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It happened so swiftly, I barely dropped it before it could singe my fingers. Then I simply stared in amazement at the unexplained blaze, which swiftly consumed the entire contents of the book. In mere moments, all that was left was a meager pile of fine ash. A swift breeze immediately blew in, coming from behind me, that scattered all the ashes into the air.
I kept watching the ashes vanish into the air from under the tent flaps when someone in a pair of fine black leather boots walked up... Laurent.
“Ah, Bindi, all finished with your breakfast, I see,” he greeted me with his usual affable charm.
“And my water,” I replied, holding up the canteen.
“Good, very good.” Taking in my costume, he added, “Shall I assume you’re ready to begin dress rehearsal?”
I nodded as I quickly rose to my feet. “Anything to get out of this tent.”And Ned, but I didn’t say as much.
“Then I’m happy to arrange it for you,” Laurent said, extending his arm graciously to me. I took it, and he pushed the tent flap aside so we could pass through. I felt the stab of Ned’s mean eyes boring into my back as we strolled to the big top.
Chapter Twelve
After Laurent and I passed a couple of tents on our way to rehearse, Laurent began speaking again.
“For whatever it’s worth, Bindi, I’m genuinely sorry about your current sleeping arrangements.”
“But not sorry enough to allow me to join the others,” I replied icily.
“Can you blame me, my dear?” Laurent retorted, his voice filled with contrition as well as anxiety. “The shareholders—not just Mr. Grey—were terribly unsettled after your abrupt exit a few days ago. As for myself, I still am at a loss as to why you ran away.” Then he sighed and shook his head like the whole thing was some big shame. “The heads of myself and my brother were practically on the chopping block. It was only by your swift return that we managed to prevail once again.”
“Why am I so important?” I asked as I stopped walking and turned to face him. “I thought Ned was the latest headliner—”
“Ned is a man of extraordinary talent,” Laurent smoothly interjected with that practiced smile of his. He started walking again, and I was quick to keep step with him, “however, he is not you. With you as our legendary star, our sales rose higher than the past three seasons put together!”
“Then why does Mr. Grey keep raising the quota every season?”
My question stopped Laurent in his tracks, and he stared at me in shock. “Where did you hear about the quota?” he asked harshly, his smooth palaver suddenly starkly absent.
“Since it’s obviously the truth, why does it matter where I heard it?” I retorted. There was no way I was going to admit to eavesdropping—better he think this was common information.
He turned to fully face me and put his hands on my shoulders. “Listen to me, Bindi,” he said with a haunted look. “That information is extremely confidential, and it’s dangerous information to know. If the shareholders even suspected that you knew…” A visible shudder rippled through his body before he could continue. “Well, suffice to say, the consequences would be very unpleasant.”
I had a mote of compassion for him. “Do the shareholders punish you whenever you fail to meet the quota?”
Laurent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “If I answered ‘yes’, would that keep you from further digging into this subject?”
I squeezed his arm and said, “Yes.” Even though it wasn’t exactly the truth. I wasn’t going to stop digging until I found the answers I was after. “Are the shareholders also the reason why you insist on keeping me alone in that tent?”
He opened his eyes and looked genuinely torn over what I’d just asked. “Bindi... just promise me two things,” he started. “First, keep your knowledge about the quota to yourself. Second, do not flee again—you were lucky when Rex came after you. I doubt you will be so lucky a second time.” He breathed in deeply and with the way his shoulders hunched forward, it looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. “Can you do that much for me?”
I didn’t want to answer as much, but I did anyway: “Yes, I can.”
He affectionately squeezed my shoulders. Then, we both started walking again towards the still-distant big top. A question niggled my brain, so I decided to ask it. “Why is it that Rex seems to confuse me with Brandeis but you never have? At least, you’ve never mistakenly called me by her name.”
If he was surprised to hear me mention the ‘quota’, he was even more surprised to hear me mention Brandeis. But as soon as the surprise appeared in his gaze, he immediately masked it again. If I hadn’t realized this was a touchy subject, I certainly did now. He kept walking but gave me a confused, disapproving stare. “I do not confuse you with Brandeis because you are not Brandeis.”
And how did you feel about Brandeis?I thought, as the images from the flicker book flashed in my mind and I had to wonder if Brandeis had truly captured both brothers’ attention as it seemed I had, maybe to a lesser degree.
“Did you care for her?” I asked in a soft voice.
“I cannot spare the time or energy to such frivolities,” Laurent answered but his tone was completely unconvincing. “Managing this circus leaves me very little time for anything else.”
“While that’s fair, it doesn’t answer my question.”
He frowned. “I cared for Brandeis, just as I care for all my employees.”
