Pas de Deux A novel by Bronwen Welsh A Sequel to 'Antonette's Story' Copyright 2021

Chapter 4   A new beginning?

As Jack and I travelled home after that day's rehearsal, both of us feeling more than a little tired after having so little sleep, I had a discussion with him.

“I'm sure Kate will easily get a job, if not at St Thomas's, then another of the big London hospitals,” I said. “How do you feel about her staying with us?”

“She's welcome of course,” said Jack. “But she might feel that she is imposing on us too much, so she might be able to share a flat with one of the other nurses.”

“We'll see,” I replied. “There's something else I want to discuss with you. When she was last here, she went out with your brother Ben a few times, and he was really smitten with her.”

“Are you sure?” said Jack.

“Quite sure,” I replied. “Women know these things.”

“But she didn't feel the same about him?”

“I think she was quite fond of him but she felt committed to going back to Bruce in Australia. Now that that is over, things are different.”

“You don't think she'll go back to Bruce?” asked Jack.

“I'm quite sure she won't,” I replied. “He's wrecked their marriage and she'll never trust him again. Anyway, getting back to Ben, things could be different this time around, but he needs to know to take things slowly and start by just being her friend. I think you should talk to him.”

“On the contrary, darling, I think you should talk to him,” said Jack, very wisely, which was what I hoped he would say.

When we arrived back at the flat, we opened the front door to the delicious smell of cooking. Kate appeared out of the kitchen wearing one of my aprons over a pretty summer dress.

“I hope you don't mind, but I bought some items to make a casserole for tea.”

“Mind?” I laughed. “I was just thinking about what we might have for tea and that smells delicious.”

Kate blushed slightly. “It's the least I could do after all your kindness to me.”

“So how did you go today about getting a job?”

Kate smiled. “I rang St Thomas's and they asked me to come in for an interview. One of the ladies in H.R. recognised me but she was too polite to ask why I was back so soon. She said they can always find room for a good nurse. The result was that I start at St Thomas's next Monday. That gives me time to get over my jet-lag. They gave me two uniforms, so I'm all ready to go.

We really enjoyed our tea, and then we watched the news on television. After that, I went to our bedroom to make a phone call while Kate and Jack watched another program. Ben answered the phone and after the usual pleasantries, he asked what Jack and I were doing.

“We're rehearsing 'The Sleeping Beauty',” I replied. “I'm understudying the bad fairy and Jack is understudying the prince. We'll be getting a couple of performances so I expect you to come along and bring your girlfriend.”

Ben snorted. “What girlfriend? You know me, Mr Lone Wolf.”

“Ah, well there I might be able to help you; Kate is back in London.”

There was about five seconds silence, perhaps I should say 'stunned silence'. When Ben answered, his voice sounded strange, almost strangulated..

“Kate? In London?”

“Yes, it seems the marriage didn't work out and they've separated.”

“I see,” said Ben, another pause.. “London seems a long way to separate.”

“Well, there's a reason for that,” I replied. “She thought it best to get well away from Bruce. The reason I'm telling you this is that when she was here before, you two seemed to get on well together.”

“But then she went back to Australia,” said Ben, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice.

“That was because she's the person she is, and felt obligated to honour the promise she'd made to Bruce. That's all in the past now. Look Ben, if you'd like to see her again, I think she'd be happy with that, but it's up to you to keep things low key at first. She needs friends right now, not a lover.”

“Of course I'd like to see her,” Ben said. “But only if she'd like to see me.”

“Alright, I'll drop your name into the conversation casually and see what her reaction is, but when you do see her, no big bunches of flowers or anything like that. Just friends, o.k.?”

“O.k.” said Ben.

As I hung up the phone I felt like Dolly Levi, the matchmaker, from 'Hello Dolly', but I didn't mind. One thing I was sure of was that if Kate and Ben ever got together he would never treat her the way Bruce had.

I went back into the sitting room and we all chatted for a while before going to bed early to catch up on the lost sleep from the night before.

I didn't rush things. About a week later, Kate had started work, and seemed to be settling in well. Initially she was working day shifts and so we had tea together. One evening I very casually mentioned that I had run into Ben. I looked to see the reaction on Kate and noticed that her cheeks became pink, which I took as a good sign.

“Being a batchelor, Ben comes around for tea every month or so. Would you mind if he came around when you are here, Kate?”

“Me? No, thats fine,” she replied, and if anything, her cheeks became pinker.

“I know you were friends when you were here last, so I hoped it would be alright,” I said.

