Cursed

by Smith, Ava

  “No need to fret, miss. I can open the door for you.”

  Sarah turns and sees the cleaning woman unlock one of the theatre doors and the relieved young dancer rushes through instantly.

  “Thank you so much!” she gushes.

  Sarah makes it down to the pavement in a matter of seconds, when she reaches the bottom step her face drops. Daniel MacGregor leans against his car with his arms folded and has a serious look on his face.

  “5.30. I’m afraid that’s not a very good time for you, Miss Mitchell,” he says glancing at his watch.

  She ignores him and continues down the pavement. She practically runs and Daniel has to run a little to catch up.

  “What do you want, Mr MacGregor?” she asks without so much as a glance.

  “If you want a lift I could take you anywhere.” Sarah remains silent and Daniel presses. “I can’t help but notice you’re more morose than yesterday.”

  “That’s because I found out about you,” she says.

  “And what did you find out?”

  “That you’re Prince Charming in wolf’s clothing. That you have an ego the size of a football pitch. And worst of all you have no idea how much this means to us.”

  Daniel stops abruptly and blocks her path. “I have some idea. And I’m flattered you think of me as Prince Charming, but honestly, truthfully, all I want is to give a beautiful dancer a lift home.”

  Sarah thinks a moment.

  “As long as I’m home before sunset!” she blurts out.

  To Daniel’s surprise she needs no further prompting and she dashes back to his car and pulls on the handle, but it’s one of those palm recognition locks and Daniel has to walk back and open the door for her. She tries not to feel disconcerted as she enters the car. Looking round, she seems quite impressed by it all. The interior has leather seats, a top-of-the-range stereo system and is immaculately clean. In short it is the perfect ‘babe magnet’ and despite all the warning signs she sits back and puts on her seatbelt.

  “Are you ready?” he asks her.

  She stares ahead and replies boldly, “Ready.”

  Daniel puts his foot on the accelerator and the car takes off. Sarah jerks back in her seat as the car weaves in and out of the London traffic. They only narrowly miss the vehicles in front and she suddenly looks scared beyond belief.

  “Do you have to drive so fast, Mr MacGregor?”

  “I thought you wanted to get home before sunset, Miss Mitchell?”

  “I also want to get home in one piece!”

  “Don’t worry, this is how I always drive,” he reassures as he swerves.

  He sees her grasp the base of her seat with all her strength.

  “Gosh, you’re not scared, are you?” he asks, knowing full well she is.

  Sarah turns swiftly to him and cries, “No, I always wanted to crash into a car on Oxford Street!”

  Daniel chuckles.

  A little later he drives down the quiet country lane towards Sarah’s house. The sun envelops the whole place just like before and as he glances discreetly to his left he sees she is now more relaxed. She even seems to be enjoying the journey a little more. As the drive continues he notices more than a few birds are gathered on their perches. They seem to be watching his car go by or perhaps fixating on it would be a better phrase. He shrugs it off and parks outside Sarah’s home

  “Well, here we are, 15 minutes before sunset and still in one piece,” he utters.

  She reaches for the door handle. “Yes, we are. Thank you.”

  “So, why the curfew?” He’s been dying to ask since the beginning.

  She puts her hand down and exaggerates, “Overprotective Uncle thinks I might be abducted by aliens!”

  “Seems plausible with all those spaceships flying around.”

  Sarah laughs and asks, “Why did you?”

  “Why did I what?”

  “Why did you come here? You have no interest in ballet.”

  “How do you know I have no interest...?”

  “Because your two favourite pastimes are windsurfing and go-cart racing. I know all about you remember?”

  He stares at her a moment. “My father thought I needed responsibility. Make me into a man!”

  “Then it is fate,” she says, jokingly.

  “Could be. Or something more.” He moves in to kiss her but Sarah turns away.

  “There’s something you should know about me. I’m not who you think I am,” she explains quickly.

  Daniel moves in again. “No one is who we think they are.”

  She pushes him away. “I’m being serious, Daniel! I’m different.”

