"Were you?" James steadily offers her his arm, ostensibly to steer them toward refreshment and, at least for now, temporarily away from the patrons (who no doubt would have their turn in due course), but also to hang onto the attentions of this dazzling young starlet.

"I thought you seemed particularly fluid on your feet. I suppose there must be a bit of rhythm and grace in all of us who dare to tread toward center stage."

He glances toward her and instantly catches her eye once again. That shimmering blushing smile hits James just as intensely. No wonder she caused a public sensation right from her first night as an understudy.

"I enjoy performing very much, Christine! I think there is something that calls us to it, no? I felt the anger and passion in my heart and longed for the space and the words to unleash my emotions to an audience, or to my fellow characters in a play. It is, perhaps, a way to exist above and beyond what we are permitted to be off the stage."

"And you, my dear Christine? What compels you to the stage? Surely when one lives her life surrounded by music, she must live and breathe it in some form, non?"