At seven, the girls participated in their first meet-and-greet with Slurry. About fifty people from the area, winners of tickets from the local radio stations, were brought backstage to meet the bands. Although Elizabeth was a little nervous about the experience, her natural charm got her through it. The fact of the matter was that while everyone was polite to LBS, they were really there to see Slurry.
Elizabeth expected Darcy to be rude and glare at everyone, but to her surprise he was completely unlike the arrogant, brooding grouch she had seen at the studio. This was the Darcy she remembered from the grocery store. He was completely approachable. He shook hands, signed autographs, and even posed for pictures. She was surprised by this change in his demeanor but suspected it was simply a role he performed as part of the job.
While their fans distracted them, Elizabeth had a chance to observe Slurry. Darcy was dressed in his concert attire: black leather pants and black sunglasses. His long torso, broad shoulders, and long arms were completely bare. From her close position, she could see clearly the tattoo on his chest. It was a lyre, strangely enough: an instrument that would be more at home in the hands of an ancient Greek than a rock god. It was finely done; Elizabeth could even see the individual strings on the skin just to the left of his heart. He had another tattoo of a black spiral over his right shoulder and going down his arm.
Richard was simply dressed in a pair of jeans and boots. With his broad chest and powerfully built arms, he didn’t need a shirt. Elizabeth could not count all his tattoos in one sitting without being obvious. She started with his back, where a large Celtic knot was centered over his spine and spread out to his shoulder blades, the top just brushed by the tips of his long curls. For a full minute Elizabeth entertained herself by watching the tattoo move as Richard’s muscles flexed. Just above the waistband of his jeans, at the base of his spine, was a small blue-black scarab. The Fitzwilliam family crest in all its glorious color adorned his right upper arm, and a blue sun sat on his right forearm.
Charles wore tight jeans and a royal blue T-shirt. The shirt matched the color of his eyes. His blond curls flowed over his collar and rested on his shoulders. Once the meet-and-greet was over, the girls had thirty minutes before they were to begin the show. Elizabeth thought she would burst from the excitement and nervousness burning inside her, but she kept control of her passions. She was away from the others, tuning her Taylor one last time and mentally rehearsing her song, when she realized with a start that Darcy was standing in front of her.
“Can I give you a word of advice?” he said softly.
Elizabeth nodded, her neck stretched up to look at him.
“When you get out there, don’t look at the crowd at first. It’s too much. Get on your mark and as soon as the others are on theirs, just start playing. Don’t look around, don’t think, just play.” He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Your music is programmed inside of you. Trust it. You know what to do; play, and it will be all right.”
Elizabeth nodded, not quite sure what to say. She was disturbed by the intimacy of his voice and the intensity of his gaze. “Thank you. I’ll try to remember that.”
“Good luck,” he said quietly and stepped away.
Charles called her over, “It’s time, ladies.” He smiled brightly. “You all look great! If you are ready, I’ll walk you out.”
Charlotte frowned. “But Alex always walks us out.”
Alex’s voice came over their earplugs. “Char, I’m right here.” They looked up to see him wave from the control station. “I’m going to be watching you on the monitors with Caro.” Caroline waved distractedly. “Let Charles walk you out tonight, okay?”
“But what about our kiss?” Elizabeth asked in a tone of amusement mixed with concern.
Alex smiled, came around the control desk, and quickly kissed the three women. Charles then led them through the dark maze of cables, curtains, and consoles until they reached the edge of the stage.
“Ready?” Charles grinned. “You will be great, don’t worry, okay?” He kissed each girl, lingering over Jane slightly, when Alex’s voice in their heads commanded them to take their positions on the stage.
The words “Long Borne Suffering” filled the hall, lights flooded the stage, and Elizabeth started her opening riff. Four bars later Charlotte and Jane joined in on their instruments and she started her song. She lost herself in the words and dance she had drilled for two weeks solid. It was only when her song was over and Jane was singing “Wanted” that Elizabeth allowed herself to look at the huge arena. It was full of thousands of faces, many of which were ignoring the band, but still more were smiling and nodding slightly with the beat. A sense of euphoria filled her as they ended the song and paused for applause.
Their set was over in a shorter time than they could have imagined, and they left the stage to warm applause. A roadie led them back to the green room, where Alex was waiting.
“Wonderful!” he exploded, kissing the girls and hugging them tight. “You were perfect!”
They laughed, each a little giddy and speechless from the experience. “Oh Alex!” Jane said, remembering something. “Where can we watch Slurry from? We want to see their show.”
“Where are they anyway?” Charlotte asked.
“Right here,” Charles answered. Elizabeth turned to see all three men standing together. “We just wanted to tell you how great you were.”
“You girls rocked,” Richard grinned.
“Did you want to watch the show?” Darcy asked.
“If you don’t mind,” Jane answered. “We’ve never seen you perform,” she smiled happily.
The men shared a look, and Richard said slowly, “We prepared for this.” He grinned and pulled out what looked like a credit card. “Private skybox, number twelve,” he said, passing over the card.
“Or you could watch from the side of the stage,” Charles offered, teasing. “But we thought a box would be more comfortable.”
“And then the speakers are facing the right way,” Richard added, joking.
“Thank you,” Jane said, astonished, speaking for them all. “This is so thoughtful.”
“You’re welcome,” Darcy said softly, his eyes again masked by his shades.
“Thanks for coming on tour with us,” Charles added. “You might want to go up now. See you after the show.” The men moved off with Caroline for their final check.
Rebecca hurried up with a man beside her. The man was of average height, but with a powerful build. He wore a black T-shirt that had “Security” printed across the chest in red block letters. “Girls, this is Tommy. When you are ready, he will take you up to your box.”
Elizabeth nodded and with the help of a couple of sound techs, their microphones, receivers, and the accompanying wires were removed from their bodies. As soon as she was free, Elizabeth hurried to where the instruments were being kept and found her beloveds waiting to be cleaned.
Darcy was there, with Ronnie, the guitar tech, doing a final check on his Paul Reid Smith. He looked at her, surprised. “We’re about to start, you’re going to miss the show.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Guitars first, show later,” she replied lightly. Carefully she put the Guild in its case and moved on to the Taylor.
“You know, Ronnie can do that,” Darcy sounded amused.
“I know,” Elizabeth said coolly, taking offense at his tone. “But these are my babies. I missed not having them last night and I need to take care of them.”
Understanding crossed his features and he crouched down beside her. “You can keep your guitars with you, if it would make you feel better.”
Elizabeth looked up into his face, feeling quite small and insignificant next to him. “Thank you,” she said softly.