18.
“Non….Non….” Lady Carlotta shrieked out. “She got it wrong.”
The whole ensemble for the rehearsal stopped. The ballerinas all stood there with their arms down watching then at the diva that held command on the stage.
“She …what’s her name again…Christina..or something got the chords wrong.” Carlotta screeched then at the conductor of the symphony. “Get her ….”
“No, she was right on the chords.” Monsieur Valerian rose from his piano stool. “I…”
“Be seated, Valerian.” The conductor motioned to the pianist. “Madame …Diva Carlotta, the ….”
“I am taking a break down. Get it right or I will not sing.” With that Madame Carlotta took off to the back stage. Christine had been watching the whole scene from the diva. She was shocked by the exchanges and stormed herself off to the backstage too. Madame Valerian pursued her ward while the mother of the child looked to her ballerinas.
“We shall resume our rehearsal.”
Christine was in tears when Madame Valerian placed the arm on her. She wept and then rushed to hold the lady who coached her.
“I did …everything to the note.” Christine cried out. “What is with the …Diva?”
“Because she is the Diva and you are not. Until you are one she holds the privileges.” Madame Valerian told Christine. “You must be tougher and above all, resilient to the callings here.”
The same did not apply to the Diva who was seething in rage. She stormed into her dressing unit and evicted the aide there who was using the makeup there. She sat herself before the makeup mirror, and stared into it.
“If you could talk, tell me I am still the Diva.” The diva looked at the mirror. “But you are not. We are not living in the fairies land and I am no Queen.”
The diva looked to the back of her hands. What was once smooth and free of veins but then it was contoured to look like the streets of London. She knew it age that caught up with her. Her voice stood the ravages to date but that day she felt threatened by the young singer. The younger lady held her chords well and above all, she was younger. She was her age then when the young Carlotta first started singing from the chorus lines to become the diva. She had a mentor then, an elderly singer who saw to her singing, career and her serving to him as his lover. She endured it all till she became the real Diva she was. Since then she had two husbands whom she married for wealth but her real love was the singing. She knew her time was soon to come when she had to retire but she wanted the finale to the career. The stint here will cap her final performance but not when the younger singer confronting her with the challenging voice.
“Madame Carlotta, are you alright?” It was Monsiuer Coligny who had stepped into the dressing room. He was distraught that she walked off the stage.
“Was the …singer not to your preference?” Coligny asked. “I will have her remove immediately.”
“Pour me a sherry, Monsieur.” Madame Carlotta told the man. “I am fine. It was just that she was …inexperienced.”
“Then I will have her removed.” Coligny handed over the glass after he poured it.
“No, she may stay. I will get the conductor to adjust for her voice. It will be fine.” The departing owner took leave of the diva. She was left alone once more and took her view of the face that stared back on the mirror. Coligny strolled back to the stage and saw Madame Valerian having returned there with the younger singer, Christine. He signalled the Madame to come over and they met at the far corner.
“I don’t know what happened…”
“Christine will improve, Monsieur Coligny.” Madame Valerian defended her protégé.
“And she will but I won’t tolerate…”
“No, Monsieur Coligny. Christine will …behave.” Madame Valerian intercepted the concerns of the other. She then turned to join her charges. She approached Christine.
“Do as I told you so. Don’t stretched your vocal there and lower the tone. The Diva needs to be heard and not you.” It was a command then an request. “If you want to continue on to sing here.”
Christine nodded then. She stepped over to the spot where she was stationed a short distance to the Diva. It was then she saw the Diva returning to the stage and then gave her the stare at her. She motioned to the Conductor and gave her instructions. At that moment, Christine felt her body sagged with the stress that she was having then. She has been training for days. It was then she thought of her lover, Raoul. She wondered how he was doing in his service. She heard rumours that the Comte was buying the House. If that happens and with her relationship on-going with Raoul, she might get to be the diva she was imagining then.
“Ladies, should we take it from the last bit.” The Conductor was tapping his stick on the podium stand.
CARMEN
Ah! that's not gallantly put,
but no matter, go, you'll take to it there
when you see
how fine is the wandering life;
the whole world your domain,
your own free will for law,
and above all that intoxicating thing:
Freedom! Freedom!
ALL (to Don José)
Take to the country with us,
come with us into the mountains,
come with us and you'll take to it there
when you see, away over there,
how fine is the wandering life;
the whole world your domain,
your own free will for law!
And above all that intoxicating thing:
Freedom! Freedom!
The open sky, the wandering life,
the whole wide world your domain;
your own free will for law,
and above all that intoxicating thing:
Freedom! Freedom!
That last line came out with vigour from Chrsitine. She was looking forward to the freedom when Raoul returned. She will be the Diva then.
