Mistaken Identity

Mistaken Identity by jj Keller Tess glided home on a haze of euphoria, her research paper about the epic John Steinbeck was going to be published in the English Teaching Professional magazine. At lunch her roommate, Robin Deal, declared a celebration was in order and purchased box seats for them to attend a Russian ballet. Later that night they’d go to University Theatre…granted Robin had to write a report about the troupe for a recreation class, but it was the thought that counted. Tess didn’t mind, the ballet would provide her the one opportunity to wear her grandmother’s mink wrap. A hand-me-down, the brown sable had a perfect blending of fur. The worn patches of silk on the backside didn’t bother Tess one little bit. She showered, spread honeysuckle lotion all over the dry patches on her skin, and dressed as her Gram would say, “to the nines”. She selected an A-line gold dress, slipped on dark brown, above the elbow-length gloves, and forced her toes into clacker-heels. To top off the outfit, she swept her hair into a French Twist. A few days before, she’d watched a documentary on Audrey Hepburn and wanted to appear as sophisticated as she. The outfit was certainly over the top for a small town, but she so wanted to wear the mink and jeans didn’t seem fitting for the venue. “Well don’t you look like a princess?” Robin rested her arm on Tess’s shoulder, rubbing the decadent mink. She wore a Caribbean-blue tight blouse and a lime green short skirt. Her floral perfume matched the outfit, pungent and striking. With flats, she stood a foot taller than Tess. Robin was the foil to Tess’s pixy-self― slim, blonde, and exuberant. “Thanks, I think Gram would be pleased.” Tess glanced in the full length mirror, not recognizing the scruffy student she’d been two hours before, she now witnessed the image of a shorter young Audrey Hepburn. She rather liked how the gold in the dress highlighted her brown hair. Her nose was shiny as well, wishing it was more aristocratic in length and style. She shrugged and reapplied her lipstick, downplaying the peaks on her lips. “You’re not dressing for the thee..atre?” Robin snickered. “Ah, no. But I think you should wear my mother’s ring.” She ran into her bedroom, clapped open her jewelry box and rushed to Tess’s side. “Here, this is my mom’s emerald ring. It’s rather large, so wear the ring on top of the glove.” Tess shoved the large, square-cut, jewel onto her middle right finger, if nothing else she could use the digit to send a message about a bad performance. She wasn’t the type of person to give the finger to someone, but someday she’d walk on the dark side and find the nerve to use that key phalange in an obnoxious way. “Oh, how pretty, the stone matches your eyes perfectly.” Robin smiled. “Let’s go, we’re already late.” Although in walking distance, they drove to the theatre, adding two extra blocks in order to enter Theatre Lane going in the correct direction. Robin illegally parked near a red door, marked private. Once out of the car Tess had reservations about entering through an obviously restricted entrance. Robin threw open the metal entrance and tugged Tess across the threshold, landing them near the backstage. “Ah there you are. We thought perhaps you’d changed your mind about attending the ballet tonight. I’m Andre.” The young man wore a tux, and his hair was shinier than the brown heels pinching her toes. Tess glanced behind her to see if perhaps someone else had entered the theatre with them. Nope. She shot a look at Robin. Robin smiled and smoothed a wayward curl behind her ear. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” “Please allow me.” He held out his arm, elbow kinked. “Baroness Oxonya?” He stared at Tess, waiting for her confirmation or denial. Baroness, was he kidding? Despite not having a clue as to whom he was referring, she straightened her back and her chin notched higher. She’d deny the mistaken identity, with dignity, and admit entering through a private entrance. Tess quickly glanced at Robin. Her eyes glittered, indicating she knew what was afoot. “That’s pronounced, Ox-ann-ya,” Robin spouted, confirming her prior knowledge. The night was a set-up. “I’m her assistant.” “Ms.Paonce?” he asked and dropped his arm to his side. “Robin,” Tess chastised. Robin quickly covered. “You can call me Robin. We better get moving, the band’s playing.” He bobbed his head and pirouetted to lead them down the shadowed hallway. Tess grabbed her roommate’s hand, questioning how good of a friend she was. “I’m not Baronessa anything. What happens when she shows up?” “She won’t. It’s a small production, at a university in Indiana. Think about it. We’ll get great seats, maybe champagne.” Her eyes glowed. They had reached an elevator and Andre prevented the panels from closing. “Baronessa?” Tess couldn’t say anything. Her