I’d just started to read the words written in an elegant

  script when Teeny swept it out of my hand
and jumped up.

  “My darling Hale,” she read in a loud, affected voice as she sauntered around the table. Everyone, including Beau, looked her way. It was her goal, of course, but I was annoyed that it was at my expense. “I am in despair to hear you are ill.”

  “Teeny,” I scolded.

  “Not seeing you has taken all the brightness from my world, and I count the moments until we are together again.”

  “Do you mind?” I said louder.

  “I hope this small token will lift your spirits. Until tomorrow. Yours devotedly, Frederick Lovel.” She smiled, slanting her eyes at me. “That’s very nice.”

  “And I’ve failed miserably in teaching you manners.”

  But her trick worked. Beau had drifted closer to us, and she giggled, skipping over to him.

  “Who’s Frederick Lovel?” he asked.

  “Hale’s gentleman admirer,” Teeny answered for me. “Gavin sent him, and he’s just waiting for her to turn eighteen next month.”

  “A fact you just made up,” I said lifting the cup to my lips. The only comfort I found this morning was the dark liquid that warmed my insides.

  “Eighteen?” Beau looked surprised. “I thought you were older.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “She’s passing,” Teeny added with an expression of exaggerated disapproval.

  “Teeny!” She had no clue of her double entendre, but it irritated me anyway.

  “No, I meant,” Beau paused, seeming embarrassed.

  “That’s not so old. I’m only nineteen. We’re practically the same—”

  “We are not the same,” I snapped, but I was sorry. I really did want to thank him for saving my life.

  “You’re right,” he smiled, and his easy reply made me glance up at him.

  “Listen, I wanted to thank you—”

  “Don’t.” He cut me off. “There was no way I would’ve let you fall. I told you.”

  “Yes, but your hands—”

  “Will be well in a few days.”

  My eyes held his dark blue ones a moment, until I felt Teeny nearby frowning at this backfire. Beau’s gentle tone was too warm, so I smiled and nodded. Then I rose gingerly and walked slowly away, toward the piano.