"I wanted to warn you earlier," Devlin said.
The sunlight streamed in behind Kate, highlighting the rich embroidery, and embedded pearls on her off-white dress. She had a tight crown of white feathers completely covering her hair and fiddled with the straps on a white and gold mask. Colin greeted her with what appeared like a script. He then glued a series of green dots along her chin and the bottom of her mask. A pair of actresses, in equally splendid ballgowns took their places on either side of Kate as Vince asked for their attention.
"Please make your way to your marks. We are going to walk through the quadrille this afternoon to make sure the hand-helds can follow the action. Then we are going to speed things up with the music. If you have assigned lines, we need to hear them. There have been some difficulties with the radio-mics of late so we have to use the booms. It is their job to stay out of the shot but I expect it will take a couple of runs to get it right." His crew jumped to his snapping fingers, he scanned the room announcing, "On four." Vince counted in, then clapped steadily as the pairs wove through the steps.
With the expert guidance of their dance crew partners, the actresses avoided any incidents more serious than a ripped hemline, and confidently delivered their lines. Devlin managed to get himself out of place and Bethany laughingly re-directed him. The stern look she earned from Vince prompted her to blush. Except when holding his partner a touch too close, or lingered with a hand clasp, Phillip was much more precise with his steps. Daniel seemed to be moving on autopilot, narrowly missing the hand-held rig during his cross-overs.
Kate found trying to remember both her lines and the dance steps challenging, so had to put more trust in her partners. She twirled into Phillip's orbit.
"The lovely Lady Eloise, at last," he said fully in character.
"My Lord," she inclined her head slightly before spinning away and then returning. She completely blanked on whether she had another line so focused on conveying a sense of shyness by minimizing her moves. Phillip tried to spin her closer than appropriate so she gave him a deft warning with her elbow.
"Delightful as always, my dear," he said through gritted teeth.
"My pleasure," she answered with an innocent smile before spinning over to her next partner. The turn after that brought her into Devlin's arms.
"I trust my brother behaved himself," he said while nodding in Phillip's direction.
"He is as much a gentleman as any other," Kate improvised. Devlin looked startled.
"Do you mean to wound with such meagre praise?" He asked.
"My dear sir, I fear you misunderstood. I mean neither to wound, nor to praise." Kate tried her best to channel what she could remember of period novels but knew she was well out of her depth. Luckily, the director called cut as the music stopped.
Vince gestured for his crew to come over and gave them some general notes on how to bridge the difference between the traditional dance form and the modern soundtrack. "Remember, this is all about proper frames and subtle flirting."
"Wish all our partners kept to your rules," one of the young men in the crew complained.
"Yeah. Nothing subtle about Mr. Handsy," Bethany said while nodding toward Phillip.
"At least you got to dance in his group," one of the younger girls whispered. Bethany looked at the girl with pity but did not respond. Kate only half listened as she paged through her part of the script.
Colin came over and talked to Vince about a re-set. When he noticed Kate's concentration, he told her not to worry so much. "They are going to be dubbing in the lines, both in the recording and with the visuals. That's what the green dots are for."
"I don't expect Liz acts with just her face." Kate's answer surprised Colin.
"Fair enough," he nodded and went on his way.
The next scene worried her since Daniel was on her dance card for a waltz. She rejoined the actresses and was surprised to see their lines up on a prompter behind the camera. Their stilted conversation circled around who might be the best catch at the ball. Kate's character had little to contribute apart from warning the younger brothers did not have good reputations. She flicked open her fan to cover her fidgets. Daniel bowed before her and put out his hand. Keeping her eyes lowered, she placed her hand lightly on top of his as they walked to the middle of the parquet dance floor. Kate struggled to keep up the kind of hesitation her character should express as she nearly melted at Daniel's touch. The music and his familiar style pulled her in, their perfectly matched steps weaving a warm net of nostalgia until it frayed under his cool glance.
"I didn't expect to see you here," Daniel said tightening his jaw as he leaned in.
"It was a last-minute thing. I came with Vince," Kate tapped Daniel's shoulder to warn him about the hand-held behind them. He deftly turned them away from danger.
"Vince of course. Tell me how long has it been Vince?"
"I could ask the same about Natalie and now Liz. So, let's not do this, please." Kate pleaded.
"You cut me out. Never let me explain." Daniel said.
"What did you expect. I was hurt. Humiliated in front of thousands of viewers, including all my family and friends. Nothing you could say would change how that felt."
"But I did it for you. To keep you from making your knee worse. You wouldn't stop on your own."
