Page 95 of Tendu: Dancing in the Castle

“I feel violated,” replied Justin.

“I thought he was quite charming,” said Simone.

“Amalphia,” said Aleks. “How did you find the class?”

“Bad. Though not quite as bad as I had feared.”

Justin snorted. “What did you think he was going to do? Turn a machine gun on us? Oh, here he comes…”

We all fell silent as Colin strolled over. “My young protégés. Girls, see that you don’t eat too much. Pas de deux this afternoon, remember.” He wandered off to get food, and Aleks followed him.

“There’s cake in the fridge,” I informed the table.

“Sounds good,” said Sadie.

Sadie and I dodged round Colin and Aleks on our way into the kitchen and returned resplendent with plates of chocolate-mousse cake and a jug of cream. I smiled over at Colin but immediately regretted it when he smiled back, not seeming to notice the rebellious cake.

Pas de deux wasn’t too bad, or, again, not as bad as expected. Colin partnered expertly without any obscenity or inappropriate touching, though his hands were unpleasantly sweaty and hot. We practiced lifts from a piece we were studying, and then our ever-enthused contemporary teacher arrived for her lesson. She got Will and me to teach the running leap fromCircleto everyone else. Even our Pilates class took place in the dank dungeon now and so felt less nurturing, the dark not suiting Teresa and her dangling parrots at all.

We were all quiet in the elevator as we headed to dinner. The lights of the great hall felt rather dazzling after four hours straight underground.

“We’re turning into mole people,” said Justin. “What is to become of us? Destined to play myopic scuttling vermin in horror films. That’s all we’ll be fit for. Have a word with management, will you, Phi? This can’t go on.”

Aleks actually initiated a conversation about the training that night in my room. “I spoke to Colin, gave him my notes on you all. It should be better. Michelle says you get on well with him.”

“She’s lying.”

“Malphia,” he chided. “Why would she do this?”

“You tell me. But she is. It’s just a fact. She also told me he was ‘just my type’ and that I had ‘worked my wiles’ on him.”

“Maybe you misunderstand her.”

“I understood her, Aleks.” Questions blurted out. “Does she still have feelings for you? Is that why she hates me now?”

He laughed. “Believe me, no. And I’m sure she does not hate you.”

“Then why the change in attitude?”

He frowned, as if thinking about it. “I don’t know. But I do know that sometimes you can be…” He paused, choosing his next word carefully. “Provocative. Like with the cake today.”

“That wasn’t provocation. It was defiance. I defy Colin and all his works.”

“And me? You defy me?”

“Well, start telling me not to eat cake…”

“Ah, what would you deny me then?” he asked softly, mouth warm against my ear.

Humour evaporated. “I don’t think I would ever want to deny you anything.”

“I am wishing this would be true,” he said, serious and thoughtful for a moment before butting my face with his nose and ending the discussion.

Aleks’s notes did not have the desired effect. Colin kissed my hand and announced that he had a special treat in store. I was to do everything en pointe, to push, stretch and develop me. He really meant everything, even where it removed all benefit of the exercise: every bend, every stretch, every single jump, and there were so many dramatic and difficult jumps.

Colin’s class consisted of a barre so short it didn’t provide a proper warm-up, followed by repertoire that he’d previously performed to great – self-professed – acclaim. He taught us a male solo made up of huge leaps and turns that I would have struggled with in soft shoes. My feet were buzzing and hot by the end of class when Michelle entered the arena.

The word ‘splendid’ was knocked back and forth between the two teachers like a tennis ball. She asked to examine my feet and shoes. The toe protectors were batted aside. “We never used these when I was training,” she said. “You’ll find your own strength and toughness without them.”

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