A Traitorous Heart

by Tammy Jo Burns

  “Pardon, I thought this box belonged to Lord Blackburn, but I must be mistaken. Do excuse me for intruding.”

  “No intrusion at all, and it does. I am Lady Blackburn.”

  “Lady Blackburn?”

  “Indeed.”

  “We have been married almost a year. Unfortunately circumstances kept me from being able to join him in town until recently.”

  “More’s the pity,” he said clucking. “And where is Blackburn now?”

  “A pressing engagement presented itself.”

  “Ah,” the man said as if he saw past her excuse. “By the by, I am Justin Southerby, Viscount Southerby.”

  “It is very nice to meet you.”

  “Don’t you need to be moving on Southerby?” Hawkescliffe’s voice brooked no argument.

  “That is my cue. Once again, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Countess. I look forward to seeing you in the future.” He bowed low and spared a quick nod for Gabriel before leaving.

  “My, Kala is quite a popular young woman,” she murmured to herself.

  “A little too popular if you ask me,” the taciturn duke muttered under his breath. “Where did McKenzie hie off to?”

  “I’m not certain. He received a message just before intermission and said he must see to it but that he should be back shortly.”

  “Hmph, I wish your husband had found it suitable to join you. I need something to drink, Lady Blackburn, I will be back,” he turned and walked off.

  There were several more visitors, of both sexes, who came by looking for Derek or Kala. A lord Dewhurst came by and expressed great dismay over the missing Kala. Tessa did not quite trust the gleam in his eye when he mentioned the young woman. Tessa felt evil emanating from him. “That is silly”, she muttered, but could not suppress a shudder.

  Fifteen minutes passed, the lights dimmed once again, but Gabriel or Mack either one had yet to return. Less than half the crowd returned for the remaining part of the performance, whether they considered it a poor performance or had other engagements to attend, who knew. Tessa lost herself once more in the retelling of the lovelorn sculptor. Pygmalion pleaded with the gods as a smell that should not be in a theater assailed her.

  The acrid scent of smoke invaded the box. One could not mistake it as being given off by the lanterns and candles. This smelled of burning wood and fabric. Shouts and shrill screams could be heard attesting to the fact that others could smell it as well. Tessa felt warmth on her back and turned to find the heavy, red brocade drapes of the box engulfed in flames.

  “Fire! Run!” Someone yelled from the stage.

  She quickly stood and leaned against the short wall separating her from the audience. In a span of seconds she had become the one everyone indeed watched, including the actors. Screams could be heard all over the theater with more people yelling fire. Tessa watched enthralled as the walls became engulfed in flames as well. Fire licked up the sides to the ceiling above. She could hear people stampeding out of the auditorium. The fire spread quickly as the dry timber started to catch the flames. The boxes on either side of her were in flames as well as the one above and below.

  “Help!” Tessa yelled, coughing on the thick smoke she breathed in. She looked towards the doors on the floor and saw a sickeningly familiar face. “Danny,” she whispered as he looked at her and nodded his head before fleeing out the doors. Somehow she knew he alone should be held responsible for this disaster.

  Knowing she would be trapped if she did not act quickly, she took the chair she sat in moments earlier and used it to push back part of the burning drapes keeping her from the corridor. She lifted her skirts, running through the parted flames. A section of lace on her dress caught fire and she fought to rip it off. Precious seconds later, she freed herself of the burning lace, but found herself caught in a tide of people. More boxes began to ignite and the hysteria of the crowd began to grow. “Mack! Gabe!” Tessa called frantically.

  Knowing she would never get out alive if she continued in the flow that would surely turn into a stampede, she found a small alcove and forced herself into it. A sea of people passed her. She thought she saw Gabriel among them, but by the time she called out he had already gone past. A heavy smoke had begun to hang in the hallway, obscuring her view and making breathing a chore.

