Page 10 of Irene

“You are obviously in the prime of life,” Nil agreed. His gaze was worshipful, as was the Imdiko’s. The Nobek’s demeanor was controlled, but he watched Valentina intently.

It abruptly occurred to Irene how fluent the Kalquorians were speaking English. Surely they couldn’t have improved so much in a day’s time? Had their stilted speech the night before been a pretense of misunderstanding to keep security from throwing them out of the backstage area?

“Gentlemen, you are unaware of the restrictions upon our women to maintain their modesty and humility.” Fausto spoke as if he hadn’t paraded Meg before them less than twenty-four hours ago. “SignoraValentina—” he enunciated the title with a meaningful stare at the gloating woman “—must be excused to the dressing room. Rosalie!”

At his roar of her name, Valentina’s chaperone bolted from where she stood in the house. Giving the Kalquorians as wide a berth as she could despite not being compelled to go near them, she ran to the stage.

“I was delighted to see you again, gentlemen,” Valentina purred to the Kalquorians, wiggling her fingers in a flirtatious farewell as she turned away. Rosalie hadn’t yet reached her before she began making her way to the backstage area behind the curtains. “I do hope you’ll see the show again. It’s never the same twice, you understand.Adios.”

The trio bowed again as she swept away, Nil and the green-trimmed officer beaming, the Nobek smiling slightly.

Once Valentina was out of sight, Captain Nil’s clan listened patiently for several minutes to Donald’s exhortations about closed practices meaning no one from the public was allowed in the theater at such times. They made no apologies, but simply smiled and nodded, as if indulging a child. They didn’t appear to notice Fausto glowering at them.

Irene likewise pretended she didn’t notice Dolores waving for her to go backstage too. She and Meg drew close together to watch from the stage since Irene’s chaperone was held at superstitious bay. Mrs. Hoffman was in the dressing room, no doubt hearing the juicy details from Valentina and unaware the Kalquorians were still present.

Irene and Meg weren’t foolish enough to engage in conversation in full view of the chaperones. Dolores would demand they share what salacious gossip they’d indulged in while remaining in the vicinity of men dangerous to their purity. They were content to stand next to each other and watch the drama.

At last, the Kalquorians retreated, nodded cheerfully to those they passed, especially the chaperones.

“Better go to your mother,” Irene whispered to Meg, moving her lips as little as possible. The dancer giggled…very quietly so only Irene could hear…and rushed off.

Still pretending she hadn’t seen Dolores, who had begun to head for the stage, Irene hurried to Fausto.

His bombastic fury had disappeared, leaving him quite normal as he gazed over the house wearing a contemplative air. As Irene neared, he nodded in smiling acknowledgment.

“These Kalquorians are a fascinating bunch, yes? Like us in appearance and excellent taste in music, and yet, different. During my conversation with Clan Nil last night, I learned they have something similar to opera. The captain told me Valentina reminds him of a celebrated Kalquorian soprano, Matara Oli.”

“They can’t be too uncivilized then,” Irene joked, her voice low in case Dolores hovered close.

Fausto glanced behind her, shifted, and winked. Dolores wasn’t venturing in hearing range. It was rare she’d come close to Fausto, due to her disapproval of him. “You weren’t afraid, were you?”

“No. In fact, I spoke to some different Kalquorians after the show. They seemed quite nice. Far less intimidating than the captain’s clan.”

“Ah, you went on one of your little tours? Good for you.”

“Kalquorians have different types of music. Very loud, very energetic. I thought it was fun, but you’d hate it.”

“That’s because there is no other music. Only opera.” His voice rose on the last two words, and he gestured grandly. “Nowhere else will you find such passion and beauty, child. We will tame the savage beasts of alien worlds by the beauty of our art. Or Fausto will die trying.”

Irene chuckled as he turned and bellowed toward backstage, “Valentina, your fans have departed. We work now,il mio uccello canoro!”

* * * *

Jemi admitted he had a bad habit of talking a lot, especially when he was excited. Watching fellow performers tended to bring it out worse than usual, because he wanted to compare impressions with his clanmates. Sherv and Rusp would let it go to a point, then they’d ask him to hush so they could listen to the artists rather than him rattling on.

For once, they weren’t forced to do so. He was too breathless to speak.

The human opera was every bit as good as the Kalquorianmotehoperformances his parents had taken him to when he was a kid. It didn’t matter he couldn’t decipher all the lines they sang. The gist of the story was recognizable: a woman of a suppressed people and low rank had risen to become empress and save her race from a ruthless enemy. The costuming and set were as elaborate asmotehostages. It was familiar, and he wasn’t as confused as he’d expected to be when they’d sat in their seats near the back of the theater.

He was impressed by the male lead, who played the emperor Xerxes. The man’s voice was awe-inspiring, and had been the first reason Jemi had been brought to unaccustomed silence. The tenor’s rich tones were certainly on par with those he’d heard inmoteho. His was a presence that filled the room, and Jemi was rapt when he was on stage.

The female lead, a curvaceous, lovely woman, was talented as well. Maybe the underlying fire and flare Jemi detected in her personality failed to quite fit the role she played, especially when she pleaded with Xerxes to save her people, but there was no denying her voice was impressive.

At least until he heard Irene.

Hers was a secondary role, a part of the show’s subplot of another low-ranked woman desperate to save her brother from execution by the villain. She had only one song in the whole performance in which she sang solo…

…but her singing eclipsed the remainder of the show.

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