Two days later, the acrobats Nicholi, Gregori, their mother, Portence, and Rosa the scamp, as she came to be called, were putting Leonora through her morning paces. She was flexible enough, more flexible than the boys, though no one was as flexible as twelve-year-old Rosa. Back handsprings were not easy, especially if you wanted to do three in a row and end with a back flip, either curled or straight legged with a twist.

“Stick that landing,” Giovanni said a million times. “Take a bow. We will be having dress rehearsals in two weeks if we can get Madigan and his musicians working together and we are not nearly ready.”

Cartwheels and handstands were also not easy to do well. The handstand in particular was important if you wanted to do a slow roll backwards and end up on your feet. The boys tended to tuck and roll forward to their feet. Rosa could do a slow back walkover and come slowly to her feet. Leonora could not quite do that, but she was determined to do it and would not quit until she mastered it.

Giovanni had a seesaw built that the boys could use to get some height. Portence, their own mother came up with the idea of using the seesaw to land Gregori on Nicholi’s shoulders so they stood two people tall. Nicholi was the stronger of the two, being eighteen months older than his brother. Then Portence and Rosa came up with the idea that Rosa should be catapulted to the top, to stand three people tall. That was going to take real practice. Leonora thought she could sneak up and jump on the other end of the seesaw to send the little girl up to that height, but Leonora did not weigh enough alone. She got Oberon the dwarf when he dressed in his yellow clown outfit to jump with her. Again, they needed practice, but Giovanni thought if they could get good at it, that could be a boffo ending for their act. Maybe no one knew what a boffo was, but by then others were saying it.

Leonora spent at least two hours after lunch learning lines and jokes. Giovanni wiped the worry sweat from his forehead when he recognized that she had a good sense of comedic timing. When Giovanni realized that he took advantage of being the Kairos for the first time in his life. He had the Storyteller look up the Abbot and Costello routine of “Who’s on First.” They needed the megaphone and a strong voice in the big tent, but in the smaller circus tent it would be perfect. Leonora put a coat over her harlequin costume and pretended to be an outsider who wanted to join the circus. Giovanni talked about nicknames and brought out the clowns who carried a ball. The red clown was who. The white clown was what. The blue clown was I Don’t Know. He knew he should not tempt time in that way, but circus people were always practical, quick to use whatever came to mind or to hand. With some minor adjustments, the routine went well and he tried to ignore the scolding he gave himself.

Leonora also spent lunchtime getting to know the circus people. Much to Giovanni’s delight, though not unexpected, everyone liked her very much. She was easy to like, he decided.

On the third day, Oberon arrived with a jar of white makeup and a smaller jar of red. He had brushes for her eyelashes and a pencil for her brows. “Here,” he said. “She might as well start getting used to wearing the makeup, not that a high born woman needs much encouragement in the makeup department. Besides, I think you want her covered up for when the visitors arrive.” He walked off without further explanation. Leonora and Giovanni who sat at the table across from each other, turned their head like they were mirror images. They looked at the road. They turned back at the same time and looked at each other before they both dropped their eyes. Giovanni coughed to clear his throat.

He applied her whiteface. He made her lips red and did not let his fingers linger too long on her lips, though she said nothing about it. She just looked at him with big puppy dog eyes, so he went to work on the eyes. He made them appear extra big and darkened the lashes and eyebrows. He noticed the whiteface did not disguise her beauty. He would have to watch that, but meanwhile, she would not likely be recognized.

Moments later, some twenty men rode up on the road and six of the men came down on the wide and safe path to the barn, the stables, the workshop, and where all the tents and wagons rested. Most of the men were soldiers of some sort, but Giovanni knew or remembered four of them. Lord Stephano butted up front and his two henchmen, big and short, rode behind. The other one was Otto who gave a good look around before he got down.

Giovanni went straight to Otto while Leonora went to hide by the chuck wagon. She did a cartwheel and back handspring on her way. She thought it completed the disguise, but Otto noticed.

“Much nicer than the other one,” Otto said.

