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“And what you said, no doubt, planting the seed of a future love in her head. Well, what perfect timing for you, Wilmington.” Simon was like a dog with a bone. “The disgraced Seconda Donna and the Duke of Darkness returned to England. There have been worse matches.”

“In theory,” Philip said, grateful when the surrounding footmen began to withdraw, signaling the start of the opera.

“But it is as I said. Alicia and I could not be more different. I had no attachment to her back then, and I cannot develop one now. But if you are so determined to unearth the past, let us review the catalog of your dismal courtships, Stockton. It is surely more interesting than mine.”

He grinned, giving Simon a taste of his own medicine.

Simon smiled from ear to ear, as silence settled over the theatre. “It is as you said,” he whispered. “Who would dream of a safe but shallow life?”

Anna’s heart hammered in her chest as she reached the main staircase. Her group had been among the last patrons to be checked in, and the foyer was now empty. The opera house attendants had disappeared too.

It was eerily quiet. She could hear the gentle din of the gallery behind the doors. But otherwise, it felt like she had the entire theatre to herself.

She hesitated for a moment, unsure where to go to find her cousin. The performance would start soon. Who knew whether Alicia was still getting ready?

Looking down at her feet, Anna noticed a crumpled program on the carpeted stairs. She picked it up and inspected the title.

“ Tancredi ,” she read softly, smiling at the name.

The summer prior, Alicia had sent a collection of Italian sheet music to Anna as a birthday gift.

It had incensed her father, who wanted Anna to have nothing to do with Alicia.

One of her male cousins must have intervened because her father eventually agreed to let her keep them. Among them had been Tancredi .

If they were performing Tancredi , then Alicia would be singing in the first scene. And just like that, doubt settled in.

What am I even doing here? There’s barely any time left . And if Father learns that I slipped backstage, he will wring my neck or worse.

Suddenly, the doors to the main gallery creaked open. A group of mixed voices sounded behind her. There was no time to turn back—an acquaintance of her father could be among them.

Taking the stairs quickly, she hurried across the foyer and ducked into the nearest room. A set of stairs led downward. She took her chances with the dark.

New voices carried in the air toward her, and then she caught the sound of a female voice performing scales. She had unwittingly entered through the stage door and was now beneath the stage itself.

Clutching the program in her fist, Anna followed the singing voice.

A series of small rooms lined the first hallway, likely dressing rooms. Most of the doors were shut. Anna approached the singing voice and recognized it as Alicia’s.

Her cousin stood in her private room, struggling to finish her singing exercises between her sobs. She pressed a hand to her abdomen. The calming gesture obviously had no effect on her, because she burst into tears between Fa and So .

“Alicia?” Anna asked in a panic, stepping into the doorway.

Her cousin gasped loudly, hopping back from the dressing table. Her costume hung from a hook on the wall behind her—a luxurious red gown adorned with gold filigree.

“You’re not allowed to be here, Anna,” Alicia scolded, reorganizing her cosmetics. She cast a glance at the chatelaine watch lying on the table. “There’s only ten minutes before I have to go on stage, and the costume assistant could be back any minute for final touches.”

“I know. And I’m sorry.” Anna bit her lip, turning to close the door behind her.

“But I couldn’t help myself, Alicia. When we met on the stairs earlier, you looked so…

” She struggled to find a descriptor that wouldn’t alarm her cousin.

“I simply thought you might need to talk. And now you’re here, and you’re crying?—”

“I’m not crying,” Alicia cut in.

The red rings around her eyes begged to differ.

Alicia sighed deeply and pressed a hand to her forehead, then reached for a nearby carafe of water.

“It’s no use lying to you,” she continued.

“Something has come over me. A sudden megrim, perhaps. I tried to tell that wretched impresario that I couldn’t perform, but he didn’t believe me.

Said I was simply nervous and letting my stage fright ruin everyone’s night.

” She scoffed, incredulous. “I played this role for six months in Milan, and now he thinks I’ve let my nerves get the better of me? Oh…”

Without warning, she swooned. She stumbled back into the wardrobe behind her.

Anna rushed forward, grabbing the carafe before it could fall from Alicia’s hands. She steadied her cousin, inspecting her from head to toe. Her face was unusually pale beneath her stage makeup. She certainly looked sick. How could the impresario not have believed her?