  He nods slowly. “Or perhaps you’re so poor at coming up with an excuse, you come up with a pathetic crap one instead!”

  Sarah slaps him across the face and leaves the car. He watches her march indoors and all Daniel can do is drive away slowly. The slightly frazzled Miss Mitchell enters a darkened foyer and shuts the door after her.

  “Nightmare!” she exclaims but as she turns she sees Victor standing nearby and cries out, “Seriously Uncle. Not now!”

  “Six o’clock, Sarah. You know I don’t like it when you’re late.”

  “How could I forget?”

  “One more thing. Who drove you home?”

  A couple of seconds pass before she answers. “He’s just a friend. A friend I know from the theatre.”

  Victor looks unsettled. “Tell this friend you’ll walk from now on. I don’t want him giving you anymore lifts.”

  Sarah glares at her Uncle before trudging upstairs and he hears her bedroom door slam.

  CHAPTER 11

  When Daniel wakes up the next day he knows he has an immense task ahead of him. Not only must he make the theatre a success, he must also try to make his peace with Sarah. He lies motionless in bed while thinking about it. After a few minutes he perks up as though he’s thought of a brilliant idea. Daniel leaps out of bed, makes his way to the wardrobe and gets dressed in a hurry. Whatever this new revelation is, it revives him, and even though it’s only five in the morning, Daniel leaves his London home and journeys to the manor.

  The sun has just come up and Daniel drives his car down the long winding roads once again. He passes a black saloon car sitting on a mound and glances at it as he drives by. He’s seen this car before and at exactly the same spot, too. Of course he has no idea it belongs to Sarah’s Uncle Victor.

  The lake itself has a shroud of mist over it. There are no swans on it now and it’s so quiet the silence can almost be heard. The serenity is disrupted by a systematic splashing of water. It repeats at regular intervals and it’s not long before Sarah emerges naked from the lake. She wades through the water and her feet mimic the sound of the splashes heard only a few seconds ago. She grabs her clothes from the edge of the lake and puts them on quickly, shivering a little as she’s drenched from head to toe. After she’s done this she feels a whole lot better and begins to climb slowly up the mound. Shortly, she sees Victor climb up the other side of the mound and make his way to the car.

  “Hello, Uncle,” she says courteously.

  “Hello.”

  Sarah and Victor get into the car and drive away and barely a word exchanges between them.

  A few miles away, Daniel parks the Porsche in the deserted manor house courtyard and walks to the front door. He doesn’t have a key, but as usual, one of the servants is on hand to let him in.

  “Mr MacGregor is still asleep, sir. And he left word not to be disturbed,” he informs Daniel.

  Daniel doesn’t care and he marches up the long flight of stairs, meanders through a narrow corridor and heads towards his father’s room. When he barges into John’s bedroom, he finds him still asleep as the servant said he would be.

  “Dad, it’s me. Wake up,” he yells.

  John opens his eyes slowly to see the unusual sight of his son standing at the foot of the bed and he sits up immediately.

  “Son, what are you doing here at this hour? I th
ought you were ...”

  “I’ve come to make my report like you told me to.”

  John makes himself more comfortable. “Then I suppose you like your birthday present?”

  He starts to chuckle and Daniel, although furious, takes it on the chin.

  “Yes, I like it very much,” he says. “And I know how much you want me to fail. But I’m not going to fail, Dad. I’m going to succeed.”

  That’s when John loses his smile. It’s a side to Daniel he has never seen before and it makes him shift himself.

  “Is there anything you want from me to make this miracle happen?” he asks.

  “Only your money,” Daniel replies.

  “Very well, then you shall have my money,” John agrees cynically.

  John promises his son a reasonable amount of cash that morning and realistically it’s not nearly enough, but then Daniel would be pleased with half that amount. Later that day, Daniel, Andre and Felicity sit in the comfort of Felicity’s office with reams of notes, charts and tables all around them. Andre is worn out from the hours of bickering he has had to endure from both Felicity and Daniel and has taken to slouching in his chair.