A week later, Ben came for tea on a Saturday evening. Weekends are quiet while we are rehearsing, so that's why we picked them to entertain. I noticed that Kate took a lot of trouble to prepare for Ben's visit, wearing her prettiest frock, stockings and heels. I felt the need to dress up myself not to be put in the shade! Jack wore a suit, not to be outdone.

Ben arrived, looking very dashing in a dark suit and tie, bearing a small bunch of flowers (for me) and a bottle of wine.

He looked at the blushing Kate and said “Hello Kate. It's nice to see you again.”

“Hello Ben; it's good to see you too.” replied Kate.

I opened Ben's wine and to break the ice, served the dinner straight away; Beef Wellington with roast vegetables. I'm not a bad cook if I say so myself, and Kate wasn't working that day, so we worked together to prepare the meal. I know there is an old saying that 'there isn't a kitchen big enough in the world to hold two women', but we got on very well together. I wasn't looking forward to the time when she finally left us to live elsewhere, although I knew it would come.

With a glass of wine under our belts, and a lovely meal to share, it wasn't long before we were all chatting very happily together. There was no mention of why Kate was back in London, but Ben did ask how she was finding working in St Thomas's again.

“I love it,” said Kate. “I know some of the staff from when I was last here, so I've settled in quickly. It's almost like coming home.”

There was tiramisu for dessert, because I really like it and I knew the others did too, and a small glass of port and coffee to finish with. I had arranged a code word with Jack to tell him to come into the kitchen with me to prepare the coffee, leaving Kate and Ben together for a few minutes. I didn't know what was said while we were out of the room, since I resisted the temptation to put my ear to the door, but as I later found out, Ben did put the time to good use. When he finally left in a taxi, he kissed both me and Kate on the cheek and shook Jack's hand, thanking us for a very nice evening. Was I mistaken or was there some special emphasis on the 'very'?

As we were washing up, Kate told me that Ben had asked if she would go out with him as a friend, and she had said 'yes'.

“Would I be mistaken in thinking you set this up?” she asked and now it was my turn to blush.

“Ben thinks very highly of you,” I replied. “But he knows that you are just looking for friends at the moment, so you need have no fear of being put in an awkward position.”

“I know that,” she replied. “And he is a very nice man; and a perfect gentleman; I know that from when we went out when I was last here.”

All I could do was agree with her.

Meanwhile the rehearsals proceeded and were going very well. I was measured for my costume which was a floor-length costume with a flared skirt in a mixture of dark blues and dark reds, in sharp contrast to the pale colours of the good fairies. Carabosse makes a dramatic entrance surrounded by rats who scurry around the stage, scaring all the guests. I loved the choreography which was very dramatic, and unlike in some productions, mainly the ones using a man to play the rôle, involved dancing rather than marching around the stage. Carabosse dominates the action for nearly ten minutes so it is a really good part.

Many people complain that tickets to professional stage performances are too expensive and beyond the reach of most of the population. While I appreciate their concern, the problem with professional theatre, especially ballet and opera, is the cost of putting on a production is very high. In addition to the cast that the audience sees on stage, there are so many other people 'behind the scenes' who are involved in making a spectacular production. For example there is the director and the choreographers who design the action, the ballet master or mistress, the costume designers and makers, the scenery designers, constructors and painters, the lighting designers and electricians who make their vision come true, the makeup artists, the hair stylists, the front of house and backstage staff, the list goes on and on. In addition, people expect the music in ballet and opera to be perfomrd by a live orchestra. It might save money to perform to a recording, but that would not be acceptable. All these people must be paid. As a general rule, at least seventy percent of seats must be sold before a production begins in order to make a profit, and a profit is important in order to fund the next production before its performances begin to make a profit.

For each production, the IBC has a number of preview performances, essentially dress rehearsals, which have tickets sold at greatly reduced prices. There is always great demand for them, and this is one way in which people who cannot afford the full-price tickets are able to enjoy a performance which in every way is the same as those performed during the season of the production. I waited until the rota of performers was released and was glad to see that one including both Jack and I performing, so I spoke to Kate, asking if she'd like to attend that one which she instantly said she would.

“Do you think you could persuade Ben to escort you?” I asked, knowing that they had been seeing each other.

“I'll try,” she replied and we both smiled, knowing that it was a 'fait accompli'.

For the first few previews where Jack and I were understudies, we slipped into the standing room at the rear of the stalls after the house lights went down so that we could watch the performance from the point of view of the audience. Then the day arrived where we would both be performing. I confess I felt a litle nervous, since this would be my first big solo part, snd I suspected Jack might feel the same way.

