Dear Miss Cushman by Paula Martinac

Author:Paula Martinac [Martinac, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bywater Books
Published: 2021-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

My first Saturday back on the boards, I played yet another lady’s maid with ten lines in a forgettable melodrama that Worth hoped would catch fire like Clem’s had. The dramatist—a fellow named Fredrick Price—never made an appearance at the theater, not even for the performance, and a rumor circled through the company that Worth had written the piece himself under a pseudonym.

“Price . . . Worth . . . get it?” Ned said.

The audience greeted the curtain’s fall with tepid, confused applause, and none of the dailies stooped to review it.

The snub angered Worth in a way that seemed extreme even for him, and I wondered if there was truth to the gossip about the play’s author. The company sometimes experienced flops, and Worth might yell and fuss about them for an hour before moving on to the next play on the bill. The pace of the theater didn’t allow for prolonged rumination, but this particular failure made Worth brood like Hamlet.

On a day that Sallie and I were hunched over my trunk, trying to assemble a costume for my next role—Lucetta, a waiting woman (another maid, but a sixteenth-century one) in Two Gentlemen of Verona—the door to the walking ladies’ dressing room snapped open, and we both jumped. Even though I was dressed, I instinctively grabbed the cape in Sallie’s hands to cover myself.

Worth swept in, a prompt book tucked under his arm.

“Sir, you should knock,” Sallie piped up. “Ladies might be dressing.”

He glanced around. “Well, they aren’t. What are you doing?”

I handed the cape back to Sallie, who folded it tidily. “We’re putting together Lucetta’s costume,” I explained.

“I’m pulling you from that.”

My spirits sank. Lucetta wasn’t a role to shine in, but it was a role, nonetheless.

Worth extended the prompt book he was holding toward me, and it was much fatter than Lucetta’s. “You will now be playing Tranio in the Shrew.”

The room stilled. Everything about the moment was baffling and unreal. First of all, Worth never deigned to assign roles or hand out books, even though we all knew the decisions came from him and not Harry. Second, the role of Tranio, servant to Lucentio, had great possibilities and could be a scene-stealer. It was a larger role than my recent suspension warranted.

And third, if a woman played it, it would be a breeches role.

“Tranio?”

“You’re not deaf.”

I had not yet taken the script from him, so he shoved it into my hands.

“You seem well-suited to the part. You’re quite the deceitful thing, much like him, aren’t you?” Worth smirked, gauging my response. I lowered my eyes to avoid his, but his next words undid me. “And, since your father never played the role, no one will compare you to him.”

I was overcome with a sudden coughing fit.

“Sallie, a glass of water for your mistress. Quick, girl.” Worth watched her do his bidding, then continued, “I’m not as gullible as you think. And this . . . fit or whatever it is, plus the sheepish look on your face, confirm what you let slip the other day.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.