Cyr, suspended from the ceiling in her magnificent gilded cage. Pepper claimed she had been there herself that very night.
It seemed a shame that Pepper was Tiger’s only meansof learning more about her own grandmother. Whilst Tiger rarely spoke of her parents, Lewis gathered that they had strongly disapproved of Coco’s legacy and of Tiger following in her footsteps. Coco had been a Catholic of Italian descent, and so Tiger’s mother Bridget, a staunch Irish Catholic, felt she was a disgrace to her faith. Nonetheless, when Coco had fallen ill Tiger’s father Frank had insisted she come back from the States to spend her last months in England near her family, and finally that she be laid to rest with a Catholic service. That was fourteen years ago. It was later that very same year that Lewis and Tiger had made their own big connection.
Tiger often spoke of her theory that Coco had always known the path her granddaughter would take. Coco gave instructions on her deathbed to Pepper, requesting that she find Tiger at the funeral service and make her acquaintance. Whilst Tiger was guarded with the quirky old lady at first, over the years she came to embrace Pepper as her fairy godmother; a gift from Coco, and a constant reminder to Tiger that her grandmother was always by her side in spirit, cheering her on from the wings.
Lewis snapped back to the present day as the music in the rehearsal room stopped abruptly.
‘Is there a problem, Georgia?’ snapped Pepper.
Georgia rolled her eyes and sighed as she delicately smoothed her blonde bob and dabbed sweat from her glistening brow with her long slender fingertips.
‘Pepper, this is really difficult without Tiger here, I’mtrying to get the girls’ spacing right and give them a good lead but without her here …’
‘It’s out of the question, darling. Tiger’s in New York overnight recording the Johnson Tyler show, you have to make do without her,’ said Pepper gently but firmly.
‘Yes, I’m all too aware of that.’ Georgia smiled sweetly, glancing behind her at Lewis for a second, before continuing, ‘It’s just, well, maybe someone can mark Tiger’s part just for today?’
‘H’mm.’ Pepper looked pensive. ‘Who would you suggest?’
‘Well … I could do it, I seem to have learned all her parts off by heart anyway,’ proposed Georgia hurriedly.
‘Well, if you think you can manage—’
‘Stop!’ roared Lewis, launching himself from his chair at the back. ‘Georgia, what the fuck are you thinking! Get back in line,’ he snarled, placing himself squarely in front of Pepper. ‘No one takes Tiger’s place, Pepper. Not ever, not even in rehearsal. Not even you, Georgia.’ He turned back to face his stunned girlfriend. ‘Or any dance captain for that matter,’ he muttered hotly, before stalking from the room with a gust of air that set the window blinds swaying in his wake. Jaws could be heard dropping. A long silence ensued.
‘Bleedin’ ’ell, babes, you alright?’ ventured Nicky out of the silence, moving to put an arm round a shocked and red-faced Georgia.
‘Oh piss off,’ Georgia half choked, half sobbed, pushing through the group of girls to chase after Lewis.
‘Right, girls, I think we’ll take two minutes for a water break,’ suggested Pepper, unruffled.
‘Fackin’ hell, girls, have you ever seen Lewis that bad before? It’s not like Georgia was trying to take Tiger’s place,’ squawked Frankie with her Essex twang.
‘Yeah, possessive or what,’ said Briony, contributing her posh accent to the proceedings. ‘I reckon he’s got a thing for Tiger anyway, it’s written all over his face if you ask me.’
‘Oh come on, they’ve just been working together for, like,
centuries
,’ guffawed Blanche huskily. ‘Anyway, it’s obvious Georgia’s got an agenda, why else would she “just happen” to know Tiger’s parts?’
‘’Cos she’s our dance captain, dumbo, it’s her job to know what everyone’s
It seemed a shame that Pepper was Tiger’s only meansof learning more about her own grandmother. Whilst Tiger rarely spoke of her parents, Lewis gathered that they had strongly disapproved of Coco’s legacy and of Tiger following in her footsteps. Coco had been a Catholic of Italian descent, and so Tiger’s mother Bridget, a staunch Irish Catholic, felt she was a disgrace to her faith. Nonetheless, when Coco had fallen ill Tiger’s father Frank had insisted she come back from the States to spend her last months in England near her family, and finally that she be laid to rest with a Catholic service. That was fourteen years ago. It was later that very same year that Lewis and Tiger had made their own big connection.
Tiger often spoke of her theory that Coco had always known the path her granddaughter would take. Coco gave instructions on her deathbed to Pepper, requesting that she find Tiger at the funeral service and make her acquaintance. Whilst Tiger was guarded with the quirky old lady at first, over the years she came to embrace Pepper as her fairy godmother; a gift from Coco, and a constant reminder to Tiger that her grandmother was always by her side in spirit, cheering her on from the wings.
Lewis snapped back to the present day as the music in the rehearsal room stopped abruptly.
‘Is there a problem, Georgia?’ snapped Pepper.
Georgia rolled her eyes and sighed as she delicately smoothed her blonde bob and dabbed sweat from her glistening brow with her long slender fingertips.
‘Pepper, this is really difficult without Tiger here, I’mtrying to get the girls’ spacing right and give them a good lead but without her here …’
‘It’s out of the question, darling. Tiger’s in New York overnight recording the Johnson Tyler show, you have to make do without her,’ said Pepper gently but firmly.
‘Yes, I’m all too aware of that.’ Georgia smiled sweetly, glancing behind her at Lewis for a second, before continuing, ‘It’s just, well, maybe someone can mark Tiger’s part just for today?’
‘H’mm.’ Pepper looked pensive. ‘Who would you suggest?’
‘Well … I could do it, I seem to have learned all her parts off by heart anyway,’ proposed Georgia hurriedly.
‘Well, if you think you can manage—’
‘Stop!’ roared Lewis, launching himself from his chair at the back. ‘Georgia, what the fuck are you thinking! Get back in line,’ he snarled, placing himself squarely in front of Pepper. ‘No one takes Tiger’s place, Pepper. Not ever, not even in rehearsal. Not even you, Georgia.’ He turned back to face his stunned girlfriend. ‘Or any dance captain for that matter,’ he muttered hotly, before stalking from the room with a gust of air that set the window blinds swaying in his wake. Jaws could be heard dropping. A long silence ensued.
‘Bleedin’ ’ell, babes, you alright?’ ventured Nicky out of the silence, moving to put an arm round a shocked and red-faced Georgia.
‘Oh piss off,’ Georgia half choked, half sobbed, pushing through the group of girls to chase after Lewis.
‘Right, girls, I think we’ll take two minutes for a water break,’ suggested Pepper, unruffled.
‘Fackin’ hell, girls, have you ever seen Lewis that bad before? It’s not like Georgia was trying to take Tiger’s place,’ squawked Frankie with her Essex twang.
‘Yeah, possessive or what,’ said Briony, contributing her posh accent to the proceedings. ‘I reckon he’s got a thing for Tiger anyway, it’s written all over his face if you ask me.’
‘Oh come on, they’ve just been working together for, like,
centuries
,’ guffawed Blanche huskily. ‘Anyway, it’s obvious Georgia’s got an agenda, why else would she “just happen” to know Tiger’s parts?’
‘’Cos she’s our dance captain, dumbo, it’s her job to know what everyone’s
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