I was ready in plenty of time, although I made my first dramatic appearance about twenty-five minutes into the first scene which is the Prologue, and I heard a gasp from the audience as I was preceded by the rats. I did received very gratifying applause when I left the stage at the end of about ten minutes of dancing. I appeared again in the two scenes of the First Act, Aurora's 16th birthday, and finally in the Second Act, a hundred years later when the Prince is shown Aurora's resting place by the Lilac Fairy. I didn't appear in the Third Act which is Aurora's wedding. Jack appeared in the Second and Third Acts, which meant he had to wait about an hour before his first appearance.

At the curtain calls at the conclusion of the performance, I appeared third from the end, accompanied by the rats. This was the first time I was allowed to smile as I acknowledged the applause. The Lilac Fairy followed me and finally Aurora and her Prince. I did receive a very gratifying ovation so it seemed the audience had enjoyed my performance. Naturally the Lilac Fairy and Aurora and Jack, playing the Prince, received the biggest cheer of all. Then all the principal dancers joined hands and bowed again and again as the audience gave us a standing ovation. After we let the stage I was met by Mariette who was the dancer I was understudying, and she was very complimentary about how I had danced, saying she couldn't do it better herself.

After Jack and I had changed, we met Kate and Ben in the theatre foyer and we went for supper to a nearby restaurant which stayed open late for the post performance crowd. It was fortunate that I had booked a table as it was crowded. Some of the people there recognised us from the performance and gave us a round of applause which was a little embarrassing, but very nice, so we bowed and smiled to acknowledge them. 'Always show the audience you appreciate them' had been drummed into us.

“Well, what did you think of the ballet?” I asked Kate and Ben.

“It was amazing,” said Kate, “I've seen you two dance before but this was just fantastic. I really don't know why you two weren't chosen to play the parts rather than be understudies.”

“Well, you haven't seen the other performers,” I replied. “They are really good, although I think Jack is actually better than Jacques who is playing the part.”

“I think I could say the same about you and Mariette,” said Jack.

“Oh well, perhaps next time we will get a solo part and have someone understudy us,” I said.

During the season, Jack and I were able to perform during some matinées, and I did one evening performance when Mariette had a stomach upset and didn't feel well enough to perform. That shows the sense of having understudies.

The season continued and played to packed houses. Meanwhile, Kate was enjoying working at St Thomas's. I didn't quiz her on how things were going between her and Ben, although I was sure that they were seeing each other quite a bit. Then one evening, about a month later, after we finished dinner which Kate had cooked again since she had worked an early shift, she said that she had something to tell us.

“First, I want you to know just how grateful I am to you for your kindness to me in rescuing me from a truly awful situation; it's something I'll never forget. Not only that, but you've let me move in with you as well.” There were tears in her eyes , and I confess my eyes were starting to well up to because I suddenly realised what was coming next.

“As you know, I've been seeing quite a bit of Ben recently and, well, we've decided that I will move in with him. I know you might think this is a bit sudden, but we've talked it over and we are sure it's the right thing to do.”

Of course I got up and gave her a hug and so did Jack. She was right, it was a bit sudden since she had only been in England for a bit over two months, but talking to Kate afterwards she told me that she had been falling in love with Ben when she had previously been in England, but had forced herself not to get too involved because of the commitment to Bruce, but seeing him again, she knew that he was the right man for her.

“I'm sure you are right,” I said. “I will look forward to us becoming sisters-in-law.”

“And I hope you will dance at my wedding to Ben,” she said, and we both laughed. “But first I have to get a divorce.”

Just after the season finished, I received in card in the mail from Harriet Stow. It read as follows:

“Dear Antonette,

A friend of mine in London who is a real balletomane, attended a preview of 'The Sleeping Beauty' and told me about two dancers called Antonette du Pré and Jack French who were understudies but were excellent performers in lead roles. She didn't know that I know you both and she gave you rave reviews. It's such a pity that I was tied up in Stratford and couldn't get down to London to see a performance. The next time you are performing, please let me know and I will do my best to attend a performance. Congratulations on your success.
Love,
Harriet.'

I was thrilled to get this personal note and resolved to make sure to let her know the next time I was performing.

To be continued

Next time: Raymonda

To see a performance of Carabosse very similar to mine, may I recommend a version in which she appears about 25 minutes into a full performance by the Australian Ballet on Youtube. My costume was very similar but my minions were rats, still very scary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6eA4PjWhws