Leisha caught Shade's voice. The red-haired girl raised her head and watched the girl onstage deliver her monologue:
"Yes, let me show you how a small folk troupe interprets the modern meaning of an ancient fairy tale from this era. Oh, Shade, close your mouth and watch the show properly."
As she spoke, she took Shade's right hand in her left and gripped it tightly. Though Shade did not quite understand what holding his hand had to do with telling him to shut up, he obediently turned his attention to the play.
The performance had begun at seven twenty and reached its final scene around nine ten. To be honest, although Shade did not know much about opera as an art form, he could still see the gap between this performance and the standard of a proper Opera House. But a folk troupe like this brought the actors closer to the audience, which was entirely different from watching a show through opera glasses from a distant private box.
This more genuine and unadorned performance earned the audience's approval. When the show ended, the actors taking their bows received thunderous applause.
After the performance, the audience discussed what they had seen as they left in twos and threes. Since Shade and Leisha had been seated in the last row, they were among the last to leave. Before they exited the courtyard, a young woman in her twenties, still wearing her makeup and lifting the hem of her elaborate dress, hurried through the gate in the low wall toward them:
"Please wait, Detective Hamilton!"
Leisha tightened her hold on Shade's hand, so Shade stopped and turned curiously toward the young woman:
"Hello. Do you know me?"
The made-up young woman smiled and nodded:
"Yes. Miss Louisa mentioned that you would be coming