The Barge

Duncan MacLeod leafed through the huge basket of mail he'd just picked up at the post office following his six-month absence from Paris. Junk, junk, bank statement, junk, junk ... oh, a postcard from the Valicourts. Duncan smiled as he read it, then turned back to the stack of mail. He paused to open a letter from the Paris Ballet; it contained a donation contract for the Tessa Noel sketch he'd agreed to donate for the silent auction at their annual Gala fund-raiser. A pair of tickets for that evening's performance of "The Nutcracker" was also included. Nice touch. Duncan tried to remember the last time he'd seen that particular ballet, but his thoughts were interrupted by the thump of the day's new mail being tossed onto the deck of the barge. More mail; just what he needed! He pulled on a pair of boots and headed up to retrieve it.

The Paris Ballet had sent him a second set of complimentary tickets to "The Nutcracker", this time in a small hand-addressed envelope. He was surprised at the duplication--after all, tickets to the popular show were hard to come by--but shrugged and considered to whom he might give the extra set. In the same moment it occurred to him that he had no one in mind to take with him to the show, and an intense wave of loneliness swept through him. Tessa's memory always haunted his first few days returning to Paris, and the effect was strengthened by the fact that he'd recently gone through her works in storage to find one to give for the auction. Duncan pictured the sketch he'd selected. It was a stylized male ballet dancer performing a series of leaps. Tessa had been fascinated with the grace and controlled power of her subject, and had captured it in the study.

Duncan suddenly remembered a conversation he'd once had with Anne Lindsey. In a rare moment of introspection, Anne had revealed her adolescent longing to dance in the ballet. She had always excelled academically, but felt clumsy and unattractive and secretly wished for the grace and effortless beauty of the dancers she admired. Duncan had suggested that she take some lessons now but she'd just laughed and asked where she'd find the time for another commitment.

Duncan had seen Anne a few times over the last several months, but since Mary's kidnapping a certain tension seemed to underlie their meetings. Even Methos had chided him and suggested he take Anne somewhere nice in an effort to make amends. Duncan smiled as the obvious connection occurred to him. He reached for the phone.