My Bonny Light Horseman by L. A. Meyer

Author:L. A. Meyer
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

When I arrive at the front door of Madame Pelletier's studio on rue de Clichy, my knock is answered by an old man with white hair and whiskers, dressed in what I suppose is a French butler's rig. He is very courtly and escorts me in to meet Madame Pelletier.

On my way in I notice that Madame Pelletier's establishment is more than a mere studio—it is actually a small theater. There is an entrance hall, a foyer that contains what appears to be a bar, and beyond that, a large open room with seating for perhaps a hundred patrons of the art of dance. The walls are lined with elegantly framed paintings, most of them, to my eye, very fine.

I can see that there is a stage raised about three feet above the level of the floor, with room in the front to seat a small orchestra. I assume the dressing rooms are in back.

Madame, herself, a small, trim woman, is seated at the bar, sipping a cup of tea and reading a newspaper. She looks up, I dip down in a medium curtsy and say, "Bonjour, Madame. I am Mademoiselle Jacqueline Ophelia Bouvier. I believe I am expected?"

I hand her my letter of introduction supplied to me by British Intelligence. She takes it and opens it.

As she reads it, the other girls of her troupe come straggling in, singly or in pairs, yawning and whining about the earliness of the hour and the wretchedness of their lives, and asking why do they have to practice anyway when they already know the routines.

"Ah, yes. You are our American girl. Good. Welcome, Jacqueline. I just lost a girl to a Polish general who took her as his mistress last week and I need a replacement. I like to have an even dozen in my corps de ballet, and I was assured you were qualified." Madame takes another sip of her tea, puts down the cup, and raises her voice to call, "Blanche, come here!"

A harried-looking older woman with pins held in her thin lips emerges from a side door, looks me up and down, and raises her eyebrows in question to Madame Pelletier.

"Oui?"

"This is the new girl. Her name is Jacqueline. Take her back and fit her out in costume. Then we will have practice."

The woman named Blanche looks at me and points to the door of the room from which she had just come. I bow slightly to Madame Pelletier. "Thank you for receiving me so graciously, Madame."

Madame nods and goes back to her newspaper as I follow Blanche into what I find are the dressing rooms ... or rather, dressing room.

The other girls are already there, getting into their costumes, calling out to one another, making jokes, and laughing uproariously. There are two long benches on either side of the room, two lines of lockers, and two large windows at the rear of the room to let in some light and air.

They quiet down a bit upon seeing me enter.

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