Dancing With Raven (The Young Shakespeareans Series) (11 page)

While waiting on the sidewalk just outside the studio, Raven went over his resolutions.
I’m determined to be detached, reserved, and measured toward Tori. She needs a guardian angel, not a besotted admirer.
Nevertheless, when she emerged from the doors, his resolve evaporated.

“Here, let me get that.” He reached for her dance bag, which she relinquished with a puzzled expression.

“Not too many men offer to carry things for me,” she said. “You’re kind of old-fashioned, aren’t you?”

“If you mean I was raised with manners, then yes. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Actually, it’s…refreshing. My car is just over here.”

After she opened her trunk, Raven stowed the bag inside.

“Thank you. Um…I owe you an explanation for that kiss,” she said.

They stood only a few yards away from Ventura Boulevard. The road noise was so deafening, he had to raise his voice to be heard. “Can we go somewhere quieter to talk?”

“How about inside my car?”

Raven hastened around to the driver’s side to open her door. As he slid into the passenger side and pulled his door shut, he breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s much better.”

“You really are a gentleman,” she said.

“My mum would be happy to hear that. She’s in London, with my stepfather.”

“Do you like him?”

Shrug. “He’s all right, I suppose. He’s a bit of a bore, really.”

“My parents were both killed in a car accident about ten years ago. I live with my foster mother.”

His surprise was feigned, but his sentiments were sincere. “I’m sorry to hear about your parents. How terrible for you.”

“Yes.” Tori bit her lip. “Um…listen, I asked you to kiss me because Kirstin and her mother were walking past.”

“Is she the girl with the—” he caught himself before he said the word
imp
“—sour face?”

“That’s the one. She hates me and I don’t like her much either. Anyway, it was immature, but I wanted her to think we had something going on. I used you and I apologize.”

“No apology necessary.” He chuckled. “I sort of had words with her insufferable mother during class.”

Tori’s eyes widened. “What?”

“She was crowing about her daughter. I told her
you
were the most talented dancer in the class and I couldn’t wait to see what wonderful things the future held for you.”

A tear slid down Tori’s cheek. “Thank you for that. The thing is, I’m not certain there’s a place for me as a classical dancer and I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Raven reached over to wipe the moisture away with his thumb. “I’m not gentleman enough to carry a handkerchief, I’m afraid.”

She giggled through her tears. “There’s a box of tissues in the glove compartment.”

He retrieved the box. As she took a tissue, she gave him a grateful smile.

“Thresher was leaning on me this afternoon to audition for the school showcase,” he said. “Why don’t we audition together?”

Her eyebrows shot upward. “You’ve seen for yourself I’m not an actress.”

“There’s loads of time to prepare. Do you sing?”

“A little, yes.”

“I know you can dance. C’mon, let’s do it.”

“The last time I auditioned, it didn’t work out well for me.”

“I can coach you with your acting technique. How about we pick a scene from
R&J—The Musical
?”

“That’s the one based on
Romeo and Juliet
? I don’t know, Raven. I have awful stage fright.”

“Thresher told me a lot of industry people will be there, looking for talent. This could be the exact thing you need to find your future.”

“Why would you help me? We barely know one another.”

He averted his gaze, hoping she wouldn’t see his guilt. “You wouldn’t owe me anything, I promise. I’d like to be your friend.”
As well as keep you alive and protect you from harm.

She sighed. “Okay, I’ll audition with you, but please don’t let me make a fool of myself!”

“You won’t.”

“And you won’t have to worry about kissing me again. I’m really sorry about that.”

I’m not.
His cell phone went off with a text message from his dad, asking him to come home. “Er…I have to go. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Okay. Thanks again for…everything.”

His eyes flickered to her lips, but he forced himself to open the car door. “Later.”

Ian was in the kitchen assembling a casserole when Raven arrived. “Hello. Grate the cheese, would you?”

“Okay.” Raven stepped over to the sink to wash his hands. “Surely you didn’t call me home to grate cheese? It sounded as if there was an emergency.”

“Birmingham is visiting Los Angeles in two weeks.”

Raven was taken aback. “Why?”

“He claimed he wants to see the sights, but that’s nonsense.”

“What do you suspect?”

“When the Arthurs disappeared from London nearly eighteen years ago, undoubtedly Birmingham knew why. He believes—correctly—I can lead him to the Leap Day child.”

“If he connects the dots, he’ll guess I’ve been tasked with guarding Tori. He’ll watch me, and anyone I hang with will be a suspect.”

“True.”

“You don’t want me to avoid her, do you?”

“No. The last thing you should do is to leave her unprotected. We’ll just have to play a little cat and mouse game for a while…at least until the second of March,” Ian said.