throat had numbed. She pressed her fingers to her gullet, massaging the muscles, urging the words to come forth. Tell him, before this goes any farther. Andre’s eyes widened. The enormous green rock reflected in his brown irises. Crap. They boarded, and the elevator raised two levels. She exited what she’d come to think of as her cell. Doom waited. Several twists and turns later he opened a door and held out an arm, flagging them forward. Hopefully, they would be alone in a separate box. When the true royalty showed up, they would say oops, sorry, and run like Pegasus. Robin slithered in front of Tess, moving to a table boasting shining crystal flutes and dark labeled wine bottles. Tess’s eyes adjusted to the lowered lighting straight ahead. Two other figures were outlined, one small wearing a hat and the other tall with wide shoulders. “Baronessa Oxonya, it’s a pleasure to meet you. The Senator had a situation to handle and couldn’t make it. I’m his assistant, Murdock…Murdock Jameson, and this is my Grandmother, Julia Jameson.” He was tall, blond, chiseled cheeks, and a true smile, not just appearing on his perfectly shaped lips but in his sea blue eyes. Tess’s heart melted. “Sea warrior,” Tess murmured, her voice gurgled in her throat, so she sounded foreign. A slight accent filtered through, an intonation she didn’t recognize. “You’re right my dear, Murdock is Gaelic for sea warrior. My grandson is all that and more.” The woman’s aged blue eyes, so like her grandson’s pierced her, making her heart pound harder and not just because of lust for her grandson, but impersonation guilt. Tess held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Jameson, Mr. Jameson.” Each gave her a slight tug on the tips of her fingers. “Please call me Murdock.” He took hold of the crook of her arm, and his grandmother’s, and escorted them to the four seats located in the box. Robin sat in the second seat, her small skirt suddenly shorter. One hand clung to the stem of a wine glass. She patted the chair beside her. “Hi, I’m Robin.” “Murdock and Julia Jameson.” His voice tone resounded to the string section currently strumming in the pit and plucking away at Tess’s heartstrings. Murdock assisted his grandmother into the single seat by Robin and Tess on the other side of her friend. He sat at the end. The two interlopers were sandwiched between lies. On the up side, Tess had Murdock all to herself. Tess removed her left glove. The theatre went completely black. The silky long mitt fluttered to the floor. She gripped the arm rest and leaned forward to retrieve the scrap of cloth. Murdock placed his hand on top of hers. His warm skin relaxed her. She snuggled into the padding of the seat, leaving the glove on the floor. “The blackout took me by surprise.” How stupid. She sounded as if she’d never attended a production at a theatre before. He whispered into her ear. “Your voice is so soft I didn’t hear you. Have your eyes adjusted to the darkness?” Her heart was what needed to adjust. His perfect mouth touched her earlobe, and she had the strongest desire to turn her head a few inches, so her lips could connect with his. Sandalwood cologne scented the air around her. His hand lingered on top of hers. She glanced into his eyes. Desire, or fear of being caught, heated her to the point of explosion. Tess had to get out of there. “After the ballet, would you…and your friend be interested in going to dinner with my grandmother and me?” His lips were near her cheek. The orchestra played louder. Doomed― Tess lifted her eyes to meet his. Her mouth a fraction of an inch from his. A brief touch, a soft kiss and she would be sunk. “I des not cares who you says entered. I am ‘ese Baronessa Oxonya.” A heavily accented voice drowned out the beautiful orchestra music. “Time to leave!” Robin, shot off her seat and grabbed Tess’s arm. “I’m sorry.” Tess removed her hand from under his, stood, and nodded to Julia. “It was a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Jameson.” Murdock stood, his beautiful blues changing from calm seas to raging violent waves of emotion. Robin jerked Tess toward the open door and a crow-headed harridan with a ferocious look on her face. Tess didn’t want to leave. Her heart pattered as she considered taking a stand, apologize for the confusion and start fresh. No time. Robin grabbed Tess’s ungloved hand and pulled her across the threshold, shoving the empty flute into Andre’s open palm as they passed. At a run Robin flung open the stairwell door and shoved Tess down a flight of stairs. Tess clackity-clacked all the way down two flights and stopped by the exit sign. Robin, already with keys in hand, pressed the lever of the exit. Robin’s hand pressed against the lever of an emergency door, with a large sign declaring an alarm would sound if opened. Tess plopped onto the next to the last