  “I just think the auditorium could do with a little revamping,” Daniel asserts.

  “Every single inch of this place needs revamping, Mr MacGregor. Not just the auditorium,” Felicity snaps.

  “I think it’s probably best to see for ourselves, sir. To be fair you didn’t really pay attention to anything when I gave you that tour,” Andre mentions softly.

  “Perhaps the young man has a point,” Felicity comments.

  “Perhaps,” Daniel agrees.

  So he and Andre leave the office and head to the auditorium. By noon they’re standing on stage surveying the vast theatre. Daniel’s eyes scan the whole place from the seats to the curtains to the orchestra pit. He leaves no stone unturned and eventually poses,

  “Can’t we postpone this till later?”

  “How much later?”

  “One year – and a week?”

  “Six months at the most,” Andre answers, “Otherwise you may find that part of the ceiling will collapse.”

  Daniel nods and examines other things that need changing and just after lunch he and Andre walk through the narrow, dimly lit corridor which seems endless. Even Andre is forced to cringe at the shabbiness of this place but as he turns he sees Daniel lift his thumb up and appear to gauge something in the background, after which he lies on his stomach and moves his head this way and that; it makes Andre frown but he dare not question his boss. All the while they hear music playing in the various rehearsal rooms.

  “Whatever you’re planning we can’t do anything while they’re practising for the ballet. It’ll be too disruptive for them,” Andre points out.

  “Don’t worry, I have a brilliant idea,” he replies grinning widely.

  After sending Andre on an errand Daniel speaks with Elizabeth in the same dingy corridor. He waves his arms about and is very enthusiastic but the moment he stops Elizabeth asks in a stern voice.

  “You want me to move all of my dancers to the stage for three weeks?”

  “Yes, I do,” he answers.

  “Well, I’m sorry I can’t do that. It’s completely unfeasible.”

  Daniel halts for a second before coming back with, “This whole theatre is falling apart, agreed?”

  “Agreed.”

  “And none more so than the rehearsal rooms,” Elizabeth’s about to speak when Daniel continues. “Put yourself in their shoes for a second. They work long hours, they practise night and day and all the girls are constantly dieting. So, after all this effort, don’t you think they deserve this small token of appreciation to show how much we care?”

  For some absurd reason Elizabeth replies, “Very well. Three weeks on the stage but no longer.”

  Unknown to the both of them Sarah is practising in Rehearsal Room Two and hears everything. She steps back in astonishment at the news. This same thought engages her throughout the day and right up until she leaves the theatre. This time it’s Daniel who passes her on the steps.

  “Goodnight, Miss Mitchell. See you tomorrow!”

  “Good... night,” she replies softly.

  She continues down the steps with a look of disbelief; this is a far cry from the man she met by the lakeside a week ago.

  For the next three weeks the theatre is subjected to a symphony of drilling and hammering. Daniel wears a bright orange hard hat and walks round inspecting the work. He looks every bit the man in charge and no one would guess he’s a complete novice. As promised, Elizabeth and her class have been taking lessons in the main auditorium. Even though the dancers are well away from the rehearsal rooms they’re still able to hear every thump, clunk and thud. Elizabeth instructs Sarah to perform the dance of the Black Swan and Sarah obliges. She starts of well and twists and turns through intricate manoeuvres, but midway she hears one of the workmen drop something heavy and she stops in an instant.

  “I’m sorry, Miss Smith. It won’t happen again,” she tells Elizabeth.

  Elizabeth is furious, not with Sarah but with Daniel, who promised her the work in the rehearsal rooms would be over by now. She composes herself and tells Sarah,

  “It’s all right, dear. Just start again.”

  Sarah positions herself and starts her dance. The noises are even more distracting than before but she fights her way through it and completes the sequence without any errors.

  “Well done. Very well done!” Elizabeth comments emphatically.

