Page 42 of The Virgin's Dance
Boh was taking notice of everything Kristof was doing as they approached curtain up. All afternoon, he had been distracted but still barking out insults, his pupils dilated, his skin sweaty. She guessed he was on something, but she was surprised he was letting it show so readily.
She rubbed her wrist. During the last rehearsal ofThe Lesson, he had been rough with her, rougher than necessary, and at one point, had twisted her wrist so hard she’d cried out. He’d dropped her arm immediately, looking a little shocked himself. He’d muttered an apology and disappeared back to his dressing room, presumably to take a little more of whatever his poison was.No matter.Her wrist was fine, just a little achy, but when she ran through her port de bras, it felt fine.
Despite her concern about Kristof, she felt a calm descend on her. She knew the pieces, knew every move, every step, jump, pirouette. She forgot about the audience who was gathering out front—all except one person. Tonight, she would be dancing for the man she loved, and she wanted to impress and move him with every step.
“Miss Dali? Fifteen minutes, please.”
Calm. Breathe in, breathe out. Boh got up and knocked on the adjoining door. Lexie was sitting at her makeup table, and Boh could see the apprentice was trembling. She had been given the role of the housekeeper inThe Lesson, a reward for working so hard and impressing Grace, but Boh could see the young girl was terrified. She hugged her.
“Lexie, darling, you will be superb. You’ll out-dance both Kristof and myself, so don’t be scared.” Bo looked around conspiratorially. “Don’t say I said this, but there’s talk in the ballet company. When you move to the corps, don’t expect to be there long. There’s talk of a soloist role by the end of next season.”
Lexie’s eyes grew big. “Are you kidding?”
“No, darling, I swear. The only person who doesn’t know you are as good as you are is you.”
“Thank you, Boh.”
As the music began, Pilot’s heart swelled. His sister, seated beside him, nudged him and grinned. Blair Scamo sat on his other side. Any moment now, he would see his love, his adored Boh dancing on this magnificent stage, and for a moment, he didn’t know how his heart would be able to cope with it. She had brought him such, joy, such happiness that seeing her in her element … he couldn’t find the words. He looked at his mother, who smiled at him. “You like Boh, right?”
“Darling, that girl is your other half. I can see it, Romana can see it … Boh is your person and I’m delighted for you both.”
Pilot felt his throat get full, and he smiled and nodded, but couldn’t speak.
And then the ballet began. As he watched, Boh danced onto the stage, coquettish and flirtatious with Vlad’s James, seducing him with her gentleness and ethereal beauty away from his fiancée.
As Boh had promised him, he got lost in the story of it. La Sylphide, a wood spirit, seduced a young man, James, away from his fiancée, and the rejected woman worked with a witch to have her revenge. They were performing Act II of the ballet, where the two lovers were discovered by the wedding party. Pilot watched as Boh and Vlad were convinced by the witch that the scarf she held was a magic scarf that would bind them together.
As the scarf was wrapped around Boh/La Sylphide, she began a movement which played out the tragedy—the scarf was poisoned, and La Sylphide died in James’ arms. Pilot felt his chest tighten as Boh acted out her death scene.They’re acting.Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mother wiping a tear away.
As James died from a broken heart, the curtain came down to rapturous applause from the audience. Pilot was on his feet as the dancers took their curtain call and Boh winked at him from the stage. Romana whooped, garnering surprised looks from the staid audience, but she didn’t care.
Pilot paid little attention to the second part,Romeo and Juliet. Instead he was trying to finalize the arrangement of his photographs in the exhibition. There were so many great shots of Boh that he had an embarrassment of riches to choose from, but he needed to make sure the collection was cohesive.
At interval, Romana chuckled at him. “Dude, did you even see a step of that last part?”
Pilot shrugged. “Not really.”
“Thinking about the exhibit?”
He nodded. “I really need to make sure I have captured Boh, not just at rest, but the way she moves, the fluidity …”
Romana coughed “geek” into her hand and Pilot gave her the finger. His mother was talking to some other guests, and he felt a frisson of excitement go through the room. Romana sensed it too. “Guess everyone’s been waiting for this last one.”
“Guess so.”
As they filed back into the auditorium, he could not help but feel uneasy. Again, he reminded himself that it was just a performance, and he hoped he could keep it together when the ballet got to its most controversial moment.
As the curtain went up, he took in a deep breath and waited.
Chapter Twenty-One
Boh knew something was wrong as soon as Kristof made his entrance. His eyes looked wild, unfocused, and angry. She hoped it was just the character, but she knew better. To his credit, though, he played the part perfectly, and Boh was reminded of what a great dancer he once had been.
But as the murder scene approached, she began to feel disturbed. The way he touched her was rough, too rough even for this violent ballet, even for the “Teacher” obsessed with his pupil. As the finale approached, Kristof brought out the prop knife and danced around with it, Boh’s character in front of him oblivious to his intentions as he danced behind her.
The moment arrived and Boh turned, seeing the knife for the first time and cringing away as he slashed at her. The knife sliced through the air, then as he brought it back the other way, it skimmed her body, slashing across her stomach.
Oh God, no…