“The other one?” Giovanni asked as they greeted each other with the supposed secret circus handshake.

“We stopped at a farm down the road. We thought it was your circus farm. Some of the people looked familiar.”

“Not mine,” Giovanni said and Otto nodded.

“The Corriden Circus. I thought you were the only one.”

“He stole some of my people and started his own. You know, a good idea is bound to be copied.”

“I could get your people back,” Otto offered, but Giovanni quickly shook his head.

“They are free people and can go where they want. If they think they can do better with Corriden, that is their decision. I don’t own them. They may be surprised, though. I’ve got some new acts which are pretty good.”

“Your harlequin?” he paused for Giovanni to nod that he got the name right. Otto started again. “You harlequin is certainly pretty and I bet she is also good.”

“Harley is new and just learning with so much of this circus. Hard to believe we only have one more month to get ready before we have to start the season.”

“Get to the point,” Lord Stephano shouted down from where he sat on his horse and looked around everywhere.

“April starts it all.” Otto understood as he remembered. “So, we are here looking for my fiancé. She disappeared right before the wedding, and we know she took a boat to the mainland, but then we lost her. No telling where she may have gone. Some are saying she may have taken a ship to some distant port, like Constantinople or Provence, and we will never find her.”

“How do you feel about that?” Giovanni asked.

Otto shrugged. “Not one way or the other. I only saw her that one time, briefly, when she—when we were younger.” He shrugged again. “I have advisors who thought it was a bad deal from the beginning. They are already working on an arrangement with the Emperor of the Eastern Romans. Apparently, he has a second daughter, Zoe something.” He honestly did not look terribly interested in marriage of whatever kind. It told Giovanni that he might not have been an attentive or good husband, so keeping Leonora was just as well.

Giovanni looked up at Lord Stephano and raised his voice. “Sorry. Just circus people here. We don’t allow strangers in our midst. Have to protect the secrets of the circus, you know.”

Lord Stephano harumphed, but Otto smiled until Giovanni took his arm and led him a few steps further away.

“You asked me four questions last time. Now I have a question for you.”

“Fair enough,” as Giovanni let go and turned to face the young emperor.

“Do you have any friends?”

Otto looked taken aback by the question. “I…” He tried to play it straight. “I have lots of people who like to hang around the court and smile and agree with everything I say.”

“Seriously.”

Otto looked down. “I have generals, captains, advisors, counselors,,,”

“A butcher, a baker, and a candlestick maker, but that does not answer the question.”

Otto shuffled one foot. “No,” he said. “Not really.”

“Well, you have one,” Giovanni said. “I will always be your friend and tell you the truth, even if you don’t want to hear it, and even if it gets me in trouble.”

Otto nodded, paused, hugged Giovanni, and spoke. “I have an empire to run. You have a circus to run…”

“About like running a madhouse.”

“Same,” Otto said with a smile. “Still, I could envy you.”

“My father used to say, never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.”

“I’ve heard that one, or something like that.”

The two turned back to the horses and Lord Stephano had something more to say. “Aren’t you going to order your soldiers to search the camp?”

Otto shook his head as he mounted. “She is not here. But if she was you should not worry. If she is with Don Giovanni she is in the safest place in the world she could be, even if my friend misbehaves sometimes.” He smiled at that thought and said, “See you later.”

“Later,” Giovanni echoed.

One week later, he got a letter from Otto. It said he would be in Rome all summer, or at least at the beginning of the summer. He really wanted to see the circus again, but he did not know Giovanni’s schedule. If possible, he should certainly be in Rome the first two weeks in June. Could he maybe come to Rome June first? Then he said that things often change with two such busy people, but God willing they can hopefully catch up with each other in Rome. Good luck with all the new people, he said, and signed it informally, though it was sealed with all the bells and whistles of the Holy Roman Emperor.

“Good luck,” Giovanni said to himself.

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MONDAY

Sabotage, chapter 7 in three parts, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Don’t miss it. Happy Reading

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