stair and grabbed the rail with her gloved hand. “What the hell are you doing? Get up.” Robin waved her free hand. “We’re going to get caught.” “I’m not leaving. I’d rather stay and―” “So help me, Tess, if you say face the music I’m going to leave your perfect little ass here,” Robin screeched. By the snarl on her face, she wasn’t kidding. “Just as well, because I’m not going to run.” Tess pressed her hot face against the cool iron rail. “F’ing fantastic. I’ll look forward to seeing your face in a different sort of print tomorrow.” Humm, student arrested instead of student honored―definitely bad print. Tess found her dark side and lifted the finger she’d been dying to use. The squeak of a door opening and closing, from above, rang through the stairwell. Robin cackled and flung open the exit door. Heavy footsteps trod on the stairs. Tess tilted her head to glance up, but a man in blue sporting a shield didn’t come into sight. She rested her cheek against the rail again, waiting for the gavel to fall. “Tess?” Lack of oxygen made her hallucinate because she thought she heard Murdock say her real name. “Tess Kelour?” In her peripheral vision she glimpsed a pair of shiny ebony shoes and crisply pressed black pants. She closed her eyes. A feather-like touch of silk brushed against her face. She opened her eyes and glanced at Murdock. He held her glove in his hand, a glimmer of mirth in his eyes. “I don’t have my name sewed into all of my clothing.” Her voice sounded normal. No squeak, no odd accent, but simple shy Tess. Murdock settled beside her and handed her the glove with the tag exposed, her name brilliant in its calligraphy text. “My grandmother was a fashion designer. I was named after her and have inherited much of her signature clothing. Not really current for the times, but I like her style. Suits me.” Okay, babbling. First she couldn’t get two words to hang together, and now she couldn’t stop them from rolling off her tongue. “Why did you pretend to be Russian royalty?” His baritone voice soothed her heated soul more than the cool touch of the iron rail. She picked up the glove and flipped it over and back. “The spirit of adventure.” “More than likely it was because of that skank you arrived with. Where did she go?” He glanced around Tess, touching her as he looked into the dark corner to her right. His closeness reawakened her desire to be near him. Sandalwood cologne mixed very nicely with her jasmine perfume. Perhaps a little rub to merge them. Skank? Maybe his age was younger than the mid-thirty’s she’d originally thought. “Left. She’s not really a skank, just a lover of a good time.” Tess put her glove back on and using the rail pulled herself to a stand, ready to reap the consequences of her actions. She glanced at Robin’s exit site, why hadn’t the alarm on the door blasted? Oh well. “I’m ready to talk to the police.” “Why? Did she steal your car?” He took her arm into his, and they ascended. She glanced into his face. His questioning expression, a touch of humor rippling through his eyes, indicated his sincerity. “No. Ah, impersonation, although it was mistaken. I’ll talk to the men in blue and the Russian Baroness to apologize if necessary.” “Ah.” His breath smelled like peppermint. Lips a mere inch away from hers. If she had a non-vocal, non-appearing fairy godmother, now was the time to intercede. She’d hope for a kiss more than a lecture on morality. He stopped on the staircase, and her breathing halted as well. Her heart pounded with such intensity surely he could hear the beat. “The police were never called. We assumed it was a mistake. Baroness Oxonya huffed out the minute the door slammed shut. Obviously, she didn’t want to attend and I imagine she would thank you for providing her a reason to leave.” As awkward as the stairs were, he slipped his arm from hers and around her waist. His other hand cupped her cheek, his thumb slowly ran around the curves of her mouth. She leaned into him and half-closed her eyes. “If you’re willing, we could finish the ballet and attend dinner with my grandmother.” He lowered his thumb to rest under her chin and lifted her face to meet his gaze. Not fighting the magic, Tess licked her lips and blessed her fairy godmother for giving her this boon. “I’m quite excited about the ballet, and I would enjoy talking with your grandmother.” Murdock lowered his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and lifted her arms to rest at his neck. Enchantment surrounded her. Maybe the original Tess Kelour gave her more than labeled clothing, she’d cast a spell for a magical evening. For the first part of Mistaken Identity visit The Romance Studio blog, http://trsblue.blogspot.com/ jj Keller Fantasies with spice and humor. http://www.jj-keller.com Trade Agreement, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxf1tPBXdSY All rights reserved.