  The crowd grew thin and she exited the alcove moving back toward the direction of Derek’s box. All of the boxes in the area were now on fire. Debris fell to the floor of the auditorium catching chairs and carpet on fire. The drapes on the left side of the stage were becoming engulfed as well. People pushed one another angrily as all the upstairs tried to force their way onto the stairs at the same moment.

  Tessa reached the end of the hall only to find a dead end. She paused to say a quick prayer before deciding what she should do next.

  “Dear Lord, please let me find my way out of this alive. Amen.” She looked once again at the people trying to push their way down the stairs to get away from the inferno. Making her decision, she bent below the smoke, harsh coughs coming from her. She ran her hand along the wall towards the crowd of people. Nothing.

  Tessa stopped in a box that had not yet caught afire. The flames had licked their way across the auditorium and now worked their way up the drapes on the other side of the stage. It would not be long before the theater would be engulfed. They would be lucky if any of them were able to get out alive.

  Deciding to take her chance with the fire, she fell onto her knees and crawled down the hallway. She once again came to the dead end. A wave of coughs racked her body. She couldn’t take a deep breath without coughing again. Tears rolled down her face, but whether from the coughing or the hopelessness of the situation she couldn’t be sure.

  She braced one hand on the floor and felt herself being caught up in another wave of coughing. When able to focus, she felt a breeze caress the top of her hand. Looking closer Tessa saw a fine line in the wall. She stood and followed the break around what could be the shape of a door. She dropped back down to her knees and wedged her fingers underneath and began tugging desperately. Nothing happened.

  Realizing there must be a latch on the other side she looked through her reticule, but found nothing useful. At that moment Tessa wished she had worn a hat so that she could have a long pin to work with. Having nothing else to work with and determined not to die in this inferno, Tessa began demolishing her updo. She took several of the pins and twisted them together, attempting to make them longer and strengthen them. After using the last one, she started from the bottom and ran her invention up the right side. Halfway up it caught on something, but when she pulled up the pins bent.

  Frustrated, but determine not to give up, she tried again. This time she made a little hook at the end. When she came to the same spot as before Tessa changed the angle slightly and slowed the momentum. “Come on,” she coaxed. After working it a few more seconds, the latch slipped out of its mooring and the door fell ajar. Tessa ran inside and pushed the door closed behind her.

  She looked around and gave herself a moment to become accustomed to the darkness. After her eyes adjusted she found herself standing on a landing of a staircase. The stairs went both down as well as up and were extremely narrow. It could have been for servants or the stage crew. She headed down the staircase and came to another landing. Tessa put her hand on the door and reflexively pulled it back after feeling the heat from the flames scorching it.

  She continued down the stairway to the bottom and saw only one door. Tessa moved towards her goal just as an ominous creaking sound began. She ran down the last half of the stairs to come up short as a burning beam fell across her only exit from a fiery death.

  Chapter 33

  Derek heard the screaming and yelling a block before he reached The Royal Opera House. He attempted to wade through the flow of people on his horse, but found his attempts to be unsuccessful. Desperately he looked around somewhere to leave his horse, but everywhere he looked chaos reigned. Finally he saw a carr
iage with a crest that he recognized on the side. He maneuvered his horse to move towards the conveyance.

  “Where is Hawkescliffe?” Derek asked the coachman.

  “Still inside, my lord,” the man attempted not to stare at Derek’s lack of formal clothing and his disheveled appearance.

  “Do you have a rope so I can tie my horse to your carriage?”

  The coachman barked orders at the footman in attendance, who in turn quickly searched the back of the carriage. The man found something that would work for the time being. Derek slid off the horse and handed him over to the footman.

  “Do you know what is going on?” Derek watched people pour from the building as if they raced for their lives. A smell drifted on the air, making his stomach drop in fear.

  “I heard several cries of fire, my lord,” the footman answered.

  Derek ran towards the front entrance, but found it impossible to fight the people leaving what he now knew to be a fiery inferno from the brief glimpse he caught. If no one died, it would be a bloody miracle. He turned to go around one side of the building when a hand on his arm halted him.