19.
Lenier stepped down to the catacombs below. He seldom went there; it was not he feared the dark but the place was inhospitable to the living except for the desperate.
“Emil, I need you up here.” Leneir called out. He had met Emil when he came down here. It was two years ago when he was told that there were some rodents below by Coligny.
“Monsieur, there are always rodents in the catacombs. We are…” Lenier was cut-off then.
“I know that the catacombs running below us are wide and interconnected to the other buildings but I want them stopped. Can you imagine if a rodent ran across the stage during a performance?” Coligny made his argument then and Lenier took to the catacombs. He armed himself with the overall, the holding bag and the packet of aromatic herbs. He took one the lantern to light his way there. He took to the one of the several doors that will give access below. The onslaught of the smell was there, with the stench of the decaying dead buried there. He took to the steps and walked on the arranged walkways. He had been there before but that was months ago, and it was a quick visit to check on a similar quest but he found then was a hog. He caught the hog and served it at the next serving.
Lenier wandered around and saw the rodents. They are always there and welcomed to the leftovers he threw there. He had an understanding with them; they stayed below or unless someone complained of them. He reached down to the murky waters there and twirled the surface. It was his signal for the rodents to come forth.
“It’s time to sacrifice some of your friends.” The rodents came when the signal was heard. Lenier saw them massing around him, of all growth sizes but he needed was only a few older ones. He reached down with his right hand and grabbed the large one by the neck. His fingers went around the head and then closed in with the crunch grip. The rodent struggled but it was soon dead. The rodents had remained there while he grabbed the second one. He was grabbing the third one when the voice shouted at him.
“St…Stop!” Lenier was stunned. He thought the rodents called him then but when he saw the crouched figure at the corner. The ambient of the catacombs was dimmed in the light and the lantern light did not reached there.
“Who are you?” Lenier was never one to be scared of the dark but then he felt a shiver on his body. He stepped over to the figure but the other was already running.
“Stop!” Lenier gave chase on the walkway. He ran along the walkway chasing the figure that seems to know his way. He was not the age when he could out run most of his military mates but he was a crafty man. He tossed the lantern at the fleeing figure. The lantern hit on the other and caused him to fall. Lenier reached and pulled the fallen figure. He pulled the face to look at and cringed at what he saw. He had seen many wounded and maimed but he was prepared for the hideous face that confronted him. He pulled back his hand and formed a fist. He wanted to smash the face then but another voice stopped him.
“Stop! Do not hurt him.” It was Madame Giry. “He is …. my boy.”
It was how Lenier met Emil.
And knew Madame Giry’s secret.
“How…How long had he remained there?” Lenier asked the Madame when they took the boy out of the catacombs. They met at the kitchen where the boy fed his fill for the first time in years. “He can’t be … your son.”
Madame Giry explained the situation with the boy and how she placed him there.
“Where else could I placed him? Look at him. You will not even look at him.” It was true then that Lenier will not stare at the boy’s face.
“He has to go. We can’t have him here.” Lenier stated his view. “You could send him to the …”
“Did I not say he is my….son?” Madame Giry voiced out her earlier statement. “He…”
“He is not your son. He may be someone’s son but not yours.” Lenier snapped back.
“Okay, I will tell you the truth. I picked…I stole him from the circus that was in Paris some time back. I felt pity for him. Can you …please find a place for him? He is strong.”
Lenier did not reply then. He stepped away and retrieved the bottle of cognac that he stored away for occasions like that. He took two gulps before he looked at her.
“No, I can’t have him here. He will….Monsieur Debienne ….Coligny…will not allowed that.” Lenier shook his head. “I have no place for him.”
“He can stay below. He has been doing it for some time now. He can …help you …with your works. You always complained that there are repairs that you do at night.” Madame Giry looked at the man she owed much then. “I will be nicer to you.”
“No, you need not be. I will take ……care of him.” It was a bold statement made by Lenier. “He stayed below. He stayed hidden. Until I can figure out where he can stay.”
It was then Madame Giry leaned over to kiss him. His mind flashed to the scene in Romeo and Juliet.
O happiness unalloyed! O immense joy!
Heaven itself has received our/their loving vows!
God of goodness! God of mercy!
Be Thou blessed by two happy hearts! etc.
Ô pur bonheur ! ô joie immense !
Le ciel même a reçu nos/leurs serments amoureux !
Dieu de bonté ! Dieu de clémence !
Sois béni par deux cœurs heureux ! etc.
20.
Firin sat up on the bedding and then reached for the dressing gown to place over his shoulder. He felt the tug on the gown by his lover Trevor. He turned around and looked at the figure laid on the bedding displaying his morning glory then.