  Isobel scowls at the attention her young rival receives and turns away in disgust. On the other side of the theatre Daniel is upset for another reason. He is well aware that he is behind schedule and that this may jeopardise his chances with Sarah. So he makes the crew work all through Saturday, Sunday and Monday, which happens to be a public holiday. When the dancers return to work on Tuesday they find an unexpected message stuck to the door: ‘“Kindly make your way to Rehearsal Room Two.”’

  “Is that for us?” Amy asks.

  “It must be. There’s no one else here,” comments Ian.

  Sarah stares at the note longer than anyone else. She reads it more times than anyone else. She manages to hide her interest and calmly makes her way through to Rehearsal Room Two with all the others. The dancers twitter with anticipation and a few get their camera phones ready to catch the unexpected. They still have to climb all those steep stairs to get to the rooms. Emily and Ian are the first to arrive and as they look ahead their jaws drop. The rest of the troupe joins them and they too appear to be in awe of what they see. The walls along the corridor have been painted bright beige. There are now seven powerful lights overhead which lead all the way to the end, and a large bay window has been fitted high on the end wall. On the floor are pretty yellow and black chequered tiles that not only make the place seem much more elegant, but it means the dancers can actually see where they’re going. In addition, there are now only three rehearsal rooms but the compromise means they are all a lot bigger.

  The dancers tiptoe into Rehearsal Room Two to observe brand new mirrors and shiny wooden floors. Amy’s eyes well up with tears as she takes a photo on her camera phone. Sarah too seems impressed and she walks around running her fingers delicately across the glass. They hear Elizabeth’s familiar double clap and the dancers instantly scatter into their respective rehearsal rooms. Elizabeth stares at the workmanship for a moment and gives a nod before she enters Rehearsal Room Two. That is the only indication she gives, but that nod actually signifies a job well done. The ‘man of the moment’ is nowhere to be seen and Sarah’s the only one who perks up whenever someone mentions his name. Her work soon takes precedence, however, and she dances with her usual flair. After a gruelling two-hour session Elizabeth tells her dancers.

  “Take 15 minutes and not a second longer!”

  The dancers leave the rehearsal room and head for the canteen while Sarah sneaks away into a corner. She quickly removes he
r ballet shoes and runs all the way to the foyer and through the entrance doors. When she reaches the top of the steps she looks eagerly to the space where Daniel parked his car the week before, but notices a Land Rover has taken its place. She eventually walks back inside looking disappointed.

  CHAPTER 12

  Daniel takes the day off and spends the whole time sitting in his room and sketching in his notebook. The only person who realises something is odd is Hargreaves, but even he is polite enough not to say anything. Even so, every time Hargreaves walks into the room bearing trays of breakfast, lunch and snacks he finds Daniel getting more immersed in the scribbling. It compels Hargreaves to linger longer than usual to make sure that everything is all right.

  As night draws in, Daniel sketches a box around the word “‘Sarah’” in his notebook; the page has14 such boxes scattered all over it. He lifts up the sheet and is about to turn it over when there’s a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” he shouts.

  Hargreaves enters the room bearing yet another tray.

  “Your dinner, sir.”

  “Fine, just put it on the table.”

  Hargreaves does so and once again just stands there.

  Daniel enquires politely, “What is it, Hargreaves?”

  “Your fiancée called again, sir. She would like you to call her back.”

  “Tell her I’ll call her back at my earliest convenience.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Hargreaves.”

  “Sir?”

  Daniel looks at a photo of Claudia which rests on his desk.

  “And if she calls again tell her I have to talk to her about something. Something important.”

  “As you wish, sir.”

  Hargreaves leaves and Daniel keeps staring at Claudia’s photo. Even her picture appears to be against him as Claudia is looking right at him with her customary glare. He laughs at the situation and is about to turn the frame around, but eventually resists. To add to the irony it’s the photo she gave him when they first got engaged. To be honest, he never really did love her. It was more of an engagement of convenience, encouraged by his father, his friends and everyone in high society. However, that was nearly two years ago and the level of affection has been draining ever since. Daniel slams his notebook shut soon after and decides to turn in.