"Roberts, Nora - Stanislaski 08 - Dance of Dreams" - читать интересную книгу автора (Roberts Nora)

swing past her elbows. With an impatient move, she tossed it back. It lifted,
then settled behind her, black and thick. Her face, like her frame, was small
and delicate, but her features weren't even. Her mouth was generous, her nose
small and straight, her chin a subtle point. Though the bones in her face were
elegant, the deep brown eyes were huge and slanted catlike. The brows over them
were dark and straight. An exotic face, she had been told, yet she saw no beauty
in it. She knew that with the right make-up and lighting she could look
stunning, but that was different. That was an illusion, a role, not Ruth
Bannion.
With a sigh, Ruth turned away from the mirror and crossed to the plush-covered
Victorian sofa. Knowing she was now alone, Nijinsky rolled over, stretched and
yawned luxuriously, then padded over to curl in her lap. Ruth scratched his ears
absently. Who was Ruth Bannion? she wondered.
Five years before, she had been a very green, very eager student beginning a new
phase of her training in New York. Thanks to Lindsay, Ruth remembered with a
smile. Lindsay Dunne, teacher, friend, idolЧthe finest classical ballerina Ruth
had ever seen. She had convinced Uncle Seth to let her come here. It warmed Ruth
to think of them now, married, living in the Cliff House in Connecticut with
their children. Every time she visited them, the love and happiness lingered
with her for weeks afterward. She had never seen two people more right for each
other or more in love. Except perhaps her own parents.
Even after six years, thinking of her parents brought on a wave of sadnessЧfor
herself and for the tragic loss of two bright, warm people. But in a strange way
Ruth knew it had been their death that had brought her to where she was today.
Seth Bannion had become her guardian, and their move to the small seacoast town
in Connecticut had brought them both to Lindsay. It had been through Lindsay
that Seth had been made to see Ruth's need for more training. Ruth knew it
hadn't been easy for her uncle to allow her to make the move to New York when
she had been only seventeen. She had, of course, been well cared for by the
Evanstons, but it had been difficult for Seth to give her up to a life he knew
to be so difficult and demanding. It was love that had made him hesitate and
love that had ultimately ruled his decision. Her life had changed forever.
Or perhaps, Ruth reflected, it had changed that first time she had walked into
Lindsay's school to dance. It had been there that she had first danced for
Davidov.
How terrified she had been! She had stood there in front of a man who had been
heralded as the finest dancer of the decade. A master, a legend. Nikolai
Davidov, who had partnered only the most gifted ballerinas, including Lindsay
Dunne. Indeed, he had come to Connecticut to convince Lindsay to return to New
York as the star in a ballet he had written. Ruth had been overwhelmed by his
presence and almost too stunned to move when he had ordered her to dance for
him. But he had been charming. A smile touched Ruth's mouth as she leaned her
head back on the cushions. And who, she thought lazily, could be more charming
than Nick when he chose to be? She had obeyed, losing herself in the movement
and the music. Then he had spoken those simple, stunning words.
"When you come to New York, come to me." She had been very young and had thought
of Nikolai Davidov as a name to be whispered reverently. She would have danced
barefoot down Broadway if he had told her to.
She had worked hard to please him, terrified of the sting of his temper, unable
to bear the coldness of his disapproval. And he had pushed her. Ruth remembered