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“I feel I should do something. To help you.” She glanced at Sherv’s continued bulge, her guilt refusing to recede.
“I say, not your problem. This not Earth, where woman is blamed for man urge.”
Irene stared at him, finally able to keep her concentration on his face. He wasn’t accusing her for their condition. In fact, he acted as if his lust was no big deal.
“You go farther only when you ready. I think you not ready. Sex is big jump from kissing.” Sherv abruptly grinned. “You do like kissing. It is a good start.”
Out of nowhere, laughter bubbled up within Irene. It spilled over, a release of fear and tension as well as hilarity at his statement. The men added their roars of humor to hers.
She did like kissing. That was a fact.
* * * *
Irene slipped in the theater an hour before rehearsal in the company of Meg and Mrs. Hoffman. Mrs. Hoffman always arrived early to work on laundry and any mending needing to be done. Because she was Meg’s official chaperone, her daughter was forced to show up early too.
They greeted Emma, who was already bent over her sewing machine. Meg immediately went to the barre attached to the mirrored wall in the dressing room and started stretching. Yawning hugely, Mrs. Hoffman wandered to the coffee dispenser to brew the first of many cups the crew would drink.
Irene lugged the laundry bag to the wardrobe area. She pulled her Odeergin outfit from it and hung it in its usual place on the rack, stowing the headgear in one of the cloak’s roomy pockets. She shifted the other clothes so the cloak was hidden behind their folds.
She turned from the task. Valentina stood behind her, her eyes narrowed.
Chapter Seven
“Sweet prophets! Don’t sneak up on me!” Irene grabbed the clothing rack for support, her knees turning to jelly at the surprise.
“Oh, it’s you. I wondered who was lurking back here.” Valentina’s gaze shifted momentarily to the clothes where Irene had hung the cloak. “Giving up on singing? Tired of coming in second to me, so you’ll become a laundress?”
“I was helping Mrs. Hoffman. Nice people do those sort of things, you know. What are you doing here so early?”
Valentina waved her hand as if shooing off a fly and turned away. “Fausto and I wish to change some of the blocking in the third scene of the second act. He keeps stepping on my dress. Come out when you finish playing in the clothes; see how professionals work.”
Irene scowled but remained silent as Valentina swayed off toward the stage. Her heart was still pounding, her gut ice-cold.
Had Valentina seen her hiding the Odeergin disguise? How long had she stood behind Irene?
As Mrs. Hoffman wandered by, Irene hissed for her attention. The elder lady joined her between the racks, and Irene explained the situation.
“There’s a trunk among the props we aren’t using for the show,” Mrs. Hoffman said. “No, leave the costume. I’ll move it for you so no one will see it in your possession. Come and I’ll show you where it’ll be.”
“Thank you,” Irene breathed. “I’m not sure if she saw what I was doing, but I don’t want to take chances.”
“Smart, but if that silly creature suspected anything, she’d bray like a donkey about it. If a thought enters her head, Valentina insists everyone hears it.” Mrs. Hoffman bustled to the props and set pieces gathering dust from lack of use and pointed to a wooden trunk. Irene agreed it made a terrific hiding place. She could stack other things on top of it to keep people from thinking it was in use.
“Let this be a warning,” Mrs. Hoffman admonished as they left the cramped area in the dressing room’s corner. “Don’t let your guard down. I have enough to worry over when it comes to Meg, because she’s young and impetuous enough to make silly mistakes. I can’t handle having to fret over you too.”
“I’ll be careful,” Irene promised.
She glanced at the time as Mrs. Hoffman bustled away, her tension easing as Valentina’s and Fausto’s voices rose in an argument backstage. It was true Valentina couldn’t keep a secret, nor would she have missed a chance to broadcast Irene’s activities if she’d thought she’d caught her rival behaving improperly.
Especially now. They were beginning to rehearse a new show, one of the few Fausto had promised Irene the lead role. Valentina had already begun a campaign to change his mind.
Hey, I managed to stop thinking about Sherv, Jemi, and Rusp for an entire five minutes. That must be a record.
Sherv stared at the text message on his com, his emotions roiling.You’re leaving soon. We won’t have many more opportunities to hang around each other, and you aren’t playing tonight. Can I visit your ship after my performance?
It wasn’t signed, but as his com had been forced to translate the words from English to Kalquorian…his ability to read the alien language lagged behind his speech…it had to have come from Irene.
It had been two days since he’d seen her. Two days that had crept by with excruciating slowness. Two days of her voice singing in his head. Two days to think about kissing and holding her. Two days of wondering what she was doing in a given moment.