  “This way,” Director McKenzie said, nodding and pulling him in the opposite direction. When they turned the corner to the side of the building, away from eavesdroppers, Derek halted his boss’s movements and spun him around.

  “I should bloody kill you right now,” Derek raged at the man.

  “Aye, but that won’t save your wife now, will it?”

  “Damn you, why did you bring her?”

  “Do you truly want to discuss this now?”

  “No, he wants to save his wife,” Gabriel said as he came upon the two men, “and we’ve no time to waste. You can kill him later.”

  “I found a side door up here,” Mack said guiding the other two men. “This way,” he led the men to the side door and attempted to open it, but found it to be blocked by something heavy and hot. The door looked scorched and the handle had begun to glow slightly from the heat where it touched the wood of the door. Gabe nodded his head for the men to follow him and came to one of the stage doors.

  “Don’t go in there!” A short, pudgy man yelled at them.

  “Are all of the actors and crew out?” Gabe questioned.

  “Yes.”

  “Good, now let us by.” They forced the sputtering man aside and ran inside. Smoke hung heavy in the air. They crossed the backstage area quickly and soon entered the stage from stage right. Derek looked up to his right and saw the box he and Tessa had occupied earlier completely engulfed in flames. He made a move, but the two men hauled him back.

  “She’s not there.”

  “I have to make sure.”

  “She’s not there, look,” Gabe pointed above them and to the backstage area. The black lace of her dress had been removed, and she had black smudges all over her, but Tessa stood at a door above them. A bridge-like walkway ran above the stage for crew members to run props. All she would have to do is move out onto the catwalk, but she would have to do it quickly for they only had minutes before the entire building would be engulfed. Even now, flames licked at the front of the stage.

  “Tessa!” Derek yelled. “Tessa!” he called again when she made no acknowledgement of him.

  Tessa thought she heard someone call her name, but her fear of heights made her too terrified to look down to locate the voice. She had to be four stories above the stage at this point. She could either die from the fall or the fire. At this moment, she wasn’t sure which she preferred. All of a sudden coughs overtook her, wracking her body. She fell to her knees hoping to get below the smoke. This high up however, she had very little chance of getting below the thick smoke.

  She looked to her right and watched in awe. She found herself center stage to an inferno. By now the entire theater was afire and all the beautiful grandeur, gone forever in a single night. She heard her name called again, this time louder than before. She looked down and saw three male figures in the haze. Tessa blinked rapidly to clear her eyes, but felt certain her husband stood among them.

  “Derek?” she whispered hoarsely. She turned to go back to the side, sure that Derek would find a way to save her when she saw flames moving towards her, now blocking the door and forcing her farther onto the catwalk.

  “She’s not going to make it,” Derek told Gabe fearfully. “Look how fast the fire is moving, and she keeps stopping overcome by coughing.”

  “Is there any way to lower it?” McKenzie questioned, eyeing the apparatus.

  “No, it looks like it is attached to the ceiling by crossties. I have to get up there. She can barely breathe.”

  “How do you think you are going to get up there?” Gabe queried.

  “I don’t know,” he shook his head, looking frantically around the stage.

  Gabe quickly began inspecting various things before finally saying, “McKenzie, go to the other side of the stage. We need to lower the backdrop and use the ropes to try to get them to her.” The other man already stood and between the two of them, the background hit the stage in a matter of seconds.

  Derek quickly began fighting with the knots and became frustrated when they wouldn’t give.

  “Here,” McKenzie ran over with a knife and quickly cut several of the ropes free. He tied a quick loop. “Slip your boot in here,” he directed Derek. “Hawkescliffe and I will do the work, you concentrate on getting your wife.”

  Derek looked up at the catwalk to see flames now moved towards Tessa from either side. They also licked up the wooden braces toward the ceiling. Before long the structure would be so weak it would collapse to the stage floor with her on it, likely killing her.