“Good, because I’ve been asked to audition for the school showcase and I talked Tori into auditioning with me. She’s a brilliantly talented dancer.”

“So was her mother. There’s a red leather scrapbook in the library. Bring it here and I’ll show you.”

While his father finished the casserole and put it into the oven to bake, Raven fetched the scrapbook and set it on the kitchen table. A fond smile of reminiscence lit Ian’s face as he turned the pages. Finally, he found the item he was looking for—a souvenir program from
Les Sylphides
at Her Majesty’s Theatre, featuring a beautiful prima ballerina by the name of Hannah Paige. He tapped the photo. “That’s Tori’s mother. Gorgeous, wasn’t she? When we were little older than you are now, Gerald and I were both quite enamored of her. In the end, the better man won out.”

“Tori looks a great deal like her mother.”

“I think she got the best of both her parents.”

“How much does her foster mother know about what’s going on?”

“Misty Savannah thinks Hannah and Gerald were part of a witness relocation program.”

“Not far from the truth, actually.”

The temperature gauge on the oven beeped, and Ian flinched. Although his father laughed about it afterward, Raven knew he wasn’t nearly as composed as he pretended to be.
Perhaps he’s beginning to wonder if our presence in L.A. hasn’t put Tori in more danger than before. If so, I’m starting to agree with him.

Chapter Eight

Cabbages and Kings

O
VER
D
INNER
T
HAT
N
IGHT
, Tori told her foster mother about the school musical showcase. A gasp of pleasure escaped Misty’s lips and she clapped her hands together. “What a wonderful idea, Tori!”

“I’m
horribly
scared. Acting and singing are not my strongest points.”

“Nonsense. Your voice is lovely. I’ll call the piano tuner first thing in the morning. If you can get me the sheet music, I can help you prepare.”

“That’s so sweet.” Tori paused. “There’s a new boy at school who’s going to coach me with my reading. Maybe between the two of you, I’ll get through this audition without wilting.”

“A boy?” Misty’s eyebrows lifted. “I want to hear everything!”

“Raven’s from London, and I’ve never met anyone like him. He’s gentlemanly and a marvelous actor.”

“Sounds perfect so far. What does he look like?”

“His hair is dark and wavy, and he wears it long…below his collar. He reminds me of a romance hero actually.”

“I can tell you like him.”

“Well…we didn’t hit it off at first, but he was very nice to me today when other people were being mean. We’re in homeroom, drama, and movement classes together. He’s my samba partner, actually.”

“You’re nearly eighteen. It’s about time you had a boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend. I barely know him.”

“Do you know what I think? I think we should do something different with your hair,” Misty said. “Declare your independence from the ballerina look.”

Tori blanched. “What did you have in mind?”

“A new shoulder-length style might be just the thing to give you a little lift. Some layers will bring out your natural wave, and we can even put in some highlights.”

Her reluctance was undisguised. “I suppose I could cut an inch or so…”

“Where’s your sense of adventure? A beautiful head of hair is far sexier than a ballet bun.”

Suddenly Tori felt self-conscious, and her fingers crept up to the thick chignon at the back of her neck. She’d worn her hair the same way since the age of thirteen. Would Raven prefer to see it down? In her mind’s eye, she pictured the sexless Kirstin, who wore her hair in a similar fashion. Shudder.
I want to look as different from her as possible.

“Maybe a change would be good,” Tori said.

“I’ll take care of making the appointment, then, and we’ll go to the hair salon Thursday afternoon.”

“Thanks, Misty. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

After school the next day, Raven and Tori sat outside under a tree to work on their audition scene from
R&J—The Musical
. As she skimmed the words, she wrinkled her nose.

“This might as well be gobbledygook for all the sense it makes to me.”

“You’ve never read Shakespeare before?”

“Not really. I saw the Zeffirelli version of
Romeo and Juliet
in an art house once.” She tapped the page. “That didn’t seem anything like this.”

“The words are meant to be spoken. I think you’ll be able to understand better if we just read it aloud. Don’t worry about the accent for now.”

As they went along, Tori’s furrowed brow relaxed and she glanced up at him. “You’re right, it’s beginning to make more sense.”

“Splendid!”

Her eyes crinkled with merriment. “You’re going to have to speak American if you want to hang with me.”

“Did I say something wrong?”

“The word ‘splendid.’ Try saying ‘cool’ instead.”

Raven switched to an urban American accent. “It’s all cool. Yo, baby, let’s chill. Know what I’m sayin’?”

Giggle. “Um…maybe ‘splendid’ isn’t all that bad.” She glanced at her watch and gave a reluctant sigh. “I should get going. I’ve a math quiz tomorrow and I need to study.”