Freeing Ebony

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Henry Alcott’s knuckles were white as he gripped the wooden rail of the balcony in which he sat. His father’s box at the opera house had become a second home to him over the past fortnight.

He felt the need to hold onto the rail tightly for fear that he would float away from a dream. It was a dream watching her.

His father had been given the tickets as a present and he had no desire to sit through hours of singing in another language so instead he’d given Henry his ticket so that he might go with his mother, Emilia.

As soon as the curtain opened on the production of I puritani Henry had been bewitched. He was not sure what was happening or what the characters were singing about, all he knew was that the young woman with the wild, dark, curly hair had captured his eyes. They followed her around the stage constantly as she sang in her beautiful soprano voice. Every person in the King’s Theatre had been entranced by the woman portraying Elvira in Bellini’s beautiful opera. She was the first Englishwoman to perform in I puritani and she sang the language perfectly. Henry, like everyone else, was completely enthralled.

And so he’d purchased tickets to go again and watch her. And then again and again.

She was so beautiful. From where he sat in his elevated balcony he would see her very clearly. Her skin was so pale, like ivory. Her hair was very dark, a complete contrast to her skin. It was not so dark that it was black, but a few shades lighter. It was wildly curly. The tendrils were tight and in their thousands as they cascaded down her back in what looked like a cape or hair. Her eyes, from where he was sitting, appeared to be a dark brown colour and were framed by a thick set of eyelashes. She was very thin in the waist and hips but appeared to be of average height compared to the other members of the cast.

Her name was Ebony Seaver according to the program that sat on the chair of all the paying viewers. Henry thought it an unusual name, it was one he had not heard before. He’d only ever heard it used as a colour. But nonetheless, a unique name was right for her as he’d seen no other like her.

Her voice was the most angelic thing he’d ever heard in his life. He loved it when her arms extended just to give her the extra power to hit the highest note. She was incredible.

The performance ended as Elvira jumped into Arturo’s arms as the lovers were reunited. Henry envied the overweight, Italian man greatly. The King’s Theatre erupted into a wave of applause and Henry joined in. Several people began throwing roses onto the stage as the cast began to bow. Henry produced a red rose from inside his coat. He’d come prepared for the fourth time he’d seen the performance. He stood up in the balcony and tossed the flower down onto the stage. While he aimed for it to land at Ebony’s feet, the thorned rose landed on her head and had become tangled in her curls. Ebony immediately reached to pull it from her hair but she only made it worse. Henry cursed himself for being so clumsy and foolish. Ebony’s dark eyes looked up to see where the rose had come from. Henry was alone in the balcony and the boxes beside him were vacant. It was obvious who had thrown it. Her eyes found him instantly and Henry wished to be invisible. If he had the charms of his elder brother, James, or the confidence of his elder sister, Kitty, he would have offered her a dashing smile and a wink and she would have melted on the spot. As he possessed neither all he could do was appear guilty and offer an apologetic look. Ebony did not look angry, on the contrary, she appeared grateful for the flower. She nodded at him before taking a final bow. She then proceeded to walk off stage with the rest of the cast.

Henry slumped in his seat and began to stew in his humiliation. How was it possible that each one of his siblings were married to wonderful people and at the first attempt of romancing someone he’d managed to tangle a woman’s hair with rose thorns?