“There isn’t someone else who can perform in your stead?” Anna stepped away to grab one of the chairs by the wall, pulling Alicia down to sit. “Do you not travel with other singers who know your part?”

“The chorus is entirely male. The Prima Donna and I are the only females in the company. We might have been able to recruit someone outside the company, had I not informed the impresario so late. He cannot find a replacement for me on such short notice. I was upstairs, scanning the boxes, hoping to spot a singer in the crowd who could replace me for the evening.” Alicia shook her head in defeat, then winced as though the gesture had made her headache worse. “No luck.”

Anna nodded, finally understanding the reason for her cousin’s earlier trip to the boxes. Her eyes drifted to the side table by the vanity, where someone had left a bottle of brandy and a glass.

“He wanted me to drink that. He swore that it would make me feel better,” Alicia explained despondently.

“But I couldn’t… I didn’t want to…” She drew in a shaky breath.

“Never mind. None of it matters anyway. If I do not perform tonight, the impresario will never forgive me. I’ll never work in Haymarket again—maybe not in the whole of London.

It’s a brutal business. Do you know how many younger, more beautiful singers there are out there?

Women who would skin me alive for the chance to steal my role?

It has been my dream to perform Rossini in England, and now I’ve ruined everything. ”

Not for the first time in her life, Anna felt completely helpless.

“I wish there was something I could do,” she murmured, crouching in front of Alicia. She set the carafe on the floor, and it clicked against the tiles. “You know that I would do anything for you.”

Her cousin was silent for a moment, seeking out her hand and taking it. Burnt clove had stained her fingernails on her otherwise flawless hands. Alicia turned toward the door, where the distant sound of an orchestra could be heard.

The overture had begun. They were running out of time.

Anna opened her mouth to speak, hoping to bolster her cousin’s spirits as her doom approached. Instead, Alicia fixed her with a desperate look.

“You could do it,” she murmured, gripping Anna’s hand tighter.

Anna’s eyes widened. “I… I beg your pardon?”

“Oh, Anna!” Alicia leaned forward in her seat and pulled Anna into a hug. “Yes, it’s perfect. You’ll go on stage instead of me, and no one will be any the wiser. We look so similar, and you sing so well—but we have to hurry!”

Her world started to spin as Alicia rushed around the room, grabbing her costume from the hook. Her hands were all over Anna then, beginning to undress her and take down her hair.

The music roared above them, making Anna feel sick. She clutched onto her dress before it could fall from her shoulders, jumping out of Alicia’s eager grasp.

“Alicia, stop!” she cried. “I can’t perform in front of all those people! I’ve scarcely sung for anyone in my life. The part of Isaura… I’m not even a contralto. The range is much too low for me, and?—”

“Mezzo, contralto? Does it really matter?” Alicia reached for Anna again, steadying her on her feet. “So long as you can sing in tune, you’ll be fine. I know you’ll be fine. Your voice is beautiful, Anna. You studied the music I sent over, didn’t you? You know the part?”

Anna tried to come up with a lie, but she knew Alicia would see the truth in her eyes. She nodded, recalling the arias she had sung to the trees of the Yorkshire Dales.

“Then everything will be perfect. The costume comes with a mask, something the stage designer implemented for our London shows.” Alicia stepped around Anna, rummaging in her bag.

She pulled out the most beautiful mask Anna had ever seen.

Black, white and red, with golden gems inlaid around the eyes.

“Put this on, and the dress, and show London what it means to be a real Walford woman.”

“I can’t…” Anna’s head started pounding. “I can’t do this. It’s beyond me. And if Father finds out?—”

“But you can , Anna. Please, you must.”

There were minutes left before the overture ended. The look in Alicia’s eyes grew more desperate with each second that passed.

“I can’t go out there and make a fool of myself by spewing all over the stage. All I’m asking of you is to sing in the first scene. Hopefully, I’ll be well enough to take over after that. I know you will do me proud, cousin. Believe in me if not yourself.”

Still not convinced, Anna took the mask from Alicia and held it close to her chest. The bottle of brandy glimmered out of the corner of her eye.

Maybe this is my chance, terrified as I am, to finally take control of my life.

Unhappy Anna , she bemoaned silently, bastardizing the text. What a beautiful day for you!