A Game of Hearts

Chapter two

When Alexander finally arrived in Paris late in the afternoon, he took a coach first to the hotel to make sure that two rooms were booked, and then straight to the Théâtre des Variétés on Rue Montmartre. It was the last place he wanted to be, noisy and filled with people rushing to see the evening's show, but unfortunately, it was also where Penelope had insisted he'd find her sister, the elusive Ms Waters.

The Théâtre des Variétés was bustling with life. The show of the evening was apparently all the rage in Paris, and it seemed that both the rich and the poor had flocked to the theatre. The second act was already starting, and the crowd was rushing to get back to their seats. Red lights by the ticket office indicated, that the show was sold out, but when a guard stopped Alexander at the entrance, Alexander pressed 2 shiny francs into the palm of his hand. With a mumble, the guard let him inside.

Alexander had no interest in the spectacle - in fact, he very much doubted the artistic quality of the play - but as the crowd surged into the theatre and settled into their seats, he found a shadowy spot near the entrance to the first balcony and watched the show from there. It was difficult to tell, which one was Matilda, if she even was on stage: all of the actors and actresses were done up in cakey makeup and exaggerated costumes. Halfway through the second act, Alexander gave up and tried to enjoy the crude and unsophisticated humour of the show.

Finally, the show ended and after a few rounds of applause, the crowds filed out of the theatre. Alexander, still hidden in the shadows, stayed. The lights turned on, and when the stagehands began to haul scenes and props out, he slipped through the door to the backstage area unnoticed. In there, it was even more chaotic, as the crew prepared for the second show of the evening.

Everywhere, dancers in costumes and makeup were hurrying about, and the orchestra was tuning their instruments. Behind the scenes, strongmen hailed props and scenic backdrops in every direction, and a full-busted singer was warming up her booming mezzo-soprano voice. They were preparing for a different show now, with a different set of actors, and Alexander crossed his fingers that Penelope's sister wouldn't be in it.

A scurry of scrawny girls in pink tutus spilt past Alexander as he stepped into the hallways of the theatre, and an older dancer, with a scandalously loose corsage and sultry eyes sent him a seductive smile. She looked at Alexander like a lazy cat looking at an unsuspecting mouse.

"Bonjour, monsieur," She said with soft frenchness. She was wearing far too much makeup, almost caked onto her face, and a fake mole too. "Que cherchez-vous? What are you looking for?"

Alexander cleared his throat. It was a long time since he'd spoken French.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle." He answered, his French rusty and laced with an English accent, but still understandable. "Je cherche une fille."

"Aha! There are plenty of girls here!" The woman laughed in French and showed off her blackened teeth. "What do you prefer? Big? Small? Young? Or something more specific?"

"No no no, nothing like that," Alexander protested in French and shook his head. "I'm looking for an Englishwoman. Matilda Waters?

"Une anglaise! So you prefer your kind. Some would call that boring." The woman said and rolled her eyes at Alexander. "Very well. Follow me; Tilly's in the back."

The woman turned and walked down the hall and Alexander quickly followed. The halls of the theatre were narrow and cramped, full of props and costumes, and the petits rats ran all around creating havoc

"Calmez-vous, les rats!" The woman yapped at the girls. They could not have been more than 8 or 9; the same age as Elise, Penelope's oldest daughter, Alexander noted with a frown. Alexander knew very well the liberties taken by rich men when it came to poor girls, and he didn't even want to think about the things the girls at the Théâtre des Variétés had seen.