She looked into his eyes, wanting to believe in their partnership. Their matching steps made it seem possible to turn back the clock but then she remembered whose dress she now wore and how this scene, like their other dance pairings, was just make-believe. The music ended. Kate curtseyed, and whispered, "You're so full of shit," before hurrying back to her mark on the sidelines.
Six hours later, Kate lay on the top of her cot hoping to catch a breeze from the ancient fan laboring away in the corner of the tent. She could hear a young girl weeping about Phillip from across the way, friends murmuring condolences. Is that what I sounded like? She wondered. She might have asked Bethany except her friend has snuck out a while ago, telling her not to wait up. Kate had bravely wished her luck. They already dissected the afternoon's events but Kate could not stop replaying Daniel's hurt face and Devlin pulling him away to where Clayburn's assistant waited. After which the pair of actresses made unkind remarks about Daniel being a handy security blanket before turning on her with the reminder, "Just because you are wearing her costume today, don't think for a minute you are in her league."
"Don't worry. I know where I stand," Kate assured them. This truth was no less hurtful when for a few glorious moments during their waltz she had imagined something quite different for her and Daniel. Maybe not a happy ending, but at least a truce. Her lingering anger caught her off guard, its aftermath now plaguing her with excess energy. She gave up trying to rest and made her way back over to the ballroom.
The last requirement for her dance academy residence was to choreograph a modern piece. She had blocked out some of the key elements to match the assigned medley but still struggled with the transitions. It would have been easier to bring in street elements but those weren't a possibility for the school's dancers. Tonight, she rebelled putting together sequences she could easily imagine for Vince's crew, nodding to herself as everything clicked. She leaned her phone up against the wall to film herself. When she played it back, she noticed someone in the background leering through the windows at her.
She looked around the room for any kind of weapon but could only find a discarded fan. She flipped it around in her hands to test its weight before approaching the glass doors. Kate closed her eyes to let them adjust to the dark before stepping onto the patio. She had only taken a couple of steps before being blinded by a close-range flash.
"Hey!" she shouted throwing her arms up in front of her face. She settled into a lower stance ready to wield the handle of the fan like a knife. She could hear dogs barking, following of someone running down the gravel drive, then a vehicle revved its engine and squealed its tires on the lane. Kate sat on the steps leading to the lawn and concentrated on her breathing. A large black shape sat beside her, panting.
"Good try. Thank you," she said putting her hand out for the dog to sniff. The dog showed its approval by snuggling up, nearly trying to crawl into her lap. "Oh sweetie, it's way to hot for that," she said while scratching around to find a sweet-spot behind the Alsatian's ear. Another dog came over and licked the back of her hand, asking for his share of attention. She tucked her fan into the waist-band of her shorts, so she could pet him too. "I bet you are thirsty, let me grab some water for us," she got up slowly. The dogs circled her legs until she got to the patio doors where they sat at attention until she came back with her water bottle. She squatted between them and poured some water into her hand. The dogs took turns licking up whatever she poured out. When she finished, they licked her face.
William Wentworth arrived in time to watch the last part of this affectionate display and asked, "Chief, Commander, what are you doing?"
The dogs whined and crawled toward their master on their bellies.
"Don't be angry with them. I was just thanking them for chasing off the paparazzi or at least I think that is who it must have been," Kate stood then blew some loose hair back from her face. William studied her closely, trying to place the resemblance but also trying his best to ignore the alluring sight of her shapely legs.
"Can you tell me what happened? No wait, you might as well wait until the on-site security chief gets here." William tapped a message into his mobile then pointed to a wrought iron bench. The dogs came over as soon as Kate sat down, each laying a head on one of her legs, looking up with nothing short of adoration as she praised them some more.
"Perhaps while we wait you can tell me who you actually are. Vince's crew were all listed as locals but you are clearly from the colonies." His tone sounded more curious than concerned.
"I came at last minute in place of my roommate Sarah-Ann Lincoln. I'm over here on a bit of a gap year, working at odd jobs while trying for instructor certifications." Kate blushed at how flakey this might sound. She would have said more but the dogs let out a warning growl as a man dressed in black approached.
The security officer frowned and crossed his arms. William told the dogs to settle down but they both sat at alert, pressing tightly against Kate's legs.
"Well, here's another mystery for tonight," the security officer said looking at the dog's defensive posture. "Didn't you tell me these dogs have been specifically bred to protect your family members?"
"True, but not a matter of urgency when they are here protecting a witness," William turning to Kate and gesturing for her to tell her story.
"I couldn't sleep so decided to come work on choreography assignment. I caught someone staring in through the window. When I came looking, they flashed something in my eyes, leaving me night blind. Then I heard the dogs chasing them and a vehicle getting away." Kate took a breath and looked at the security officer.
