Page 39 of The Fulbourn: Pitch & Sickle

The Crimson Bow was not laid out like a standard theatre. All the rows of seats had been removed, for one. Small sets of tables and chairs took their places, each with a candle burning upon it and a gold tablecloth hanging down to the floor. Most were taken; the room was certainly not lacking for occupants. And so far as Silas could see and hear, they were all purebreds. And all intoxicated, in one way or another.

‘Right then, what shall it be?’ Ada asked, hands on hips and tossing out casual hellos left and right. It seemed she knew nearly all in the place by name.

‘Champagne would be a delight,’ Pitch declared.

Silas stared about the room, taking it all in with a look of great satisfaction. It was certainly the daemon’s type of place. There was a sensual undercurrent about it that even Silas could not deny. Near to the modest stage, which would struggle with more than four actors at a time, a piano was being played by a hunchbacked chap with a shock of curly black hair. His body jerked with his enthusiasm for the notes. A small crowd was gathered around him, singing along, and Silas was quick to see that among them two men were entwined, darting quick kisses at one another, teasing the other with offering their cigarette, only to whisk it away at the last and offer their tongue instead. They were beside themselves with mirth, in the way of the inebriated, and no one paid them any mind save to glance over and grin at the drunken silliness of it all. The gentlemen’s attire held all the extravagance of the stage, with flounces and bright colours and sparkling jewellery. They were corseted, with one wearing a skirt with no front panel, revealing trousered legs.

They were not the only ones dressed in such curious fashion. Others were dotted about the crowd, women in breeches and tailcoats, a willowy man in a lace shift. Others wore far less clothing than was really suitable for a December night.

Lucky thing it was so darned warm inside. Silas tugged at his collar.

‘Stifling, isn’t it? Perhaps we should get you out of those clothes.’ Pitch’s eyes danced with mischief, and it seemed no accident that his hand brushed against Silas’s trousers.

Ada stole Silas’s chance to reply, returning with a bottle of champagne and two stunning Bristol blue glasses.

‘Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to give you the best seats in the house for the show.’ She chuckled. ‘Don’t get too excited though. It’s no Theatre Royale here, but the private box is just that. Private. I thought that might be to your liking.’

‘Oh, there’s really no need –’ Silas began.

‘That sounds sublime,’ Pitch overrode him. ‘We’ll take it happily. Would I be right in assuming this a burlesque show of sorts?’

Ada winked at him. ‘You know your theatre. Though we like to think our shows press a little harder at the boundaries of respectability than most. Our travesty roles are quite the drawcard. You’ve spotted some of our performers no doubt. You’d not bring your mother to a show here, not unless she was liberal in her tastes, or quite blind and deaf.’

No wonder Pitch seemed so pleased. He was gleeful as a child with a half-penny in a candy store. Silas took his hand and could not resist pressing a kiss to the smooth white satin which covered it, causing the daemon’s grin to widen.

Ada motioned for them to follow, and they made their way across the floor. The drinks were flowing, and had been for some time Silas suspected. He had to pay special attention as they moved and more than once needed to sidestep a patron who was attempting some awkward dance in between the tables. Silas took care to ensure Pitch was out of the way. It had not escaped his notice how annoyed the daemon had gotten with the number of boots landing on his skirts at the station.

Ada led them to the far side of the room, where a spiral staircase was nearly hidden by drapes of fabric and an astonishingly large Boston fern set on a high, audacious marble pedestal.

‘Up you go, then,’ Ada said. She handed Pitch the bottle and Silas the glasses. ‘Mind your head at the top there. Like I said, it’s not much. Normally Nancy and I sit there, but I’d like to speak to her about her trip to the city, so we’ll be going somewhere quieter. How about we have a late supper after the show? I’ll come find you when it’s done, an hour or so. Anything you need, tell Phyliss at the bar that it’s on my tab.’

‘Very kind.’ Pitch grinned. ‘Oh, actually I wonder if there might be a telephone here I could use? It’s probably best I let my aunt know we won’t be back this evening. She’s a grumpy old thing, a spinster, you see, so she has nothing else to do but bully me about.’

Silas smirked but was pleased he didn’t have to talk the prince into calling Lady Satine to tell her not to expect them back at the Village this evening. It was one thing to take matters into their own hands. It was another entirely to disappear off the face of the Earth.

‘There’s a telephone up in the private box actually,’ Ada replied. ‘A little luxury of ours. We unhook it during the shows of course. You are very welcome to use it.’

Silas stepped closer to Ada as she prepared to leave. ‘Forgive me, it’s likely none of my business, but I do hope that all is well with Tilly?’

A shadow crossed Ada’s face, but she banished it quickly. ‘Sweet of you to ask, Arthur. Tilly has had a few little issues. A rash on her skin we can’t seem to budge, and a tendency to prefer waking over sleeping.’ She gave him a rueful grin. ‘Both of which make her very uncomfortable at times.’

‘Sunlight,’ Pitch said, one foot upon the first step. ‘More sunlight is what it needs, I’ll wager. A trip to the south of France should fix things.’

Ada was kind enough not to show it if she was annoyed with Pitch’s flippant diagnosis. ‘Fixes most things, I’d say. I guess I’ll hear soon enough from Nancy what the doctors suggest.’

Pitch shrugged as though he’d given them the answer they needed but was not going to waste any more time convincing them of it.

Ada turned to Silas as the piano man had a slew of song suggestions shouted at him. ‘Don’t worry now, Arthur, and thank you for your concern. Go and enjoy the night with your fellow. And don’t be shy about it.’ She leaned in closer as the bashing of the piano keys began again. ‘Thaddeus is very lovely, and most people in here can’t keep their eyes off him, but he’s only got eyes for you, lucky chap. You can relax here, the two of you, I promise. Enjoy each other.’ With another wink, of which she seemed overly fond, Ada headed off.

‘Come on then, Artie.’ Pitch nudged the head of the bottle against Silas’s arse cheek. ‘Up you go. You’re not scared of heights too, are you?’

‘Of course bloody not.’ Actually he wasn’t sure. They’d not yet had to climb out on any ledges or stand on any craggy mountaintops, but the staircase was barely a floor high anyway. It was the width of the spiral that bothered him. ‘This staircase is very narrow.’

‘Then wiggle your hips a bit.’

‘How will that help anything?’

‘It won’t most likely, but it will make the view very entertaining.’