Josie shut the dressing room door behind her and leaned her weight against it for a moment, closing her eyes. Now that she was offstage, she could feel exhaustion seeping through her.
She pushed herself forward into the room and tugged off her shift. The she pulled on the starched blouse and stiff black dress that Cardamom insisted she wear out side the theatre. The fabric made her scratch and wriggle.
Cardamom would look at her wearing this dress and say something hurtful such as, 'I wish you could be more ladylike.'
Josie knew she wasn't a beauty. She didn't need Cardamom to tell her hat.
When she was younger, she'd watched the dancers with their long, graceful legs.
'Do you want to be a dancer Josie?' One of them had said , bending down to her and tweaking her nose.
'Oh, yes, please,' she'd replied, but the dancers had giggled and skipped off to their rooms. Now Josie knew why. She was just too plain.
Madame Carla had said she was handsome. Josie knew that 'handsome' wasn't the same as 'pretty'. But then, Madame Carla was the bearded lady act in the booth outside the Erato, so she was hardly an expert.
Josie chewed her fingernail and gazed at the pale reflection in the dressing room mirror. Slowly, with a soft cloth and gentle strokes, she removed her make up.
She sighed as the cotton drew attention to her broad nose. And those eyes, she thought such a dull brown. She lifted a hand and twisted a lock of blonde hair round her fingers. She kept it clean and shining, tying it up with a black ribbon. It was the one thing she was proud of.
Josie stood up and smoothed down her dress. Then she hung her costume in the wardrobe and opened the dressing room door.
Cardamom stood in the corridor, a fist raised to rap against the wooden door. His cheeks colored as he cleared his throat.
'I was just coming for you,' he explained.
Josie looked at him. She noticed a faint smell of alcohol on his sour breath. Not again, Josie groaned inwardly. He turned and led the way to the stage door. Shaking her head, Josie followed.
YOU ARE READING
Mortlock
AdventureJosie is a knife thrower in a magician's stage act. Alfie is an undertaker's assistant. They are both orphans and they have never met, but they are about to be given a clue to the secret of their shared past. A past which has come to seek them out. ...
