The dressing room was empty, but I found Ellen on the main stage. She wore her chemise and her waist-length red hair was pulled roughly into a horsetail. Barky had disappeared for a moment so while I waited for his instructions on which scene he wanted us to practise, I took a seat in the front row on the men’s side to watch her. It wasn’t the best view in the house – I had to crane my head back to see the whole of the stage – but I could make out the concentration on her face, and the embroidery on her bodice. You didn’t get that in the dress circle. She was stretching, as I knew she did every day, both before and after the performance. She could’ve got away without it for the parts she played, but ‘performers must keep themselves limber’ was what she’d told me. When it came to her work, she was all business. I had to admire that about her. She practised her scales every day and I knew she hadn’t given up on her own dream of headlining. She was there waiting in the wings for the moment that I faltered, and she had Crillick’s ear too. It hadn’t stopped him from giving me top billing so far but it meant I had to be constantly on my toes.

She sensed I was there, and looked up, a frown crossing her face. ‘Well, look who it is. Nice of you to stop by.’

‘Where is everyone?’

‘Gone already. Barky said they could knock off early. The dancers have done their rehearsals, and Aldous. It’s only our scene left to do.’

‘Which one are we doing today?’

There were three different routines that I performed as Amazonia. Blood sacrifice, the one I’d done last night, was the most popular but there was a war dance too, when Amazonia fought off the dancers led by Ellen. The third was a series of tableaux, static poses against a variety of painted boards. It was the first one that Crillick had put together for me when I was just getting started and needed to build up my confidence.

‘You better choose, seeing as you’re the one in charge now,’ Ellen said.

I could see why she was narked. I would’ve been if it was her that had kept me waiting.

‘It was Vincent,’ I explained, hoping she’d understand.

‘You shouldn’t let him take liberties with you, Zillah. It’s your job he’s messing with. You’ve got to keep them at arm’s length for as long as you can. Though I suppose that’s a bit late for you and His Lordship.’