"Can you describe the intruder?"
"I can show you his picture on my video. It's a bit blurry." She fished around for her phone pulling out the fan and putting it beside her on the bench. "Since my battery is running low its probably best if I send it."
William pulled out his phone to share his contact information. The Security Officer looked startled but then glanced down at the dogs and nodded to himself. There was definitely something going on between the Earl and this scantily clad dancer. While they were waiting for the file transfer William asked Kate why she had a fan.
"It didn't look like it would be easy to get a sword out of the display, so this had to do," Kate picked up the fan, flicked it open and closed, and spun it around her hand. "It's a common form, helps with blocks, and distractions."
"You went chasing after an unknown male, armed with a fan?" William sounded bemused. He was spared any further comments by the ping of the video transfer.
"Skip ahead to the four-minute mark," Kate said as the two men studied the small screen.
"That looks like Miss Clayburn's description of her stalker," the Security-Officer swore under his breath.
"Interesting," Kate said before explaining, "I stood in for Miss Eloise for the ballroom scenes today. You know, Liz's character."
"Right. We need to get this to the local police and give the production group a heads up. You're staying onsite, yes?" The security officer tapped himself on the chin.
Kate stood up, gathering her things to get ready to go back to the camp, but Chief and Commander blocked her way.
"I don't know what has gotten into my dogs," William shook his head. "Looks like they want you here at the house tonight."
"I won't argue, even if I should," Kate sighed then let out a yawn.
She woke the next morning with a wet nose pushing on her ear. "Ewe, bad breath Chief," she complained before popping out of bed to let the guard dog out the room. She found a cotton dress hanging on the outside door handle and was grateful not to have to face the day in sweaty florescent pink short-shorts and the rumpled t-shirt she had slept in. She wanted to check the time on her phone but it was totally dead so tried to gage things from the activity, or lack thereof, in the yard below her window. From the dull morning light, she figured she had plenty of time for washing up before venturing downstairs. Half-an-hour later she followed her nose to the downstairs kitchen.
Mrs. Bentley had a several trays lined up on the table and busily filled a row of carafes with boiling water. "Oh, Good morning. I was just going to send up your tray. Did you want tea or coffee?"
"Coffee would be heaven, Thank you." Kate smiled. "Is it alright for me to sit here?"
"Of course. Make your self at home. Have a pastry and some fruit. Himself won't be up and about for a while yet. The boys say the constables were here quite late after that bit of excitement. I trust you are feeling alright. Must have been a bit of a shock for you." Mrs. Bentley rattled on while she finished making up the trays. "There, that's ready for when Sally gets here. We haven't been putting on a hot meal in the mornings. Hope it's ok."
"This is lovely, thank you." Kate said with both hands wrapped around her mug of coffee before asking, "So are you from around here?" It was just that easy to prime Mrs. Bentley's pump to hear how her family had first come to work at the estate before in the 1920's and the many challenges through the depression and war.
"There are so many stories in a place like this. Old tragedies like Lady Kathleen's disappearance and more the recent ones with the plane crash and everything. Coming on top of everything else the death-duties are just crushing." Mrs. Bentley seemed to be warming up for a longer explanation when the hapless Sally appeared to start delivering the breakfast trays. She shot a dirty look at Kate who decided it might be prudent to vacate the kitchen.
Chief appeared out of nowhere to go with her down to her regular accommodations. "Am I going to be stuck with you all day?" She stared at the dog who gave what sounded all the world like a barked yes. "Fine but some of the folks have allergies so you have to stay outside. Let's find you some shade." Kate looked around for a good spot but Chief plopped himself down in the middle of the entrance.
"What the hell, Kate? Don't you know how worried we all were?" Bethany launched in before Kate had sorted out her clothes for the day.
"I'm fine. Honest. Its just the dogs didn't want me out of their sight so I ended up staying over. No biggie." Kate shuffled through her bags one more time. "You didn't happen to borrow my charge-cord, did you?"
Bethany went to the trunk where she stored her things and dug out the missing item. She held it up in the air, showing she would only trade for answers, "Just why are you being guarded?"
"It seems like Liz's stalker might have been on-site last night. After he took off, Chief and Commander decided I needed protection," Kate grabbed the cord and plugged in her phone. A menacing growl came from the tent opening so called out, "Steady on boy, let's not scare everyone."
Vince stood frozen in place while the large black dog sniffed around him. Kate hurried over.
"They want you at the production office, pronto," Vince said before turning to lead the way. "Do you have to bring the dog?"
"I don't seem to have a choice." Kate admitted.