The Violist

Part V Le Comte

Part V Le Comte

Another week passed and rehearsals for Chalumeau's Hannibal were nearly finished. The entire company's performance had made great improvements in the time since the Chevalier's had arrived and even Carlotta was beginning to sound more tolerable. Rumors circulated that she began taking mandatory lessons from Monsieur Destler or else be at risk for severance. Of course, the primadonna never admitted to taking such lessons.

Since Nadir Khan's return to the Populaire, Juliette had seen him quite frequently roaming about the corridors. He seemed like a very busy man, yet always stopped to greet the girl when they saw each other in passing. The man had the perfect mixture of personable and stern in order to run the place.  If she did not know any better, she would have thought he was in charge of the Opéra and not his masked colleague. The Persian had the authority to order around the managers and stop productivity in the middle of rehearsals in order to make announcements.

He had announced that the potential patron was to arrive the next evening and witness the opening night of the show. The news made all of the chorus girls squeal and jump in excitement, only for Madame Giry to slam her wooden cane onto the floor in order to keep the girls under control.

"With his patronage, all of your salaries could increase. So, be on your best behavior once he arrives," Nadir announced.

Juliette had continued to report certain things she heard to Monsieur Destler, having him voice his disinterest in most of what she told him.  The girls' gossiping had decreased significantly due to the upcoming show and increased rehearsal hours. Madame Giry having a near constant presence, they did not have much of a chance to spread rumors.  The ballet instructor even went as far as to explicitly state how the chorus girls were to behave once the potential patron arrived.  Not to Juliette's surprise, they had been ordered to act professional and only speak to and approach the Comte if he addressed them first.

The most unfazed by the commotion seemed to be Liam.  He had expressed to Juliette his lack of interest in the nobility, but knew that the Comte may request an audience with him since he was a fairly well known cellist throughout the orchestral and musical community.  She admired the Swedish boy's disregard for the wealthy, as large sums of money were never her or her father's main priority. There was only one complaint the girl could conjure about the boy. Despite her pleading, the Swede had not again played the mesmerizing music that he had performed for her in the chapel. It seemed he always had an excuse, whether it be their need to practice the Hannibal music or that he was simply too exhausted to play such a complicated piece such as what she was asking for.

While Juliette longed to hear the all-consuming music, her largest worry had been covering her bruised wrist. The grip Erik held her in had left that part of her limb purple and swollen. Covering the coloration was much more difficult than she had expected. In order to conceal such a dark shade, she had to use a generous amount of makeup on a regular basis. She only wore dresses with longer sleeves, rather than the quarter length sleeves that she usually wore, in attempt to hide the swelling. Over the week since she obtained the injury, it had reduced in severity, but still held mixture of black and deep purple. Nobody had noticed or at least said anything to her about it, as she did her best to keep her hands behind her back whenever she could.  To her overwhelming relief, her father did not seem at all suspicious.

The only sign of anyone suspecting anything was when Meg skipped up to Juliette, blonde curls bouncing with every stride.  As soon as she reached her and pulled her to the side, away from prying ears, her smile faded and was replaced by an expression of curiosity and concern.  "How are you?"