Lisa looked back at the mirror and sighed as she pulled a comb through her hair; the thick tresses seemed to fall into place at a touch. "There are some people in the other room we must spend a few minutes with, then we will go to dinner," she said quietly.
"When do you have to leave?"
"We shall discuss that at dinner." She dropped the comb and turned away from the mirror, holding out her hand. "Come. A few minutes with the people in the other room, and we will go to dinner."
There were a couple of dozen people in the room, and Janice felt gauche and awkward among them. The women were faultlessly chic in their sparkling diamonds and trailing evening dresses, and the men were suave and worldly, all of them smoothly continental and making Janice feel like a country bumpkin. The room was choked with baskets of flowers and buckets of champagne, and a couple of the ushers were serving the champagne around. Lisa dragged her along at her side, carrying a glass of champagne, and introduced her to person after person with a ripple of titles and names. Janice stumbled around and tried to keep out of the ushers' way, careful not to bump into anyone or spill her champagne on anyone. They worked their way slowly across the room to the door into the corridor, then suddenly they were in the corridor and still carrying the glasses of champagne as they walked rapidly toward the exit door. One of the workwomen was waiting by the exit door with a fur cape. She tossed the cape around Lisa's shoulders, took the glasses, and opened the exit door with an effortless tug. There were cement steps leading down into the darkness of the alley, and a taxicab waiting at the bottom of the steps, its parking lights on and its engine idling.
The interior of the cab was warm and comfortable, smelling faintly of mildewed upholstery and stale tobacco. The reflected light gleamed faintly on Lisa's lovely face as the taxi jerked into motion with a rattle from the engine. She looked down at Janice and smiled as Janice took her hand, and their fingers laced together. "Lisa, I have to know now when you must leave."
Lisa's smile faded and she turned her face back toward the front, looking over the driver's shoulder at the narrow, cobblestone street and the ancient buildings crowded in on each side in the flickering, yellow light of the headlights as the taxi rumbled along. She pulled Janice's hand onto her lap and patted it with her other hand. "Tonight, little darling."
It was shattering, devastating. Janice turned her face toward the side window, fighting the stinging, burning tears which were suddenly flooding up behind her eyelids. Lisa's soft hand turned her face back, and the large, dark eyes were serious and thoughtful, looking into hers. A puzzled, searching look. She spoke about being able to write, perhaps seeing each other again, but Janice pulled her face away from Lisa's touch and looked out the window again. The disappointment was too much. Lisa held her hand on her lap and stroked it, silently looking out through the windshield again.
The taxi pulled into an alley, stopped, and the driver went in a door. A moment later he returned with another man, a headwaiter; it was the alley entrance of a restaurant. The driver held the door as they got out, firmly refused payment from Lisa, and the headwaiter bowed low then led them along a narrow hallway. There were muffled sounds of dining, laughter, and revelry from the main dining room further along the corridor as the headwaiter bowed them into a private room. There was a single table, and the flickering light of the candles blended with the ruddy glow coming from the tiny fireplace. The crystal and silver on the table sparkled on the spotless, embossed linen, and the heavy wooden beams overhead and the paneling on the walls were shiny with age. The headwaiter seated them, poured wine into their glasses, and left.
"The young beauty of my little darling," Lisa said gravely, lifting her wine glass toward Lisa and sipping it.
Janice tried to smile, choking with Lisa's beauty in the wavering light of the candles. Perhaps she didn't go with the sophisticated, cultured life Lisa led, or perhaps Lisa didn't feel the stirring she felt. Perhaps she was letting her down easy. A stubborn rejection rose within her. She wouldn't be let down easy; if Lisa wanted rid of her, she would have to be plain and straight forward about it. "I love you, Lisa."
Lisa nodded calmly. "And I love you, little darling. Drink your wine. It is from Traben Trarbach, the home of my family. See? The Grevenburg castle is on the label…"
"With sex!"
"Sexually," Lisa corrected her automatically, then she sighed. "I will not discuss this with you, Irene. You are a child, and…"
"I am sixteen years."
"That is a child. And what have I said or done to lead you to believe that I would desire such a relationship? Surely you must…"
"You have done nothing. I am begging you enthusiastically."
"Fervently. Have you always felt yourself attracted to women?"
"A little. But never before the way I feel about you. Do you like me?"
"I told you that I love you, little darling."
"Europeans say that to friends of the same sex. Please answer me."
Lisa looked down at the table, a slight frown on her face, then she slowly shook her head. "No, I will not discuss this with you, Irene…"
"I will follow you to Brussels."
Lisa looked up at her, her eyes beginning to sparkle with anger. "You shall not!"
Janice leaned toward her, tapping with her finger on the table to emphasize her words. "I shall! I shall sit outside your door, and when people come by I shall tell them that you brought me from Vienna, then you tired of me, struck me, and threw me out."
Lisa looked at her, her mouth opening slightly in surprise, anger and amusement flickering across her face, then she drew in a deep breath and sat back. "You would hurt me this way?"
"Only if you persist in refusing to discuss this matter. Please tell me if you like me."
Lisa looked back down at the table, and her fingers idly toyed with the silverware as she was silent for a long moment. She finally sighed and looked at Janice again, her eyes sad. "It would be a kindness for me to tell you that I do not like you, Irene. It would be a kindness for both of us. But it would also be a lie. Yes, I like you – I like you very much. For the first time in many years, I feel… very strongly toward someone – toward you. I am an adult and you are a child, but I find it difficult to conduct myself as an adult should. But still I fear that…" She broke off as the door quietly opened and the waiter came in, and she lifted her wine glass and sipped it, looking at Janice and indicating her wine glass with her eyes. Janice picked up her glass and sipped it, sitting back in her chair.
Lisa ordered for both of them, and the waiter left again. Janice sipped the clear, tangy-bitter wine and looked at Lisa as the silence stretched out into a minute. Lisa still looked down at the table, her lips pursed pensively in thought. "Why are you fearful?"
"Afraid," Lisa sighed, then she looked up at her. "This is not a simple situation, little darling. What of your parents?"
"They are dead and have been for years."
Lisa looked at her and shook her head sympathetically. "A shame, for one so young. But you are young, little darling, and the young are impetuous and thoughtless. I was hurt long ago, and it was very painful. Since then I have kept myself impervious to injury. I would be vulnerable to you."
"I would kill myself before hurting you."
She sighed softly. "You see? That is what I meant by youth. To say that you would kill yourself is…"
"I meant it. In fact and actually. Please come back to see me next week."
"Literally. And it would be impossible for me to return next week the conductor of Symphonique Bruxelles will be absent for a three-week period beginning next week, and I am his assistant."
"Within a month, then."
Lisa looked at her silently for another long moment. There was a deep sadness and melancholy in the beautiful, liquid eyes, but there was also a quivering light of need. "Would you truly not hurt me, little darling?"