  “Ready?” Gabriel yelled to both men. Soon Derek felt himself rising in the air. He gripped the rope and his foot remained tethered in the tightening loop. The men lifted him to the same height as Tessa, but he remained several feet from her.

  “Tessa.” She turned her head towards him, covered in soot, eyes red and tear tracks streaked down her cheeks.

  “You came for me,” she whispered softly.

  “Tessa, I need you to stand and come to the rail. I am going to have to swing over to get you.” She nodded her understanding and crept closer to the edge of the catwalk. All of a sudden it dropped a few inches. Tessa looked at Derek terrified. “Tessa, we have to do this now, you have to trust me.”

  Tessa looked at him warily, the height terrifying her. She backed towards the center of the walk once again.

  “Just leave me, then you won’t have anything more to worry about.”

  At her words, Derek saw the fight for life seep out of her body. Derek became angry at both her words and the way she gave up. He swung himself over to the catwalk. It took several tries before he could grab the rail and hold himself in place.

  “Hurry!” Gabe yelled from far below and Derek could feel the intensity of the heat as it crept closer.

  “Tessa, I love you. We can discuss everything else later, but bloody hell, I love you! Now come over here.”

  Tessa looked into his eyes and saw that he spoke the truth. Whatever had happened between them earlier that night had been forgiven. He now realized his feelings for her and freely spoke them. Elated, she did not hesitate a moment longer before she reached for Derek and the lifeline he provided. She grabbed on, winding an arm and leg around him as he pushed off from the catwalk.

  Below, she saw both Gabriel and Mack lowering them to the stage. She closed her eyes, clinging desperately to Derek. Watching the floor come towards them made her queasy. Finally she felt like they had quit moving and she slowly opened one eye.

  “You can let go,” Derek whispered, helping her find her footing. He then bent down, grabbing the discarded knife and cut the overly tight loop free of his boot.

  “Come on,” Mack yelled as he began running across the stage, coughing. Gabe had already exited and anxiously waited for the others. Mack next exited the building.

  “Where are Derek and Tessa?” Gabe yelled.


  “Fighting with that damn rope. She wouldn’t leave his side.”

  Derek freed himself just as he heard an ominous creaking sound from above.

  “Run, Tessa!” he said as he pushed her towards the side of the stage. They had just reached the edge of the stage when a deafening crash filled the building. Derek threw himself into Tessa, knocking her down and covering her with his body. They both looked back to see the catwalk had collapsed onto the stage, splintering into pieces and sending up sparks and flames.

  They both felt hands grabbing at them and saw that Gabe and Mack were trying to pull them to their feet. They clumsily made their way out the stage door and continued running down a maze of streets away from the collapsing building until they ended up on Bow Street further away from the theater.

  Tessa alternated between wheezing and coughing uncontrollably. People milled about outside watching the flames licking at the night sky. The theater looked like a fireball against the darkness and the four of them looked at each other then turned once more to the orange glow. Gabe walked over to a young boy and after speaking a few words with him and exchanging coins, the lad ran off and Gabe rejoined the others.

  “Now I am going to kill you,” Derek growled turning towards the director.

  Everything happened so quickly that Tessa found herself standing and watching, stunned at what unfolded before her. Derek swung at the director who quickly dodged the movement. Derek in turn lunged at him taking him to the ground. Tessa finally broke out of her shock after both men had landed several blows.

  “Stop! Stop right now! Derek! Mack!” She ran towards the men only to be brought up short by Hawkescliffe. “Damn you, let me go.”

  “You’ll only get hurt.”

  “I said, let me go,” she followed up the order by stomping on the man’s foot. He loosened his hold enough that she slipped free, and ran over to the two men tussling like school boys. She fell to her knees, grabbing at arms, hair, whatever she could get a hold of. “Stop it! Stop right now!” Tessa screamed before being overcome by wracking coughs, falling to her hands and knees.