Of course Carlotta threw an almighty tantrum and had finally flounced
off in a terrible huff, haughtily
stating that she would not return until the whole ridiculous scenario
had been resolved. A diva of her
standing in the world of opera should not be expected to take part
in petty squabbles between such
tawdry, meddlesome amateurs! Her leading man, a plump little Italian
tenor, had meekly followed
her beckoning finger and trailed off after her. And as if that
were not enough, old Buquet had
accidentally let fall one of the backdrops. It landed on stage
with such a crash that Carlotta almost
fainted with shock as the girls screamed and rushed frantically hither
and thither, excitedly shrieking
that the Phantom was there!
Meg had flown to Christine’s side and they had clutched at each other,
collapsing in hysterical
giggles as they viewed the commotion. Meg’s mother continued
to bring her stick down hard,
glaring at all and sundry; the two managers shouted themselves
hoarse but were mostly ignored. M.
Firmin mopped his brow and took a furtive gulp from his hip flask,
followed rapidly by a couple
more. M. André raked a hand through his immaculate fair
locks and raised his eyes heavenwards as
a couple of stagehands strolled on, dragging a large prop behind them
and seemingly unconcerned
about the fragile nerves of the leading artistes!
Really, it was sheer pandemonium and the noise was enough to give
one a severe headache,
Christine thought, suddenly longing for her quiet little dressing room.
Finally, his patience exhausted, M. Reyer had dismissed them all,
telling them to return at five
o’clock that evening, when there would be an additional rehearsal.
Everyone sagged with relief at
this welcome break and headed off to their dressing rooms to rest and
go over their scripts again,
have a light lunch and in some cases, an illicit but fortifying glass
or two of claret.
As for the ballet chorus, they were to return at four o’clock
sharp, said Madame Giry with a great
thwack of her stick and a glacial stare at her charges, else the consequences
would be dire for all
concerned! Still twittering and laughing nervously, they promised
to obey and ran off stage in a flurry
of twinkling little legs.
Christine had thankfully managed to lose Meg by encouraging her to spend
an hour with Jerôme, her
shy young admirer who worked in the carpentry department. Much
as she loved her friend, she felt
that she could not cope with her endless chatter at present, for she
now felt perilously close to tears
and desperately needed time on her own. She told Meg that she
had indeed developed a slight
headache and needed to sit alone quietly in order to calm herself and
rest for a while. Yes, yes, she
would be fine! Now run along and see Jerôme, dear.
We will meet again later this afternoon.
In her room, Christine covered a yawn as she opened her eyes;
she looked longingly at the rather
shabby chaise-longue standing against one wall. Its green brocade
covering had faded and was
quite worn in parts, but it looked so inviting that she dragged her
tired feet across the room and sank
down on it, a glance at the clock showing her that it was half an hour
since noon. She would have a
little rest – just for a short while, no more than an hour – and would
then make some tea to drink
with her almond pastry and go over her lines again.
Pulling the light quilt over herself, she sank down on the comfortable old bed, resting her head on the bolster. Letting her taut muscles gradually relax, within minutes she had drifted off to sleep.
And to dream...