“Surely you wouldn’t want to miss this.” Trevor stroked himself before the man but Firmin was uninterested then. He pulled the robe to his body and approached the chamber pot. He stood there to release his bladder of the night’s load but his mind was still on the matter that he discussed with his financial backers.
It was held at the private room at the Gentlemen’s Club, with the three attendees there facing Firmin.
“I trust you know that the Opera House is not the only one in Paris. And it notoriety with the Phantom rumours was one factor that drove the attendance there. They are ever curious to meet the elusive Phantom.” The prominent member of the backers voiced out in his colonial ascent. “I did not come from Louisiana to place my funds on rumours.”
“Sir, I can assure you that the rumours as you were advised on are true but the other allure of the place is the reputation of the House. But our real allure is the catacombs below. It offered us a hidden passage to the river front where our goods could be delivered unseen and … in safety numbers.”“Mwen dakò..” The slim figure dressed in the three piece suit spoke in Creole Haitian. He shifted in his seat and looked at the third figure seated there. “Francois, I am sure you will agree with me. We cannot risk our funds on some unfounded rumours but if the catacombs there are of use, we can agree to it.”
“Then we have your consent, gentlemen.” Firmin beamed up. It had been an uphill battle with this bunch of backers to the revolution in Haiti but he needed the funds to channel some off for his own retirement. He will secure the armaments and shipped it off by the river to the French coast and from there to the larger ships that will sail for Louisiana and then by small boats to Haiti. It was a good plan and fortune to be made.
And the fuck of the young son of the Louisiana backer named Trevor.
But there was a catch.
“Firmin, if we failed in this venture, we stand lose our plantations both in Louisiana and Haiti to the French. If we do, your life will be forfeited but death will not fast. The swamps at both places have very interesting inhabitants.”
Firmin have heard of threats to his life before but what he saw on first visit to the plantation when the runaway slave was thrown into the alligator pit was too much to handle. It was more than gruesome to see your limbs removed earlier being fed to the creatures before you are thrown in as the main meal.
“Surely, you do want this.” Firmin felt the thrust at his rear and the arms that went around his waist to hold him. He grabbed the hands there and turned around. He looked at his younger lover and smiled.
“Make me want you.” Firmin pushed the other hands to his manhood but the later pulled away.
“It’s filthy there. Wash it first.” Firmin was told but he was insistent on it. He grabbed Trevor’s head to face him.
“Do it or ….we are off.” Firmin glared into the other’s eyes. The other relented and backed off to bend down. It was the bell to the room door rang. It diverted off the coital interest of both and Firmin approached the door. Trevor meanwhile climbed back into bed with the lips pouting in anger.
It was Armand.
“We need to talk. Now.” Armand sounded urgent but his eyes averted the bedding and the figure on it. He was not one who found the scene needed to be described.
“Give me a few minutes. I will see you at the Library.”
The morning breakfast at the Library was minimal with the croissant served with butter and jam to be drowned by the morning brew of coffee with the cream topping. It was unlike the English spread of butter and jam with toasts, half boiled eggs, and brewed tea with the milk to be added on taste. Both men sat at the small round table and had their fill before they discussed the urgent matter.
“The Comte does not want to deliver in full until he sees the gold bars delivered to his villa at the Spanish border.” Armand looked to his partner in the face.
“Rogue! I thought we have an understanding that the remaining gold bars to be delivered upon the ship sailing to Haiti. Why is he renegading on the deal?” Firmin dropped the half eaten croissant to the plate.
“I don’t know for sure but rumours that he is eyeing the Opera House. He wants to buy it.” Armand replied. “He needs the gold to secure the loan for it.”
“The Opera House is not that expensive and more to it, the place is going to crumble with its current state of disrepair.” Firmin getting more upset.
“I was in haste but the building stand in the line of properties along the catacomb route and then to the river. We need to secure a passage way for the goods that we are to smuggle.” Armand corrected his earlier statement. “More to it, the Comte is not as secure like his father. He has lost a lot in his other ventures and needed the gold to do this.”
“I do not trust the man. How can we have a hold on him?” Firmin raised the concern.
“Like in Faust?” Armand replied. “When he offer Faust the prize with the aftermath that Faust was to repay later?”
“Yes, as in ‘a mere trifle, Here I am in your service, but down there, you will be mine.’ We will bind the Comte to at our knees.” Firmin laughed out. He saw the agreement in Armand’s look and laughed out louder.
“What hails the laughter so loud from you?” It was Trevor who came to grace the meeting uninvited. Immediately then Firmin dismissed his partner in business and called for his business in the bedding to join him.
“Have your fill, my dear. It’s clean now.”
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